| Plot Summary of Maigret and the Nahour Case |
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"Maigret is woken by a call from his friend Dr. Pardon at 1:30 am, after they'd gone there for dinner on a freezing January night. Maigret went over, and Pardon told of a couple who'd appeared, the woman wounded in the back by a bullet. They'd disappeared after Pardon treated the wound, but without leaving any names, and after telling a fanciful story. Maigret learns the next day they'd departed from Orly for Amsterdam. He's called to the home of Félix Nahour, a Lebanese who's been shot in his home in the Avenue du Parc-Montsouris, and on his desk find a picture which matches Pardon's description of the woman, Évelina Nahour. The chambermaid, Louise Boudin, had found the body, but is uncommunicative. Neither is Évelina's maid, Nelly Velthuis, Dutch like her mistress, who claims to speak no French. Nahour's "secretary", Fouad Ouéni, also Lebanese, is taciturn, maintains he wasn't at home.
Maigret calls Amsterdam and arranges for Mrs. Nahour to be told that her husband has died and she'd needed for the reading of the will. Her boyfriend, Vicente Alvaredo, a wealthy Colombian student, also returns to Paris. Maigret interviews both of them, and Ouéni once more, and reconstructs the crime to his satisfaction. Évelina and Alvaredo had appeared to tell Nahour she was leaving him, whereupon he'd drawn a gun. At the same time Ouéni, who'd at one time been Évelina's lover shot Nahour, and Nahour's gun went off, wounding Évelina. Everyone denies all, and Ouéni is sentenced to ten years.
"
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maigret and the Nahour Case |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain?
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- nearly 100%
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, Foreign
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- French
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Genius (really!)
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- servant
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- jealousy
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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