'His artistry is supreme' John Banville
'He had seldom been so perplexed by human beings. Would a psychiatrist, a teacher or a novelist...have been better placed to understand characters who had suddenly materialized from another century?'
Maigret is called to the home of Armand de Saint-Hilaire, a highly respected official who has been found shot dead in his study by his housekeeper. After interviewing everyone concerned Maigret is at a loss to the identity of the perpetrator until he comes across a series of letters from the past fifty years between the victim and a recently widowed woman. As Maigret uncovers the details behind the two's relationship he gets closer to discovering the tragic truth behind the official's demise.
This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret in Society.
'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories' Guardian




![Osman, Richard PREORDER FICTION New Richard Osman: The Impossible Fortune [2025] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/osman-richard-richard-osman-the-impossible-fortune-2025-paperback-9780241743997-1156577875_{width}x.jpg?v=1767636317)
![Cassidy, Marie BARGAIN CRIME FICTION Marie Cassidy: Body of Truth [2023] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/cassidy-marie-marie-cassidy-body-of-truth-2023-paperback-57205093368147_{width}x.jpg?v=1726975397)
![Mcfadden, Freida CRIME FICTION Freida McFadden: The Housemaid [2023] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/mcfadden-freida-freida-mcfadden-the-housemaid-2023-paperback-58000377774419_{width}x.jpg?v=1727361133)
![Coffey, Edel BARGAIN CRIME FICTION Edel Coffey: Breaking Point: The most gripping debut of the year - you won't be able to look away [2022] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/coffey-edel-edel-coffey-breaking-point-the-most-gripping-debut-of-the-year-you-won-t-be-able-to-look-away-2022-paperback-57289708896595_{width}x.jpg?v=1727455988)