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The Madman of Bergerac (Maigret, #16)

Georges Simenon,

Ros Schwartz (Translator)

Start date: March 15, 2024

Finish date: April 5, 2024

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Next in the classic series.
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What Members Thought

Apr 08, 2020 Adrian rated it it was amazing

Shelves: zz-audiobook, det-georges-simenon, zz-paper-books, a-2025-to-read

Lunchtime Listen January 2025
I have to say that the audible version, as ever read by Gareth Armstrong, is just as good as the book I read 4 years ago.

The story as I said below, is based solely in Bergerac, which 40 years later I would live very close to for 5 years. Whilst is sounds a great deal smaller in this book, I can still recognise a few of the places mentioned, which is quite wonderful.

Anyway, thoroughly enjoyed the story, the characters and the reading.

Ad hoc series read 2019/20
A fab ...more

66 likes · Like · see review

Sep 23, 2020 John rated it really liked it

Shelves: georges-simenon

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

5 likes · Like · see review

Oct 18, 2015 KOMET rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries-and-thrillers, georges-simenon, zz-out-of-residence

The story begins with Paris on the threshold of spring. It is March, Madame Maigret is away in Alsace to be with her sister who is soon to give birth to her third child, and Maigret finds himself without any urgent cases to mull over. This is unusual for him, because Maigret has a passion for his job which tends to keep him busy almost without letup. On this particular day, he receives in the mail a letter from a former colleague, Leduc, who had retired from the Police Judiciare 2 years previous The story begins with Paris on the threshold of spring. It is March, Madame Maigret is away in Alsace to be with her sister who is soon to give birth to her third child, and Maigret finds himself without any urgent cases to mull over. This is unusual for him, because Maigret has a passion for his job which tends to keep him busy almost without letup. On this particular day, he receives in the mail a letter from a former colleague, Leduc, who had retired from the Police Judiciare 2 years previously to live a quiet, contented life in the Dordogne. Leduc tells Maigret: "... if ever a good wind should blow you into this part of the world, I count on you to spend a few days under my roof. My old servant is never so happy as when there's a guest to be made a fuss of... The salmon fishing has begun..." So, as Maigret has no impending case or cases at the moment, he resolves to travel by train to see his old friend in the Dordogne for a few days.

Maigret shares a berth on the train with a rather strange, nervous, fidgety man who closets himself in the upper bunk of the partition. He sleeps fitfully. So on edge is this man that Maigret is denied a good night's rest. Then suddenly, with Maigret laying uncomfortably in bed, he notices the man's lower legs hang over the upper bunk railing as he puts on a pair of woolen socks and leather boots, clambers out of his bunk, walks quickly down the adjoining passage, and jumps off the train. Maigret follows close behind him, wondering at the strangeness of the situation, the train now moving slow enough for him to jump to the ground without injuring himself when there is a sudden flash and a bullet pierces his shoulder. Vainly, Maigret is in pursuit of the man and slips into unconsciousness from a slow and steady loss of blood.

Maigret awakes the next morning in a local hospital, where he is at first put under close surveillance by the local authorities. The locality in which Maigret finds himself is Bergerac, which in recent months had been plagued by a so-called "madman" who would pounce upon unsuspecting women at night amid rustic surroundings, strangle them once he had them firmly in his clutches, and plunge a long needle into their hearts as a calling card. Maigret at first is thought to be this "madman" for he looked rather beat up when he was found, and had no personal ID on him. Thankfully, Leduc lives nearby, learns of Maigret's predicament, and is able to vouch for him to the satisfaction of the doctor, magistrate, and other local authorities.

This marks the beginning of Maigret's quest --- with the help of Leduc and Madame Maigret (who arrives from Alsace to help him get back on his feet, for he is facing a slow recovery) --- to investigate the case of this maniacal murderer who is the terror of this provincial town. At the same time, Maigret has to contend with the "obsessive snobbery and hypocrisy of small-town bourgeoisie" and their mistrust of him as an outsider. Certainly, Maigret's brusque, investigative style does nothing to endear him to Bergerac's denizens.

All in all, "The Madman of Bergerac" reads as an interesting moral, psychological tale with many twists and turns. ...more

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Dec 21, 2016 John Frankham rated it it was amazing

Shelves: crime-detective

Maigret has little to do, and his wife is away, so he agrees to take the train to Bergerac to visit a friend. On his way, a fellow passenger jumps from the train as it slows, and runs into the darkling countryside. Impetuously, Maigret jumps out too, and, for his pains, is shot and badly hurt by the fleeing man. In hospital, he is accused by the local police of being the Madman of Bergerac. Holed up in hospital, and then in a local hotel, unable to leave his room, Maigret turns to solving the re ...more

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Feb 19, 2024 Jill rated it really liked it

Shelves: georges-simenon

This begins with Maigret going to join a friend of his for a holiday, and so he takes a train. His booked berth it seems has been taken over by an elderly couple and so he gets attendant to find him another. This new berth has a man in the upper bunk, who is having trouble sleeping, and Maigret is convinced he is crying. When Maigret at last seems to drift off to sleep, he feels the passenger is readying himself to get up, and as the train is nowhere near to a stop, he gets up too as the passeng ...more

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Jan 22, 2017 Tony Fitzpatrick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Maigret is showing off, and how! In this cleverly crafted novel he solves a complex crime from his hotel bed, where he has been imprisoned following a gunshot wound to his shoulder. After jumping from a train in pursuit of a man acting strangely, Maigret finds himself holed up in a village, attended to by the local doctor, prosecutor and various other notables. The village has been the scene of a couple of gruesome murders, whom locals believed have been committed by a madman running amok in the ...more

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Jul 31, 2015 Nanosynergy rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, reviewed, fiction-1930s, series, 2015read, translated, mysteries-thrillers-espionage, france

Inspector Maigret encounters a man on a train who intrigues him. When the man jumps off the train, Maigret follows and in the pursuit is shot. From his recovery bed in the town near where the man jumped train, Maigret solves the mystery of "The Madman of Bergerac" despite opposition from friends, the local residents and even his wife. A wonderful 'who done it.' ...more

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Mar 19, 2024 Sandy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-detective-grp, rread-2024, mystery-classic

Different from other Maigret's as he is (1) confined to a single room by injury, (2) has no authority in the case, (3) is dependent on a friend and his ever-suffering but always understanding wife for additional information. Interesting as he is able to piece together the mystery with so few facts. ...more

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