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The Cellars of the Majestic (Maigret, #20)

Georges Simenon,

Howard Curtis (Translator)

Start date: November 15, 2024

Finish date: December 6, 2024

Discussion: Buddy reads

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

Oct 02, 2020 Adrian rated it really liked it

Shelves: det-georges-simenon, zz-paper-books

Review to follow on the morrow

Again, another really enjoyable Maigret, atmospheric, full of intrigue, full of Paris, and just soo French. Focussing on the murder of the wife of a wealthy American staying at the Hotel Majestic, Maigret haunts the cellars of the Hotel, where a myriad of chefs, waiters, cleaners and other hotel staff inhabit a twilight world of glass boxes.
As the investigation continues all clues point to the Hotel's chief coffee maker, Maigret though is not convinced, and delves d ...more

51 likes · Like · see review

Nov 02, 2012 Leslie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries, french

Above average Maigret mystery. Simenon clearly knew the behind-the-scene world of the hotel business!

4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 02, 2013 KOMET rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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

This is the second Georges Simenon Maigret novel I've read. Nor will it be the last. In so few words, Simenon creates a rich, multi-textured world with a colorful assortment of characters which is dazzling. There is a murder in a Parisian hotel of a woman who had been staying there with her American husband (and child, governess, and maid), who apparently is estranged from her, enraptured as he is with the governess and apparently set on going off to Rome with her.

But everything isn't as it see ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Nov 04, 2016 John Frankham rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-detective

One of the best Maigrets. The depiction of the workings of the hidden world in the bowels of a large hotel, and of the life of the staff is a masterly piece of writing, but then there is the mystery to solve also ...

Maigret investigates the murder of the wife of a wealthy American, whose strangled body is found in a staff locker in the basement of a grand hotel near the Champs-Elysees. Maigret’s inquiries take him from the endless corridors of the Hotel Majestic to the Bois de Boulogne and sun-d ...more

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Oct 25, 2024 Jill rated it really liked it

Shelves: georges-simenon

Maybe a bit more complicated than previous books. This mainly takes place in the cellars of The Majestic Hotel , where the refreshments are served to the hotel residents. An american woman is found dead in one of the cupboards, and it seems that she was known by the chief coffee maker, who found the body. Naturally, Maigret does not find this believable, and does a thorough investigation into this man's past, despite the local judiciary, raking up some secrets from the past. ...more

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Apr 25, 2017 Tony Fitzpatrick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Well - Maigret's retirement is long forgotten, in fact we seem to have gone back in time. Inspector Torrence, killed in book number one, is back in the land of the living, and Maigret is once again firmly on the Special Branch payroll and in his apartment in Paris. Simenon seems to have decided that his attempt to pension our friend off in 1934 was a big mistake. Right decision.

This is a cracking story involving a double murder committed in a posh Parisian hotel. Mixed up are a rich American, a ...more

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May 13, 2019 John Frankham rated it it was amazing

One of my favourite Maigrets, as it shows the 'basement' workings of a grand hotel, in contrast to the luxury above, like the paddling of a swan below the serene top. When a rich American wife is found killed in the staff locker-room, Maigret investigates the results of the two worlds colliding.

The GR blurb:

''Try to imagine a guest, a wealthy woman, staying at the Majestic with her husband, her son, a nurse and a governess . . . In a suite that costs more than a thousand francs a day . . . At si ...more

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Aug 31, 2015 Nanosynergy rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, fiction-1940s, series, france, 2015read, translated, mysteries-thrillers-espionage, reviewed

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

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Dec 29, 2010 Jan C rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, france

Fairly quick read.

Simenon was faster than this reader. I didn't get it. Although all the clues were there.

Loved the locale ... how he just painted the portrait of this magnificent hotel, majestic if you will.

I've only read a couple of his books. Will have to look for more. ...more

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