In this Georges Simenon classic, a Dutch clerk flees to Paris with his crooked boss's money and meets the woman behind the man. "A certain furtive, almost shameful emotion . . . disturbed him whenever he saw a train go by, a night train especially, its blinds drawn down on the mystery of its passengers." Kees Popinga is a respectable Dutch citizen and family man—until the day he discovers his boss has bankrupted the shipping firm he works for, and something snaps. Kees used to watch the trains go by on their way to exciting destinations. Now, on some dark impulse, he boards one at random, and begins a new life of recklessness and violence. This chilling portrayal of a man who breaks from society and goes on the run asks who we are, and what we are capable of.

One of three vintage Maigret novels by legendary mystery author Georges Simenon One of the world 's most successful crime writers, Georges Simenon has thrilled mystery lovers since 1931 with his matchless creation Inspector Maigret. In My Friend Maigret, Inspector Maigret investigates the murder of a small- time crook on a Mediterranean island. Told in Simenon's spare, unsentimental prose, Inspector Cadaver is a haunting exploration of provincial hypocrisy and snobbery, in which Maigret encounters a rival sleuth from his past. In Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard, Simenon's tenacious detective pieces together the life of a man who for three years lived a secret life-until he is found stabbed to death in an alleyway.

A fictional autobiography of Maigret, Georges Simenon's brilliant detective. The thirty-fifth book in the new Penguin Maigret series. In this make-believe memoir, Maigret recounts a meeting with the author himself. The account starts with the arrival of Georges Sim, as he is called here, at the Paris Police Judiciaire to soak up atmosphere for his crime novels by dogging the footsteps of Inspector Maigret. The detective is irritated by the audacious young writer who names a character after him and argues that he oversimplifies, in his fiction, the intricate duties of the police investigating a case. Here, Maigret "sets the record straight," telling readers how he's different from the invention, and about his courtship and marriage to his beloved Louise. Ingeniously amusing and tender, this is a look inside the mind of the brilliant Maigret like never before.From the Trade Paperback edition.

When Maigret discovers an unexpectedly flamboyant detail about an otherwise unremarkable man, the inspector is determined to uncover what lies beneath the stuffy appearance of his Parisian household.'He was wearing a dark suit, a beige raincoat and on his feet, which were twisted at an odd angle, he wore yellow-brown shoes, which seemed out of keeping with a day as colourless as this.Apart from his shoes he looked so ordinary that he would have passed completely unnoticed on the street or on one of the numerous café terraces on the boulevard.'Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. 'His artistry is supreme' John Banville'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 'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' Independent

Sailors don't talk much to other men, especially not to policemen. But after Captain Fallut's body is found floating near his trawler, they all mention the Evil Eye when they speak of the Ocean's voyage.Featured the inimitable Inspector Maigret and written in the dark, grimly comic prose that Simenon is renowned for, A Crime In Holland will delight lifelong fans and new readers alike.

Imperious, clever, mysterious: Maigret meets his match in the alluring form of Félicie in book twenty-five of the new Penguin Maigret series. In his mind's eye he would see that slim figure in the striking clothes, those wide eyes the colour of forget-me-not, the pert nose and especially the hat, that giddy, crimson bonnet perched on the top of her head with a bronze-green feather shaped like a blade stuck in it . . . Félicie had given him more trouble than all the 'hard' men who had been put behind bars.Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret and the Toy Village.'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray'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 'A...

A new translation of George Simenon's taut, devastating psychological novel set in American suburbia. The inspiration for the new play by award-winning playwright David Hare.'I had begun, God knows why, tearing a corner off of everyday truth, begun seeing myself in another kind of mirror, and now the whole of the old, more or less comfortable truth was falling to pieces'Confident and successful, New York advertising executive Ray Sanders takes what he wants from life. When he goes missing in a snow storm in Connecticut one evening, his closest friend begins to reassess his loyalties, gambling Ray's fate and his own future.'The romans durs are extraordinary: tough, bleak, offhandedly violent, suffused with guilt and bitterness, redolent of place . . . utterly unsentimental, frightening in the pitilessness of their gaze, yet wonderfully entertaining' John Banville'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . ....

A new translation of Georges Simenon's novel set in claustraphobic provincial town, book eighteen in the new Penguin Maigret series.Cars drove past along with the trucks and trams, but by now Maigret had realised that they were not important. Whatever roared by like this along the road was not part of the landscape. ... What really counted was the lock, the hooting of the tugs, the stone crusher, the barges and the cranes, the two pilots' bars and especially the tall house where he could make out Ducrau's red chair framed by a window. Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as The Lock at Charenton. 'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant.' - John Gray '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.' - The Guardian...

One of Simenon's critically acclaimed roman durs, The Blue Room is a tale of the destructive power of lust and guilt."He felt no resentment towards Andree for biting his lip. In the context of their lovemaking, it had its place."For Tony and Andree, there are no rules when they meet in the blue room at the Hotel des Voyageurs. Their adulterous affair is intoxicating, passionate—and dangerous. Soon it turns into a nightmare from which there can be no escape. Simenon's stylish and sensual psychological thriller weaves a story of cruelty, reckless lust, and relentless guilt.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Against all expectations Marcel Féron has made a "normal" life in a bucolic French suburb in the Ardennes. But on May 10, 1940, as Nazi tanks approach, this timid, happy man must abandon his home and confront the "Fate" that he has secretly awaited. Separated from his pregnant wife and young daughter in the chaos of flight, he joins a freight car of refugees hurtling southward ahead of the pursuing invaders. There, he meets Anna, a sad-looking, dark- haired girl, whose accent is "neither Belgian nor German," and who "seemed foreign to everything around her." As the mystery of Anna's identity is gradually revealed, Marcel leaps from the heights of an exhilarating freedom to the depths of a terrifying responsibility-- one that will lead him to a blood-chilling choice.When it first appeared in English in 1964, British novelist and critic Brigid Brophy declared The Train to be "the novel his admirers had been expecting all along from Simenon." Until The Train, she...

Maigret receives an anonymous phone call concerning the brutal murder of a woman and young child. The tip off concerns the woman's nephew, a mild-mannered man by the name of Gaston Meurant. At Meurant's trial Maigret is called to testify where he admits to continuing the investigation unofficially as he remains doubtful of the man's guilt. Maigret reveals that he had both Meurant and his wife followed and during the trial he exposes some shocking truths about Meurant's private life that may prove his innocence.Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations.'His artistry is supreme' John Banville'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

Maigret uncovers some troubling family politics in this new translation, book thirty-three of the new Penguin Maigret series.'He had realized that it was her eyes as much as her vivacity that made her look so young. They were of a blue that was paler than the September sky over the sea and still had an expression of surprise, of wonderment'When a charming elderly widow appeals to him for help, Inspector Maigret travels to a seaside village in Normandy - uncovering a lost fortune and some poisonous family politics.Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations.'His artistry is supreme' John Banville'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 'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' Independent

Just another engaging Maigret story. The master attends a boring conference in Bordeaux, then stops in a little town (Fontenay-le-Comte) to visit an old college friend. While there, he lends a hand in the solution of three murders.

A once-wealthy family closes ranks when one of their own is shot, leaving Maigret - along with a troublesome new magistrate - to pick his way through their secrets.It was as if suddenly, long ago, life had stopped here, not the life of the man lying on the bed but the life of the house, the life of its world, and even the factory chimney that could be seen through the curtains looked obsolete and absurd.Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations.'His artistry is supreme' John Banville'One of the greatest writers of our time' Sunday Times