Maigret in Finistère
The story takes place in Concarneau, a town in Finistère, the western-most department of Brittany. Though he is employed by the Police Judiciaire of Paris, Maigret has been stationed in the nearby city of Rennes, where he is acting as a consultant to the police department there. When a shooting occurs in Concarneau, he is called in to investigate. At the time Simenon wrote the book, Concarneau had a population of about 6,000. The portrait he paints of the city is that of an insular coastal town, where a few of the town’s notable gentlemen, although provincial small fry compared to wealthy Parisiennes, nevertheless manage to lord their minor aristocracy over the common folk of Concarneau. These leading citizens form a small group of regulars at the Admiral Hotel, where they drink, play cards, and mess around with women. One night, one of these card players is walking home after an evening at the hotel bar. When he stops in the doorway of an abandoned house to light a cigarette, he is shot through the door. Given the circumstances, it seems like it may be a random violent act, but when Maigret arrives to discuss the case with the in-crowd at the Admiral, they discover poison in their glasses, indicating that someone is out to get them.
I enjoyed the setting of the novel because I have actually traveled to Finistère, not Concarneau but some cities nearby. As usual, Simenon reveals aspects of French life to his readers beyond what the typical tourist sees, and he brings to his mysteries a perspicacious understanding of human nature that rings true to life. Even in a small town where the disparity between the haves and have-nots may not be as wide as one would find in a major urban center, there is nonetheless a line drawn between the two. Those on the right side of that line, who are friends with the right people, can get away with much. The town’s prominent residents hide some ethically questionable behavior behind their moral facades as upstanding citizens. Simenon also illustrates how small-town crimes generate rumors and paranoia that sweep through the populace like wildfire.
The Maigret novels are consistently very good, so as one would expect, The Yellow Dog is a finely crafted mystery. Even so, I don’t think there’s anything truly memorable or remarkable about this particular Maigret novel that sets it above Simenon’s usual standard of quality. (The title is unusual for a Maigret novel, but the yellow dog in question is more of a bystander than an integral participant in the case.) Because Maigret is removed from his normal milieu of Paris, it seems like less of his personality is explored than in most Maigret mysteries. I don’t believe his wife, for example, is even mentioned in this novel. The resolution to the mystery ends up being an admirably complicated affair with several moving parts, some of which the reader can see coming, but some of which are a total surprise. In summation, this is probably not among Maigret’s best, but even his average cases are better than the rest.
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