In this classic novel, a woman’s fears for her safety lead Inspector Maigret to a Paris suburb where he uncovers appalling family secrets


‘Barely twenty-eight years old. But it would be difficult to look more like an old maid, to move less gracefully…those black dresses…that ridiculous green hat!’

For six months the dowdy Cécile has been coming to the police station, desperate to convince them that someone has been breaking into her aunt’s apartment. No one takes her seriously – until Maigret unearths a story of merciless, deep-rooted greed.


‘Acute psychological insight and a distinctive, spare, atmospheric style … Simenon ought to be spoken of in the same breath as Camus, Beckett and Kafka’ Independent on Sunday

'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century' Guardian

‘Gem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend’ Boyd Tonkin, The Times

© Georges Simenon 1942 (P) Penguin Audio 2026