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.

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' Guardian

'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' Independent

© Georges Simenon 1944 (P) Penguin Audio 2026