Visiting a prisoner to inform him that his reprieve has been denied and that his execution is scheduled for the next day, Inspector Maigret listens to the condemned man's story, undertaking a personal investigation that leads him to the Guinguette à Deux Sous, a bar by the Seine, and into the seamy underbelly of bourgeois Paris.--

"When his superiors dismiss the death of a burglar as part of Paris's gang wars, Inspector Maigret defies their orders and tries to discover what really happened to the quiet, likeable crook he had known for years." -- back cover.

Imperious, clever, mysterious: Maigret meets his match in the alluring form of Felicie 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 Felicie had given him more trouble...

"Maigret is called to the home of Armand de Saint-Hilaire, a highly respected official who has been found shot dead in his study by his housekeeper. After interviewing everyone concerned Maigret is at a loss to the identity of the perpetrator until he comes across a series of letters from the past fifty years between the victim and a recently widowed woman. As Maigret uncovers the details behind the two's relationship he gets closer to discovering...

"When Maigret's holiday plans go awry he and his wife spend their vacation in Paris, on the condition that he has nothing to do with work. However a case involving the death of a doctor's wife intrigues Maigret and he assiduously follows its development in the papers. He cannot resist playing a few tricks on his colleague Janvier who is running the case and along the way Maigret uncovers something that is crucial to the murderer's discovery..."--Publisher's...

For the first time in his career Inspector Maigret receives written summons to the Prefect's office where he learns that he has been accused of assaulting a young woman. With his career and reputation on the line, Maigret must fight to prove his innocence.