| When commissar Maigret is sent to a provincial town for six month in order to reorganize their Flying Squad he has to handle a strange case where different witnesses, all of the having the highest credibility, testify in different ways. Justin, a 12 year-old altar-boy reports that he has seen a dead body in the Rue Sainte Catherine on his way at the morning mass to the hospital. But, the body has disappeared without a trace. At the same time the Judge in the house opposite where Justin said he saw the body pretends that he did not hear anyone go past, but Maigret remembers that a few houses before a man said that he had heard somebody running. When the commissar interviews again Justin and the Judge, he realizes that the boy had actually seen the body before the Judge's house and that the killer had run after Justin and not in the opposite direction, as he has first declared. Maigret has Besson, one of his inspectors, bring a list of the tenants of the street because this first mystery of the disappearance of the body being solved but, there comes another one: who killed the dead man, who proved to be a member of a jewelry stealing gang and why did the boy lie. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - Dry-cynical How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - nearly 100% Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 40 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Unusual characteristics: Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting Europe Yes European country: - France Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Unusual forms of death - perforation--bullets Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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