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Book Review By Dana Samson
At the Gai Moulin by Georges Simenon

One day, two young boys in Liege decide to rob the Gai Moulin, after it closes. They manage to sneak in but, inside, they see the body of a man, the Greek that has been there earlier and they run away, or at least this is what they pretend to have done. The next day, the body is found staffed in a wicker basket at the zoo. The boys are arrested, but a mysterious Frenchman seems to be connected to all this affair. In fact, this stranger is none other that the famous commissar Maigret who had been following the deceased Greek, Ephraim Graphopoulos, a well known con man from Paris. The boys are released and they made believe that Maigret is the one arrested for murder. The inspector thinks that, this way, the real killer will forget his vigilance and give himself away. The research reaches an unexpected point when it is discovered that the reason of the murder was robbery and, more strange, the the murder was actually committed some time later that the hour the two boys declared having seen him dead and not at Gai Moulin, but in his hotel room. Did the boys lie or they were just deceived themselves too, but, above all what is the meaning of this set-up and how was it conceived?


Plot & Themes
Tone of story - Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging
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
Any non-mystery subplot?
descript. of violence and chases - 20 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60 %
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: - a teen
Profession/status:
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
Intelligence - Average intelligence

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - France
Misc setting - resort/hotel

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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