| Maigret is on a stakeout at a café, the Tonnelet Bourguignon, in front of the Hôtel Beauséjour, Rue de Birague and Rue Saint-Antoine. The waiter is Janvier, and the old man on the second floor across the way is Lucas. They believe the Polish gang of Stan the Killer is holed up there, a gang which has committed brutal murder-robberies of isolated farms in the North. While Maigret is sitting, Michael Ozep, a Pole who'd been begging Maigret to let him help with the capture, sits down beside him. Maigret sends him up when the woman of the gang, Olga Tserewska, is alone in the room, with a message that a raid is planned. When he goes in she draws the shade, and nothing happening within is visible to Maigret and Lucas in the room across the way. Finally Maigret goes over and finds the woman's body, her throat slashed. Though it seems to the others that Ozep was Stan, Maigret realizes that it was the woman herself. He locates the files, where she is identified as Stéphanie Polintskaïa, who'd already been known at 18 in Warsaw, and who had run a similar gang in America. Ozep had been her husband, and she'd slashed the throat of their child. The other gang members are rounded up, and Ozep is found to have hanged himself in the hotel. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - Dry-cynical How difficult to spot villain? - Somewhat obvious Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - nearly 100% Murder of certain profession? Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 30 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50 % 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: - Female Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - power How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting Europe Yes European country: - France Misc setting - resort/hotel Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies Unusual forms of death - perforation--swords/knives Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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