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Book Review By Dana Samson
Maigret and the Nahour Case by Georges Simenon

Maigret is woken by a call from his friend Dr. Pardon at 1:30 am, after they'd gone there for dinner on a freezing January night. Maigret went over, and Pardon told of a couple who'd appeared, the woman wounded in the back by a bullet. They'd disappeared after Pardon treated the wound, but without leaving any names, and after telling a fanciful story. Maigret learns the next day they'd departed from Orly for Amsterdam. He's called to the home of Félix Nahour, a Lebanese who's been shot in his home in the Avenue du Parc-Montsouris, and on his desk find a picture which matches Pardon's description of the woman, Évelina Nahour. The chambermaid, Louise Boudin, had found the body, but is uncommunicative. Neither is Évelina's maid, Nelly Velthuis, Dutch like her mistress, who claims to speak no French. Nahour's "secretary", Fouad Ouéni, also Lebanese, is taciturn, maintains he wasn't at home.
Maigret calls Amsterdam and arranges for Mrs. Nahour to be told that her husband has died and she'd needed for the reading of the will. Her boyfriend, Vicente Alvaredo, a wealthy Colombian student, also returns to Paris. Maigret interviews both of them, and Ouéni once more, and reconstructs the crime to his satisfaction. Évelina and Alvaredo had appeared to tell Nahour she was leaving him, whereupon he'd drawn a gun. At the same time Ouéni, who'd at one time been Évelina's lover shot Nahour, and Nahour's gun went off, wounding Évelina. Everyone denies all, and Ouéni is sentenced to ten years.


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
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: - 40's-50's
Profession/status:
Motive of antagonist - jealousy
How sensitive is this character?
Intelligence - Average intelligence

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - France
Misc setting - fancy mansion

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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