| Mrs. Nathalie Sabin-Levesque appears in Maigret's office and reports that her husband, Gérard Sabin-Levesque, the well-known lawyer, has been missing for a month. He'd often gone off for up to a week at a time with his temporary girlfriends, but in those cases he'd always called his office. Maigret begins to investigate the nightclubs Sabin-Levesque had gone to and learns that he was well-known as Mr. Charles. Nathalie Sabin-Levesque is an alcoholic, and soon becomes uncooperative. The last time Gérard Sabin-Levesque had been seen was February 18. Not too long afterwards, his body is found in the Seine, where it had been for about a month.
Maigret searches the lawyer's desk, finds a photo of Nathalie with the name Trika on the back, and learns that she had been a hostess at Chez Mademoiselle, where she'd met "Mr. Charles" and married him a month later. Maigret finds out that she had sneaked out of her house... Soon the car Sabin-Levesque was murdered in is found in Puteaux, and Nathalie attempts suicide. The next day the body of Joe Fazio is found shot. Maigret goes to confront Nathalie. Fazio had been her lover, and had demanded more money. She could hardly remember why they'd decided to kill her husband. She'd probably spend her prison time in the infirmary. | ||
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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 - 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: - Female Age: - 20's-30'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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