'A smaller photo on the piano showed a man with thick hair, a salt-and-pepper goatee beard, wearing a jacket with poorly cut shoulders. The oval of his face was as long as the boy's. Another detail brought Maigret up short, and it was several moments before he realised that the man's lips, which almost cut his face in half, were abnormally thin.'
Investigating the circumstances around the death of a certain Monsieur Gallet, Maigret finds that much of the man's life was a lie: the name he travelled under and even his stated profession. More worryingly, his wife's haughtiness and his son's casual indifference to the death suggest that there is more to this family than meets the eye. Indeed, the death of Monsieur Gallet may conceal another crime entirely.

This didn't hold my attention like some of the earlier novels and, in the novel itself, even Maigret is rather bored with the case at first but then it turns out to be really convoluted and you have to keep reading so as to keep on top of things rather than putting the book down and going back to it later.

Left on a wall

If you've found this book and you're new to this, welcome to bookcrossing! I hope you enjoy looking around the bookcrossing site. If you decide to join bookcrossing (it's free, so no reason not to if you're interested!) please feel free to list me (Tanamo) as the member who referred you. Even if you don't join I'd appreciate it if you'd leave a quick journal note so I can see where the book ended up - you can do it anonymously if you wish.