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A Genteel Black Hole

Tag: detective fiction

  • Bookish Ramble: Maigret Sets a Trap

    Ally

    Title: Maigret Sets a Trap
    (Maigret #48)
    Author: Georges Simenon
    (Translated by Siân Reynolds)
    Year: 1955
    Country: Belgium

    Format: E-book
    Pages: 176
    Read: 9 – 16 March 2026
    First reading

    There’s a serial killer on the loose. Once a month or so he strikes in the Montmartre area of Paris, randomly stabbing a woman to death. DCI Maigret hatches a plan to lure the killer out of hiding. He stages a fake arrest and interrogation, tricking the local reporters into declaring the killer caught. Now, with plainclothes WPCs walking the streets of Montmartre as bait, Maigret hopes the killer’s next victim will be one who can defend herself. But will the plan work, or has he just sent an unwitting officer to her death?

    This is Georges Simenon’s 48th Maigret book but my very first. I’ve been meaning to try Simenon for a while but he’s so absurdly prolific, I never knew where to start. Luckily the decision was made for me when I found this ebook on sale for 99p—and I really lucked out! Turns out this is one of the most popular Maigret books, subject of multiple screen and radio adaptations. And I can see why.

    Maigret Sets a Trap is a gripping story of the hunt for a serial killer, and a psychological study of what drives him to kill. Ultimately it’s a portrait of toxic masculinity—of a weak, pathetic man trying to reassert himself by lashing out at women. If I had read this in my teens I might have dismissed it as outdated. Now, with the rise of the Manosphere, it feels disturbingly timely.

    Simenon’s writing style is simple, spare, but vivid. He captures his characters and their surroundings in three dimensions. It’s a quick, unpretentious read, but far from a shallow one. I’ll definitely be reading more Maigret.

  • Bookish Ramble: Cards on the Table

    Ally

    Title: Cards on the Table
    (Poirot #13)
    Author: Agatha Christie
    Year: 1936
    Country: UK

    Format: E-book
    Pages: 259
    Read: 1 – 9 February 2026
    Reread

    Mr Shaitana, a renowned collector of morbid curiosities, invites Hercule Poirot to an evening of dinner and bridge. Poirot is joined by three more sleuths: Superintendent Battle, Colonel Race, and mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver. There are four more guests; each one is, according to Shaitana, a murderer—each having successfully evaded detection. The party was intended merely to show off his “collection” of killers, his way of celebrating the Art of Murder. But when Shaitana himself is found dead, stabbed with a stiletto from his own collection, it’s up to Poirot and his fellow sleuths to figure out which of the four suspects is the culprit. Each of them had both motive and opportunity, but which of them actually did it?

    Cards on the Table is Christie at her streamlined best. On the surface all four suspects seem like unlikely killers, yet each one apparently got away with murder once before. Poirot’s approach is to build a psychological profile of each suspect, aided in part by a study of their bridge scores. (Side note: I’ve never played bridge and don’t know the rules, but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story.) With such a small ensemble of suspects, Christie still manages to spin a gripping story full of red herrings and surprises. And there’s a pleasingly metafictional element in Christie’s self-caricature, Ariadne Oliver, providing intuitive “insights” into who would’ve dunnit if she were writing the book. Overall I’d say this is top tier Christie.