Busman's holiday

Inspector Maigret is enjoying his annual holiday on the Atlantic coast. Everything should be peaceful, with long lazy afternoons on the beaches of Les Sables d'Olonne. But Maigret and his wife's plans for his well deserved annual break are thrown into chaos when a nasty case of food poisoning leads to Madame Maigret spending some time in hospital with acute appendicitis.

While Maigret struggles to deal with time spent without the calming presence of his wife, there is a further complication when he becomes aware that there is a patient at the hospital who needs his help; but can Maigret get to the bottom of the case before another death happens?

I've always loved Maigret, and Maigret's holiday proved to be an unexpected delight. Not least because many of the places mentioned in the novel were towns that I knew from a long ago French vacation. As always with Maigret, the novel is beautifully plotted, and the way Maigret joins the threads of the investigation together is a delight.

Most of all though, I love the humanity of Maigret. From his love for his wife even to his concern, mingled with disgust, for the murderer. Georges Simenon was not just a great crime writer, he was a great writer. Maigret's holiday is short but beautifully constructed. A joy to read.