MAIGRET AT THE GAI-MOULIN

In this brief novel, first published in 1940, Inspector Maigret goes undercover to solve a murder in the Belgian city of Liäge, where the body of Greek playboy Ephraim Graphopoulos has been found, stuffed in a wicker basket, at the town zoo. The local police have focused their investigation on the Gai-Moulin, a seedy nightclub where the victim spent his last night in the company of bar-girl Adäle, enviously watched by teenaged would-be rouÇs Jean Chabot and Rene Delfosse—now the chief suspects in the murder. There are complicating factors unknown to the police that have brought Maigret into his unaccustomed role, adding to the near- farcical confusion. Not one of Maigret's more brilliant triumphs but interesting for its penetrating character studies—especially of those teenagers in deep trouble.