Friday, November 7, it is a dark windy night in Concarneau, a small fishing village in Brittany. All is quiet and everybody is asleep. The wine dealer is shot dead while returning home drunk. Jules Maigret, a detective from the police squad in Rennes, is called by the Mayor to solve the crime. He settles down in a hotel and discovers a set of strange characters. As more murders happen, the town is shaken by fear and witnesses the apparition of a mysterious yellow dog.

Le Chien jaune, published in 1931, is part of the long and prolific series of 75 novels dedicated to Inspector Maigret, the most famous French detective of all! With his own method, as personal as it is intuitive, the detective manages to solve enigmas and decipher mysteries.

Georges Simenon (1903-1989) is a prolific Belgian author who is considered as one of the best Francophone writers –by both his readers and fellow  writers– though long underestimated. He is celebrated for his simple and straightforward style, the ambiance and atmosphere of his novels, and his emphasis on his characters’ psychology.

We read this book in the fall of 2020.