A Man's Head is the most 'Parisian' of the Detective Chief Inspector Maigret mysteries I have read, with a majority taking place at a classic Montparnasse bistro. As always, there is a deliciously complex plot, seemingly without solution. Simenon wrote eleven Maigret crime novels in 1931, and this was one of the earliest.
The man in cell 11 of the Sante Prison High Surveillance unit is handed a note on the eve of his execution; his door will be left open, escape is possible. Joseph Heurtin, 27, claimed innocence of the murders he was sentenced for: one night in Saint-Cloud a rich American woman was killed in her mansion along with her maid. Heurtin had never been to Saint-Cloud before that night but left his fingerprints, footprints of his newly bought shoes, and handkerchief stained with blood. He did not know the woman, had no reason to kill her, and nothing was stolen. He had no alibi.
Maigret feels the man is indeed either innocent, or insane; Maigret organized the escape for him to see if the truth will be exposed, trying the patience of Magistrate Comeliau at his most inflexible. Despite being closely watched, Heurtin disappears. Now in the newspapers, all of Paris is on alert for the prisoner sentenced to death.
Coupole is an American bistro in Montparnasse heaving with forgeign customers. The kind of bar where the bartender knows your order, and friends from all four corners call over each other in a variety of languages. The Swedish blonde dining on appetizers, the Russian woman whose dress has been pressed too many times, the Czech man with long red hair nursing his coffee until closing, and the wealthy Americans William and Mrs. Crosby parking their nickel-plated car outside. Everyone knows William's wealth and generosity, and he is also the nephew and inheritor of the rich lady killed in Saint-Cloud - indeed he flashes around 100,000 francs. The Czech redhead is Jean Radek, who sees Maigret in the bar and begins to taunt him, saying he doesn't even know the correct questions to ask in solving the case (while Maigret observes outside the bar, the escapee intently watching Radek through the window).
Heurtin continues to escape the police on his way to perceived safety, William Crosby is surveilled but never leaves his suite of the George V, yet somehow his 100,000 francs end up in Radek's posession. Radek himself is so closely tailed by a detective they walk together and share drinks as they follow in Maigret's footsteps, Radek in continual commentary on how this case will never be solved by Maigret.
This mystery flows through Paris from the wealth of Mrs. Crosby in her ermine cape to the mud covered destitution of Heurtin, rejected even by his family.
The bar Coupole is the Parisian bistro you imagine, the streets of an international city like 1931 Paris a great backdrop to a truly puzzling mystery. This was the most enjoyable of the Maigret mysteries I have read. There are some surprising deaths which did not illuminate the solution to the mystery for me, I had to wait until Jean Radek opened his mouth one too many times, and Maigret laid out the solution for me.
Simenon is always recommended, and this was a highlight of the series for me.
A Man's Head was filmed in France in 1933.
1931 / Tradeback / 169 pages
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