The Yellow Dog is the fifth Inspector Maigret mystery Simenon wrote in 1931, yet remains fresh and puzzling today.
This was the first Maigret novel to be adapted to the big screen; Simenon worked on the screenplay and the film premiered in 1932.
In the port town of Concarneau in November, gale winds slam the boats in the harbour, and at 11pm there is not a light in the town, except the windows of the Admiral hotel. Monsieur Mostaguen, the local wine merchant, exits and shelters in a doorway to light his cigar. A shot rings out through the door, and the man falls to the gutter. Panicked neighbours gather - with attention he will live - as a yellow dog mills through the gathering crowd.
Inspector Maigret has been assigned to the mobile unit in Rennes and arrives the next day, with Inspector Leroy on his first case. In the hotel cafe, he meets the self proclaimed important men in town. Monsieur Le Pommeret (vice consul to Denmark but with really nothing to do), Jean Servieres (local news man), and Dr. Michoux (a doctor in name only, actually a land developer). The four men met every night in the cafe, served by the nondescript waitress Emma, who for finances or boredom, sleeps with them if they ask. No one has ever seen the dog before.
Inspector Maigret joins the men in their daily aperitif, but with glasses raised, Dr. Micoux notices discolouration - the Pernod has been poisioned! As the dog looks on all the alcohol is tested.
"Fear Reigns In Concarneau!" cries the French press as they arrive and taken over the hotel, eager for any scrap of the story. The next day, one of the men disappears, his blood soaked car found abandoned. Another is quickly poisoned with strychnine. The town deathly still with fear blames a travelling vagrant, but it seems someone is targeting these seemingly well-respected men, actually known as braggarts and blowhards.
Simenon does a great job of imbuing this mystery with stark tension and the chilly mood of a dark rainy night in seaside France. The town is closed, too frightened of the unknown, and the yellow dog which seems to appear with every misfortune.
Somehow, Maigret seems to have solved this puzzle from the start, but it is not one a reader could discern. He will explain it all at the end. A thoroughly solid read on par with the other Maigret's in the series, which are all recommended.
My other reviews for Georges Simenon:
1931 / Tradeback / 134 pages
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