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Dec 2018
3:56pm, 8 Dec 2018
32,744 posts
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Diogenes
*puffs knowingly on pipe*
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Dec 2018
6:40pm, 14 Dec 2018
16,904 posts
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Columba
I haven't read any Maigret, so this was a new departure. Funnily enough, of the three stories the Maigret one was the one I liked least. Couldn't seem to get into it. I liked the second one, lovely feel-good ending after a lot of cliff-hanging, just right for Christmas. Also the third one about Long Tall Jeanne (a tart with a golden heart)
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Dec 2018
6:49pm, 14 Dec 2018
32,979 posts
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Diogenes
Same reaction as me, Columba.
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Dec 2018
3:29pm, 20 Dec 2018
37,478 posts
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McGoohan
Alors. D'accord. On commence.
I was surprised that only the first one was 'a Maigret' but on retrospect I can see why they were jammed together - Parisian crime at Christmas? Allons-y!
I really enjoyed the first one: I've read a few Maigret novels - though they're all more like novellas - and they're never pulse-pounding thrillers, more thoughtful and considered. This one was particularly good. It's not just a crime story, it's an insight into various people's lives, and particularly Mme & M. Maigret. There's this tension and sorrow in their relationship you don't get in thrillers four, five, six times as long.
Second story. Thought this was excellently tense. Almost like a radio play. Largely in one location with the case getting more and more personal as facts come in. You get the slow reveals as the police do as well.
Third story. This had a weird extra dimension for me. I spent my summer holidays this year in the very places the two female protagonists are from (Fecamp, Yport) which merant I got the Benedictine reference (it's made in a former Abbey in Fecamp). Er... I quite enjoyed the story too.
Very much enjoyed this book. 8/10.
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Dec 2018
7:46am, 24 Dec 2018
37,534 posts
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McGoohan
Attention! Mes amis!
A Maigret Christmas is on R4 today at 12:04pm, repeated later in the evening, 10:45pm. Then at the same time each day this week. Read by Derek Jacobi. It'll also be on R4Extra as well. Probably on iPlayer too I would hope.
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Dec 2018
7:50am, 24 Dec 2018
25,011 posts
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DingDongMerrilyDaisy
Oh good, thanks McG. I've only just discovered that the Book at Bedtime is a repeat of the midday broadcast. I wish it was the other way round, ie they repeat Monday night's on Tuesday, because I do sometimes fall asleep listening to the night-time broadcast
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Dec 2018
9:08pm, 28 Dec 2018
25,719 posts
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LindsD
I'm not sure how I felt about these. I found the first one almost unbearably sad, and also a bit complicated. The bloke that was murdered just appeared from nowhere, it seemed. The next one was really stressful to read, but a nice ending, and the last one was also very sad, and a bit difficult to read. The protagonist clearly hated herself and the woman she was 'saving'. The blokes were almost uniformly awful.
I can't say I enjoyed them, though they were quite well-written/translated, and the fact that they provoked such strong feelings must say something, I suppose.
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Dec 2018
9:08pm, 28 Dec 2018
25,720 posts
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LindsD
I've given it a 6 - it was hard to decide what mark to give it.
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Dec 2018
8:56am, 29 Dec 2018
109,952 posts
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GregP
My thoughts before I read back:
Enjoyable enough, but mostly forgettable. The obvious topknot of melancholy was underpinned with a surprising level of nastiness. There was also an alarming obsession with black pudding. 7 out of 10.
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Dec 2018
9:01am, 29 Dec 2018
109,953 posts
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GregP
Reading back I agree with Diode almost entirely. Mr & Mrs Maigret were the best thing about it all.
I've some experience of a modern police control room, so the second story was a fascinating period piece for me. All three would probably work as stage plays.
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The Mistletoe Murder - Book Group Discussion Thread
Jan 2018