Most of the classic murder mysteries involve our indefatigable sleuth hard at work to put someone behind bars. Seldom do you have a scenario where the Chief Inspector convicts a man of murder and then helps him escape death row in a daring attempt to uncover the identity of the real killer. And the truth.

The true killer thinks he’s a criminal mastermind . . . but he doesn’t account for the tenacity of Detective Chief Inspector Maigret.

A Man’s Head (1931) by Georges Simenon begins when Joseph Heurtin—who awaits his fate on death row—escapes out of the High Surveillance wing of an infamous Paris prison. As he moves toward freedom, Heurtin is being watched by Inspector Maigret, the detective who convicted him of the murders of Madame Henderson and her maid. Maigret has come to believe that he convicted the wrong man and the Chief Inspector devises a plot, much to the consternation of his superiors, to uncover the truth. Along the way, through twists and turns, Maigret realizes he has to contend with a criminal mastermind who has nothing to lose and believes he is the smartest person in the room.

A Man’s Head is the fifth book in the Inspector Maigret series written in a year when the prolific author produced the first ten installments. Apparently he would complete a work in 10-11 days, writing as a New York Times article notes with “simplicity and economy.”

“An Inspector Maigret mystery is like a shot of good liquor: sharp, tasty stuff that delivers a sock to the senses when you swallow it in a single gulp.”

I found A Man’s Head to be a satisfying shot. As a PBS article notes, Inspector Maigret transformed detective fiction when it was first introduced, toppling detective tropes, addressing real social issues, and using Paris as a character. The New Yorker wrote that Maigret is “a man of moral restraint who practices the art of listening, not interrogating,” and that is very evident in this book. Maigret seems to know that by simply being present and listening, the real murderer will eventually tell his story.

And he does.

More to come . . .

DJB