The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin (Inspector Maigret Book 10) Kindle Edition

Adele, the dancer at a seedy nightclub in Liège, but she emanates the mood of the story – a kind of pathetic dissipation mixed with boredom.Actually there are very few characters – the proprietor of the club, the waiter, two teenage boys who hang out at the club, Adele the dancer, and a rich Greek who wanders into the club and gets himself murdered. This book demonstrates how much mood and drama Simenon can create with a small cast of characters.There are plenty of cops, though! They smoke a lot and talk mostly about their pipes, which is amusing. They are not imaginative crime solvers. Maigret doesn't show up in Liège until halfway through the book, and why he's there at all is a bit of a mystery.I think the translation must be good because the tone of the prose perfectly captures the astonishment of Maigret at the foolishness of young men, and the folly of their elders who should know better. And the ambience of Europe in the jazz age is palpable.This is not my favorite Maigret mystery, but every adventure of the inspector is worth reading. Simenon's writing is always delicious, and the dialog is rich in subtle humor. I enjoyed Maigret's quirky views on human nature and his leaps of deduction. Also, Maigret shows himself to be rather good at fending off blows and teaching aggressors their manners. It's always fun to see how fast the bulky inspector can move.

How unusual this Maigret mystery is! "The Dancer at the Gai Moulin" takes place not in Paris but rather in Liege, Belgium, birthplace of the author Georges Simenon. Further it trains a spotlight, both at the beginning and end of the novel, on the shiftless lives of two teenagers whose penchant for petty thieving and attraction to a seedy nightclub draw them into a murder investigation. Most other police procedurals featuring Jules Maigret of the Paris Police Judiciare instead focus more exclusively on a careful reconstruction of the victim's life, with the seeds of the fatal crime to be found in that past. Originally published in 1931, "The Dancer at the Gai Moulin" reflects the disruptions and disorientation that the Europeans suffered after the First World War. This may indeed be the jazz age-- explaining in part the temptations facing the two teenagers--but it is also a period of psychological alienation.Regarding the murder itself, a focus on solving it begins only in chapter four and the explicit introduction of Maigret into the local police mix awaits chapter 6. To be frank, by this time some readers, including Maigret aficionados, may well have lost interest. As the book nears its denouement, the rationale for this structure becomes clear. However, at the same time the complexity of the crime is tortured. Written early in Simenon's career as a novelist, "The Dancer at the Gai Moulin" reminded me in this regard of "The Late Monsieur Gallet" in that Simenon, who would later perfect his storytelling skills, had not yet fully found his footing.

Interesting story, some Paris history included with well-drawn characters and a good plot. I am half-way through the book and still waiting for Commissaire Maigret! The book version is very different from the show if you are familiar with the original French murder mystery series starring Bruno Cremer. Simenon was a prolific writer, hope to read more books in this series.

I saw a few films made from the author's books.Plan to buy all of his books as soon as I can.

Maigret's tale and the story's relationships are simply timeless

Once you start reading the Maigret's, it's hard to stop. Always lovely.This one plays with your expectations of where and when Maigret should enter a narrative - so maybe don't read it as your first one!

The plot got pretty far-fetched at the end, but I enjoyed the story before that. I especially liked the tale of the two teenaged boys as they blundered deeper into trouble.

I really liked this book. Of course I like the whole series. It came ahead of schedule and was in very good condition. Thanks!

The first thing to know about this book is that it is set in Liege in Belgium, Simenon’s home country. Maigret appears late in the book, having followed the murder victim from Paris. The lead character is not really Maigret but two young men - one nasty, one nice - who are accused of murdering the victim. The story involves Maigret adopting a disguise, firing a shot in a police station and coming to conclusions based on sudden insights rather than the dogged investigative work he normally does when in Paris. In short, it’s not a usual Maigret novel and all the worse for that. I suspect (a) Simenon tried something radical and it didn’t work or (b) he sub let the writing process to someone else. Either way, it stays at the bottom end of the Maigret canon.

Another of the early Maigret's that actually doesn't feature Simenon's famous detective in a central role until around chapter seven. The story focuses on the characters at the Gai Moulin club: Adele the dancer, a couple of juveniles flirting with the thrill of crime, and a mysterious visitor to the club who becomes the catalyst for all that unfolds. In 150 pages Simenon tells, through a deceptively simple style, a layered and insightful story of the human condition. As a writer, he is the complete opposite of many of today's practitioners. Where they pad empty and unconvincing stories with bloated prose and complex subplots, Simenon pares it back and allows the reader the space to make some of the connections. Recommended.

As a long-time Maigret fan I found this book very disappointing. It's a good story, but it isn't truly a Maigret story, Maigret is hardly in the first half as an effective character, he's just an observer, and then he behaves in a quite atypical fashion, for example tampering with the evidence which I'm sure he would never get away with, especially as it takes place in Belgium. If you're new to Maigret I couldn't recommend this title as your first read, although as I said it is a good story and worth reading from that point of view.

Moves along snappily if improbably at times when lawyers for both defence and prosecution may question Maigret's unique methods of detection.

Up to his usual standards great plot and finale. Classic French detective story, with Belgian connections. Great read as usual.