Mystery Review: Maigret's Failure is an example of a detective novel in which nothing much happens. Assigned to investigate death threats received by a wealthy meat merchant, the detective shows little interest. Later, although he may have bungled the case, Maigret isn't sure that he wants to resolve the crime, doesn't care if the murderer is caught. Not the best attitude for a detective. In the other case, it's uncertain whether a law was even broken, and the incident goes cold. Maigret doesn't solve either of the unrelated cases (see title) despite no amazing machinations by the individuals involved. Time and happenstance resolve both cases in the end, with no help from our hero. In the end the newspapers may scream, but Maigret doesn't mind his failures. More interesting is that in Maigret's Failure we learn more about his early life, how he was bullied by the murder victim as a child, how he grew up, his father's job. Despite being short and a quick read, Simenon's talent is to make the book seem like it's more than twice the length, both in terms of story and depth. On the other hand, none of the Maigret novels I've read so far stand out as exceptional or much above the norm. Maigret's Failure is number 49 (of 75) in the canon. [3★]
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