The Shadow Puppet

“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré

A gripping domestic tragedy starring Inspector Maigret and set in Simenon’s very own neighborhood

“One by one the lighted windows went dark. The silhouette of the dead man could still be seen through the frosted glass like a Chinese shadow puppet. A taxi pulled up. It wasn't the public prosecutor yet. A young woman crossed the courtyard with hurried steps, leaving a whiff of perfume in her wake.”

Summoned to the dimly-lit Place des Vosges one night, where he sees shadowy figures at apartment windows, Maigret uncovers a tragic story of desperate lives, unhappy families, addiction and a terrible, fatal greed.

GEORGES SIMENON (1903–1989) was born in Liège, Belgium. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, he is a household name in continental Europe with a prolific output of more than four hundred novels and short stories.