Maigret’s Pipe by Georges Simenon
Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage) 
Simenon’s police inspector Maigret is best known from the 70 or so novels that are short enough to be read in an evening.
Lesser known are the short stories, though the quality of plot and action is as high as in the novels.
In Maigret’s Pipe, a collection of seventeen stories, Maigret solves murder cases in evocative surroundings in Paris, such as the Quai des Ortevres and neighborhood bistros and shops. Platform buses. Chestnut trees. Chic clothes.
What a wonderful place Paris must have been when these stories were set, from the late 1940s coming back to life after the occupation to the early 1960s when the authorities started forcing modern conveniences on Parisians.
Maigret also ends up in the provinces investigating cases of drowning, hanging, and knifing.
Well worth reading for those who like Simenon and mysteries set abroad.
These stories definitely have an appealing setting! I bet a collection of short stories would be a great way to introduce myself to this series; I wouldn’t know where to begin with the 70 some novels on the list lol. I’m not typically a mystery reader, but the reviews I’ve read here on the Blog have definitely whetted my appetite for the genre. Thanks for showcasing such interesting works!