The Saint-Fiacre Affair (Inspector Maigret)

By: Georges Simenon, Shaun Whiteside - translator

Narrated by: James Faulkner

An evocative tale from Georges Simenon that unearths the inspector’s past: Maigret finds an anonymous note predicting a crime in his hometown.

I wish to inform you that a crime will be committed at the church of Saint-Fiacre during first mass on All Souls’ Day.

This handwritten note is deposited at the headquarters of the Police Judiciaire in Paris. Maigret sets off for the village, having been there last for his father’s funeral.

As bleary-eyed people depart the All Souls’ service, Maigret thinks the note must be wrong—until the motionless Countess of Saint-Fiacre, upon closer look, is found dead in her pew. Who is responsible for the crime? Could it be the countess’s young secretary and alleged lover, the tight-lipped priest, the profligate Count of Saint-Fiacre, or the new estate manager? Though inundated with troubling memories from his past, Maigret remains steadfast in his hunt for the truth behind this sinister turn of events.

Posh Brit Narrator

Listeners how have a choice between two narrators of the same novels.

Gareth Armstrong read the audiobook series praised by the London Review of Books.

James Faulkner is a marvelous reader, but is Maigret a posh Brit? Not if you read this story, or know Maigret's past from other stories.

For what it's worth, I feel Gareth Armstrong does a far better job of faithfully bringing Maigret to an English-speaking audience.

The choice of James Faulkner turns Maigret into Miss Marple or some other posh Brit detective.