Maigret and the Old People (Inspector Maigret) - Georges Simenon

''His artistry is supreme'' John Banville''He had seldom been so perplexed by human beings. Would a psychiatrist, a teacher or a novelist...have been better placed to understand characters who had suddenly materialized from another century?''Maigret is called to the home of Armand de Saint-Hilaire, a highly respected official who has been found shot dead in his study by his housekeeper. After interviewing everyone concerned Maigret is at a loss to the identity of the perpetrator until he comes across a series of letters from the past fifty years between the victim and a recently widowed woman. As Maigret uncovers the details behind the two''s relationship he gets closer to discovering the tragic truth behind the official''s demise.This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret in Society.''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories'' Guardian