“One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories.” —The Guardian Inspector Maigret takes a case from a lively old widow whose maid has been poisoned The inexplicable murder of the wealthy Valentine Besson’s maid leads the older woman to believe that she herself was the intended target. Inspector Maigret undertakes the investigation, meeting Mrs. Besson’s dysfunctional family and a cavalcade of suspects. As he delves into the case, Maigret must unravel a tangled web of family politics—and confront Valentine’s stepsons, who may be harboring dark secrets of their own.