Set in La Rochelle, Simenon creates an oppressive, brooding atmosphere as we see a town frightened by a series of murders of elderly women. The whole book is written from the point of view of the respectable hatter Léon Labbé, who from early on is established as the murderer. His motives emerge gradually, as we get a remarkable portrait of a mind at first arrogant and assured but which begins to come apart at the psychological seams. It is a dark and enveloping book; even though I’m not wholly convinced by Simenon’s psychology at times, I found it gripping and involving. As always, he creates an excellent sense of place and character, and introduces real tension as a conflicted Labbé flirts with exposure.
This new translation by Howard Curtis is excellent. Curtis manages to preserve the atmosphere of the original, but introduces the occasional word like “loser” which may not have been in general use as Simenon wrote the book, but whose dismissiveness and modern associations perfectly convey the arrogance of Labbé. I found the prose a pleasure to read.
This is a dark, haunting book. I haven’t always got on well with Simenon’s non-Maigret books, but this was very good and I ca recommend it.
(My thanks to Penguin for an ARC via NetGalley.)
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