Maigret review – Gérard Depardieu impresses as the never-more-glum gumshoe
Even Paris wears a moth-eaten quality in Patrice Leconte’s world-weary tale of the famous cop on the trail of a girl’s killer
August 2023
Maigret review – Gérard Depardieu is a charismatic version of Simenon’s detective
The actor doesn’t move much but brings off the Parisian copper’s air of worldly, tolerant bemusement
February 2020
Reading group
Georges Simenon webchat – his son John on his daily habits, favourite books and future adaptations
Reading group
'The most boring part': why the killer didn't matter to Georges Simenon
Reading group
The Snow Was Dirty is bleak and uncomfortable - but it's also a masterpiece
Reading group
Taking Maigret's first case in for questioning
January 2020
Reading group
Reading group: which Georges Simenon book should we read in February?
Put that in your pipe: why the Maigret novels are still worth savouring
December 2018
Book of the day
The Krull House by Georges Simenon review – a dark masterpiece
Turbulence by David Szalay review – stark tales of life in flux
March 2018
Books that made me
Hanif Kureishi: ‘I haven’t read anything by Jane Austen. My shame is big’
The author on the underrated Georges Simenon, re-reading Jean Rhys and laughing at PG Wodehouse
November 2017
Book of the day
The Accident on the A35 by Graeme Macrae Burnet review – games within games
A Simenon-style story from the Booker-shortlisted trickster recreates a France of francs and call boxes
October 2016
The Red Barn review – David Hare turns Simenon's stormy tale into a film noir
Hare’s adaptation of 1968 novel La Main features subtle performances from Mark Strong and Elizabeth Debicki, but the cinematic design upstages the drama
September 2016
David Hare: the genius of Georges Simenon
Observer New Review Q&A
Mathieu Amalric: ‘Cinema has a way of transforming itself’
May 2016
‘Unknown’ French author’s noir crime novels set for UK
Maigret author Georges Simenon and Frédéric Dard were friends. Will Dard now emulate his success?
April 2016
Pipe dreams: on the trail of Maigret’s Paris
Observer TV reviews
The week in TV: Maigret Sets a Trap; The Island With Bear Grylls; Murdered By My Father; The Night Manager - review
March 2016
Lucy’s Franglais demolition of Maigret puts film noir in the dark
Inspecting Maigret: Rowan Atkinson puts on his thinking hat
