{"product_id":"the-shadow-puppet-isbn-9780141394183","title":"The Shadow Puppet","description":"\u003cb\u003e“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA gripping domestic tragedy starring Inspector Maigret and set in Simenon’s very own neighborhood\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“One by one the lighted windows went dark. The silhouette of the dead man could still be seen through the frosted glass like a Chinese shadow puppet. A taxi pulled up. It wasn't the public prosecutor yet. A young woman crossed the courtyard with hurried steps, leaving a whiff of perfume in her wake.”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSummoned to the dimly-lit Place des Vosges one night, where he sees shadowy figures at apartment windows, Maigret uncovers a tragic story of desperate lives, unhappy families, addiction and a terrible, fatal greed.\u003cb\u003ePraise for Georges Simenon:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“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.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “The matchless French crime novelist.” —Adam Gopnik, \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals.” —\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov.” —William Faulkner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “An astute observer of human nature, writing in a spare and vivid style.” —Amor Towles\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I never read contemporary fiction–with one exception: the works of Simenon.” —T.S. Eliot\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “One of the most important writers of our century.” —Gabriel García Márquez\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A favorite writer of mine.” —Sigrid Nunez\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A great writer of detail, of atmosphere.” —Leïla Slimani\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Feels incredibly modern…A great writer.” —Ian Rankin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature.” —André Gide\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A supreme writer . . . Unforgettable vividness.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e (London)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Observer\u003c\/i\u003e (London)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Compelling, remorseless, brilliant.” —John Gray\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable—lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates.” —Muriel Spark\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it.” —Peter Ackroyd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century.” —John Banville\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Gem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend . . . he exposes secrets and crimes not by forensic wizardry, but by the melded powers of therapist, philosopher and confessor\" ―\u003ci\u003eTimes\u003c\/i\u003e (London)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Strangely comforting . . . so many lovely bistros from the Paris of mid-20th C. The corpses are incidental, it's the food that counts.\" ―Margaret Atwood\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"One of the greatest writers of the 20th century . . . no other writer can set up a scene as sharply and with such economy as Simenon does . . . the conjuring of a world, a place, a time, a set of characters - above all, an atmosphere.\" ―\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Gripping . . . richly rewarding . . . You'll quickly find yourself obsessing about his life as you tackle each mystery in turn.\" ―Stig Abell, \u003ci\u003eThe Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e (London)\u003cb\u003eGEORGES SIMENON \u003c\/b\u003e(1903–1989) was born in Liège, Belgium. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, he is a household name in continental Europe with a prolific output of more than four hundred novels and short stories.\u003cp\u003eGeorges Simenon\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e                    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e                                \u003cp\u003eTHE SHADOW PUPPET\u003c\/p\u003e                \u003cb\u003eTranslated by Ros Schwartz\u003c\/b\u003e                                                            \u003cb\u003ePENGUIN BOOKS\u003c\/b\u003e            \u003cp\u003ePublished by the Penguin Group\u003cbr\u003e Penguin                Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England\u003cbr\u003e Penguin Group                (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA\u003cbr\u003e Penguin Group                (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P                    2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)\u003cbr\u003e Penguin Ireland, 25                St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)\u003cbr\u003e                Penguin Group (Australia), 707 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3008, Australia                (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)\u003cbr\u003e Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11                Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India\u003cbr\u003e Penguin Group                (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson                New Zealand Ltd)\u003cbr\u003e Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, Block D, Rosebank                Office Park, 181 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North, Gauteng 2193, South Africa\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003ePenguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80                Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                www.penguin.com            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eFirst published in French as                    \u003ci\u003eL’ombre chinoise\u003c\/i\u003e by Fayard 1932\u003cbr\u003eThis translation first                published 2014\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eCopyright 1932 by Georges Simenon                Limited\u003cbr\u003eTranslation copyright © Ros Schwartz, 2014\u003cbr\u003eGEORGES SIMENON ®                Simenon.tm\u003cbr\u003eMAIGRET ® Georges Simenon Limited\u003cbr\u003eAll rights reserved\u003c\/p\u003e     \u003cp\u003e© Harry Gruyaert \/Magnum Photos\u003cbr\u003eFront cover design by Alceu Chiesorin Nunes\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eThe moral rights of the author and                translator have been asserted\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eTypeset by Palimpsest Book Production Ltd,                Falkirk, Stirlingshire\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eISBN: 978-0-698-18388-9\u003c\/p\u003e                                \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                Title Page            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                Copyright            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                About the Author            \u003c\/p\u003e                                    \u003cp\u003e                1. The Shadow Puppet            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                2. A Good Man            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                3. The Couple at Hôtel Pigalle            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                4. The Second-Floor Window            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                5. The Madwoman            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                6. A Raging Fever            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                7. The Three Women            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                8. The Home Nurse            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                9. The Man with the Pension            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                10. Identity Cards            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                11. The Drawing on the Wall            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                EXTRA: Chapter 1 from \u003ci\u003eThe Saint-Fiacre Affair\u003c\/i\u003e            \u003c\/p\u003e                                \u003cp\u003e                                PENGUIN CLASSICS            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cb\u003eTHE SHADOW PUPPET\u003c\/b\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘I love reading Simenon. He makes me think                of Chekhov’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                – William Faulkner            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘A truly wonderful                writer … marvellously readable – lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with                the world he creates’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                – Muriel Spark            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Few writers have ever conveyed with such                a sure touch, the bleakness of human life’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                – A. N. Wilson            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘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’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                – \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘A novelist who entered his fictional                world as if he were part of it’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                – Peter Ackroyd            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘The greatest of all, the most genuine                novelist we have had in literature’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                – André Gide            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Superb … The most addictive of                writers … A unique teller of tales’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                – \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘The mysteries of the human personality                are revealed in all their disconcerting complexity’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                – Anita Brookner            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘A writer who, more than any other crime                novelist, combined a high literary reputation with popular appeal’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                – P. D. James            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘A supreme                writer … Unforgettable vividness’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                – \u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003c\/i\u003e            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Compelling, remorseless,                brilliant’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                – John Gray            \u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Extraordinary masterpieces of the                twentieth century’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                – John Banville            \u003c\/p\u003e                                \u003cb\u003eABOUT THE                AUTHOR\u003c\/b\u003e            \u003cp\u003eGeorges Simenon was born on 12 February                1903 in Liège, Belgium, and died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had                lived for the latter part of his life. Between 1931 and 1972 he published                seventy-five novels and twenty-eight short stories featuring Inspector Maigret.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eSimenon always resisted identifying                himself with his famous literary character, but acknowledged that they shared an                important characteristic:\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e                \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy motto, to the extent that I have                    one, has been noted often enough, and I’ve always conformed to it.                    It’s the one I’ve given to old Maigret, who resembles me in certain                    points … ‘understand and judge not’.\u003c\/p\u003e                        \u003cp\u003ePenguin is publishing the entire series                of Maigret novels.\u003c\/p\u003e                                            \u003cp\u003e1. The Shadow Puppet\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eIt was ten p.m. The iron gates of the                public garden were locked and Place des Vosges was empty. Glistening tyre tracks on                the asphalt, the continuous play of the fountains, leafless trees and the regular                shapes of identical rooftops silhouetted against the sky.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eThere were few lights under the splendid                arcades encircling the square. Only three or four shops. Inspector Maigret could see                a family eating inside one of them, cluttered with beaded funeral wreaths.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eHe was trying to read the numbers above                the doors, but he had barely passed the wreath shop when a diminutive form stepped                out of the shadows.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Is it you I just                telephoned?’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eShe must have been watching out for a                long time. Despite the November cold, she had not slipped on a coat over her apron.                Her nose was red, her eyes anxious.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eLess than 400 metres away, on the corner                of Rue de Béarn, a uniformed police officer stood guard.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Didn’t you inform                him?’ grumbled Maigret.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘No! Because of Madame de                Saint-Marc, who’s about to give birth … Oh look! There’s the                doctor’s car, he was asked to come straight away.’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eThere were three cars drawn up alongside                the pavement, headlamps on, red rear lights. The sky, with its drifting clouds against a moonlit backdrop, had an                ambiguous paleness. It felt as if the first snows were in the air.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eThe concierge turned under the archway                at the building’s entrance, from which hung a twenty-five-candlepower bulb                covered in a film of dust.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Let me explain. This is the                courtyard – you have to cross it to get to all parts of the building, except for the                two shops. This is my lodge on the left. Take no notice, I didn’t have time to                put the children to bed.’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eThere were two of them, a boy and a                girl, in the untidy kitchen. But the concierge didn’t go inside. She pointed                to a long building, at the far end of the vast and beautifully proportioned                courtyard.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘It’s there. You’ll                see.’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eMaigret was intrigued by this curious                little woman, whose restless hands betrayed her febrility.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘There’s someone on the                phone asking for a detective chief inspector!’ he had been told earlier at                Quai des Orfèvres.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eThe voice on the other end was muffled.                Several times he had repeated, ‘Please speak up, I can’t hear                you.’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘I can’t. I’m calling                you from the tobacconist’s. So—’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eAnd a garbled message followed.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘You must come to 61, Place des                Vosges right away … Yes … I think it’s a murder, but                don’t tell anyone yet!’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eAnd now the concierge was pointing at                the tall first-floor windows. Behind the curtains, shadows could be seen coming and                going.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘It’s up there.’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e ‘The                murder?’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘No! Madame de Saint-Marc                who’s giving birth … Her first … She’s not very                strong. You understand?’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eAnd the courtyard was even darker than                Place des Vosges. It was illuminated by a single lamp on the wall. A staircase could                just be made out on the other side of a glazed door, and there was the occasional                lighted window.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘What about the murder?’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘I’m coming to that!                Couchet’s workers left at six o’clock—’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Wait a moment. What is                Couchet?’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘The building at the far end. A                laboratory where they make serums. You must have heard of Doctor Rivière’s                Serums.’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘And that lighted                window?’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Wait. Today’s the 30th, so                Monsieur Couchet was there. He’s in the habit of staying behind on his own                after the offices have closed. I saw him through the window, sitting in his                armchair. Look—’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eA window with frosted-glass panes. A                strange shadow, like that of a man slumped forward on his desk.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Is that him?’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Yes. Around eight o’clock,                when I was emptying my rubbish bin, I glanced over in that direction. He was                writing. You could clearly see the penholder or pencil in his hand.’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘What time did the                murder—’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Just a minute! I went upstairs to                see how Madame de Saint-Marc was doing. I glanced over again when I came back down,                and there he was, as he is now. Actually I thought he’d dozed off.’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003eMaigret was                beginning to lose patience.\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Then, fifteen minutes                later—’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Yes! He was still in the same                position! Get to the point.’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘That’s all. I decided to                check. I knocked on the office door. There was no answer so I went in. He’s                dead. There’s blood everywhere.’\u003c\/p\u003e            \u003cp\u003e‘Why didn’t you go to the                police? The police station is round the corner, in Rue de Béarn.’\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301226729701,"sku":"NP9780141394183","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780141394183_e45644d7-35a8-4f52-a57c-6db52051d9bd.jpg?v=1742923501","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-shadow-puppet-isbn-9780141394183","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}