Showing results by narrator "Gareth Armstrong" in All Categories

Maigret finds himself back on the Rue des Acacias just 10 days after cracking another case there. This time it is the murder of a criminal Maigret has known for over 20 years and one he always suspected was behind a string of jewellery robberies in the city. Maigret's patience is tested as he eliminates neighbour by neighbour in his hunt for the murderer.

'Past acquaintances resurface in the sun-drenched south of France in this new translation.' The palm trees around the railway station were motionless, fixed in a Saharan sun.... It really felt as if they were stepping into another world, and they were embarrassed to be entering it in the dark clothes that had been suited to the rainy streets of Paris the evening before.

When a school teacher from a small coastal town near La Rochelle asks Maigret to help prove he is innocent of murder, the Inspector returns with him to his insular community and finds the residents closing ranks to conceal the truth.

A solitary tent is found to contain the body of a half-buried woman. She’s been stoned to death. There are lash marks across her back. One of her hands has been cut off. Two years earlier Internet reporter Henning Juul lost his son, Jonas, in a domestic fire. As he returns to work, physically and emotionally scarred, Henning struggles to escape this past and to be taken seriously again as a reporter.

Dark Echo is an unlucky boat. Despite this knowledge, Martin Stannard falls under her spell and prepares to sail her across the Atlantic with his father. But his lover, Suzanne, is uneasy and begins exploring the yacht's past. What she finds is terrifying. Dark Echo isn't just unlucky, it's evil. It was built for Harry Spalding, a soldier and sorcerer who committed suicide yet still casts his malevolent spell nearly a century after his death.

The sixth Inspector Ben Ross mystery. On a cold November night in a Deptford yard, dock worker Harry Parker stumbles upon the body of a dead woman. Inspector Ben Ross is summoned from Scotland Yard to this insalubrious part of town, but no witness to the murder of this well-dressed middle-aged woman can be found. Even Jeb Fisher, the local rag-and-bone man, swears he's seen nothing.

Maigret stumbles upon a series of murders in Fontenay-le-Comte while visiting an old school friend. On his way home from a conference, Maigret stops to visit an old school friend in Fontenay-le-Comte. A man in the same train car introduces himself and asks if Maigret has come to help solve the murder case. In fact, the man's brother-in-law had been murdered four days earlier, followed by the murder of a local widow in the same way, a blow to the head with a pipe.

At what point in the day could the note have been slipped into his pocket, his left breast pocket? It was an ordinary sheet of glazed squared paper, probably torn out of an exercise book. The words were written in pencil, in a regular handwriting that looked to him like a woman's. For pity's sake, ask to see the patient in room 15. When Inspector Maigret's wife falls ill on their seaside holiday, a visit to the hospital leads him on an unexpected quest to find justice for a young girl.

A new translation of this gripping novel which sees the inspector brought out of his peaceful retirement. Maigret shrugged his shoulders, buried his hands in his pockets and went off without answering. He had just spent one of the most wretched days in his life. For hours, in his corner he had felt old and feeble, without idea or incentive. But now a tiny flame flickered. 'You bet we'll see' he growled.

A new translation of this moving novel about the destructive power of greed. Poor Cécile! And yet she was still young. Maigret had seen her papers: barely 28 years old. But it would be difficult to look more like an old maid, to move less gracefully, in spite of the care she took to be friendly and pleasant. Those black dresses that she must make for herself from bad paper patterns, that ridiculous green hat!

When a public tragedy threatens to expose a scandal within the Paris government, the Minister of Public Works calls in a favour to Maigret. A public project has collapsed and resulted in the death of 128 children after a report warning officials about the unsafe structure was disregarded. Now, that report has resurfaced, along with allegations that several politicians and contractors involved with the project may have suppressed its findings to avoid a scandal.

A visit from the tall, thin woman he arrested many years ago - now married to a hapless burglar - leads Maigret on a tortuous investigation in which he struggles with a formidable suspect. This novel has been published in previous translations as Maigret and the Burglar's Wife.'

August, 1098. After countless battles and sieges, the surviving soldiers of the First Crusade are at last within reach of their ultimate goal: Jerusalem. But rivalries fester, and new enemies are amassing against them in the Holy Land. Demetrios Askiates, the Emperor's spy, has had enough of the Crusade's violence and hypocrisy. But when a routine diplomatic mission leads to a deadly ambush, he realises he has been snared in the vast power struggles which underlie the Crusade.

Renowned as one of the finest duellists the galaxy has ever known, Lucius seeks ever greater challenges against which to test himself. After the Emperor's Children Legion scattered in the wake of their primarch's apotheosis on Iydris, he finds his way into the domain of a similarly legendary swordsman - Sanakht of the Thousand Sons. But which of these infamous warriors carries the greater favour amongst their new masters?

A young cabaret dancer in a black silk dress leads Maigret into a seamy world of nightclubs, drug addiction and exploitation on the streets of Montmartre. 'He opened the door for her and watched her walk away down the huge corridor, then hesitate at the top of the stairs. Heads turned as she passed. You sensed she came from a different world, the world of the night, and there was something almost indecent about her in the harsh light of a winter's day.'

Meet Gerard, the guinea pig detective. Whenever there’s a crime in town, all the pets and street animals can rely on him. He is known, however, to have a very sweet tooth, and only investigates a case when given a delicious treat. Together with Gerard, find out who snatched the cat’s breakfast, investigate the darkest streets in town, and discover the identity of the mysterious monster who scares all the pets.

As war continues to ravage the galaxy, the new Age of Darkness sees whole systems simply lost and countless battles forgotten. Surely there can be no hope for peace, forgiveness or respite in such times, and all that will be left are the dying warp-echoes of supreme galactic ruin....

Ernest Malik had been right when he had looked at Maigret with a smile that was a mixture of sarcasm and contempt. This wasn't a case for him. He was out of his depth. This world was unfamiliar to him, and he had difficulty piecing it all together. Peacefully tending his garden in the countryside, Maigret is called upon to investigate a rich family with skeletons in their cupboard - and finds himself confronted by lies, snobbery and malice.

For over six decades, Queen Victoria ruled a great empire. Beside her for more than 20 of those years was her beloved husband and the father of their nine children, Prince Albert. A composer, engineer, soldier, politician, linguist and bibliophile, Albert was one of the architects of Victorian Britain's transformation as a centre of political, technological, scientific and intellectual advancement. Albert lived only 42 years but fathered four royal dynasties and helped pioneer the modern constitutional monarchy.

He needed to get out of his office, soak up the atmosphere and discover different worlds with each new investigation. He needed the cafés and bars where he so often ended up waiting, at the counter, drinking a beer or a calvados depending on the circumstances. He needed to do battle patiently in his office with a suspect who refused to talk and sometimes, after hours and hours, he'd obtain a dramatic confession. In Simenon's final novel featuring Inspector Maigret, the famous detective reaches a pivotal moment in his career.