Georges Simenon
Maigret, Lognon and the gangsters
‘You’re a good soul, inspector, and when you’re up against the second-rate criminals you get here in Paris, you’re a crack policeman. But this business isn’t for you. These guys play rough and they may hurt you. Just drop it! What concern is it of yours, anyway?’ When Maigret learns that his hapless colleague Inspector Lognon is being menaced by some notorious American mobsters, he makes it his mission to bring them to justice – despite threatening warnings that he is out of his depth.
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The black country
En Anglais – When members of a prominent family disappear from a coal-mining village—and a human eyeball is discovered in a bird’s nest—the local constable sends for help from Scotland Yard’s new Murder Squad. Fresh off the grisly 1889 murders of The Yard, Inspector Walter Day and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith respond, but they have no idea what they’re about to get into. The villagers have intense, intertwined histories. Everybody bears a secret. Superstitions abound. And the village itself is slowly sinking into the mines beneath it. Not even the arrival of forensics pioneer Dr. Bernard Kingsley seems to help. In fact, the more the three of them investigate, the more they realize they may never be allowed to leave . . . .
The Supernaturalist
En Anglais – In the future, in a place called Satelite City, fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill enters the world, unwanted by his parents. He's sent to the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys, Freight class. At Clarissa Frayne, the boys are put to work by the state, testing highly dangerous products. At the end of most days, they are covered with burns, bruises, and sores. Cosmo realizes that if he doesn't escape, he will die at this so-called orphanage. When the moment finally comes, Cosmo seizes his chance and breaks out with the help of the Supernaturalists, a motley crew of kids who all have the same special ability as Cosmo-they can see supernatural Parasites, creatures that feed on the life force of humans. The Supernaturalists patrol the city at night, hunting the Parasites in hopes of saving what's left of humanity in Satellite City. Or so they think.
Adam Runaway
En Anglais – « It is 1721 and young Adam Hanaway, devastated by his father’s sudden death, leaves England to seek his fortune in Lisbon, where his uncle is a successful merchant. But almost nothing turns out as Adam planned. His family’s welcome is cool, and Adam’s rise to the top is thwarted by Bartolomeu Gomes, his uncle’s treacherous clerk. » « As Adam attempts to overcome these obstacles he is handicapped by a certain personal trait. Not, he insists, that he is a coward exactly, but he is inclined to boldly put himself in dangerous situations and then at the last minute run away from them – hence the nickname given to him by friends who had observed this failing once too often. » « While Adam’s mother and sisters wait in England for him to rescue them from poverty, Adam is preoccupied with more compelling women: the beautiful, older half-Portuguese lady Maria Beatriz Hutchinson; the spoiled, rich Gabriella Lowther; and his charming young cousin Nancy. But Adam commits a social faux pas so severe he forever ruins his chances for making a good match – yet no one dares tell him what he has done wrong! » « Adam certainly has a lot to learn. …
La chambre bleue
Policiers, juge et psychiatre cherchent à comprendre l’étrange comportement de Tony Falcone, après la mort de Nicolas, le mari de sa maîtresse. Ancien ouvrier, fils d’immigré italien à la tête d’une petite entreprise de vente de tracteurs et de machines agricoles, Tony est marié à Gisèle et père d’une petite Marianne. Mais il vivait en secret, il y a quelques mois encore, une relation amoureuse avec Andrée. Etait-il amoureux d’elle ? Il ne peut aujourd’hui l’affirmer. Ses jeudis après-midi, dans la chambre bleue de l’hôtel, dont son frère Vincent est le propriétaire, étaient bercés de « je t’aime » auxquels, il ne savait quoi répondre. Andrée et lui « formaient un tout avec leur corps, leur salive, leur sueur ». Des promesses étaient effleurées et surtout des questions restaient sans réponse : « Dis moi, Tony, si je devenais libre ? Tu te rendrais libre aussi ? » À la mort suspecte de Nicolas, Tony est brusquement parti avec sa famille et affirme aujourd’hui, à ceux qui l’interrogent n’avoir jamais reçu les lettres qu’Andrée lui adressait. « Tout va bien », écrivait-elle. Tony sait que, même innocent, il est coupable. Et les jurés s’apprêtent à le condamner. Henry Miller écrivait à propos de Simenon : « Je ne pensais pas qu’il était possible d’être à la fois aussi populaire et aussi bon. »