Is Maigret an alcoholic? He does wonder at one point here if he’s drinking too much, though at least he’s not an angry drunk. He just gets sleepy.
So not an alcoholic, but someone who drinks a lot. Most of this is professionally related. “The upstanding citizens who protest against the number of bars are unaware that they are a godsend for the police.” A poisoned chalice, I’d call it, since given the number of glasses of beer, wine, liquors, and liqueurs that Maigret pounds back in these books, usually while he’s working, his liver must be thoroughly pickled.
His favourite beverage is something called a Calvados. I had to look this up, and found that it’s a cider brandy native to Normandy. It’s also the regimental drink of the military unit I was a member of in the reserves. This was news to me. Apparently the Canadians landing on the beaches on D-Day were handed out Calvados by the locals.
As Maigret heads to Normandy for this adventure it’s no surprise he gets a chance to knock back a few Calvados. Though he also smashes a bottle for effect at the end, an action he almost immediately regrets.
The set-up is familiar. There’s been a murder in a small town that looks like a picture postcard. Maigret admits he has “a childish hankering” for such places, even while being aware of “the other side of the coin.” The pretty houses are just like the nice clothes and good manners of the rich family he’s investigating, where all the members are living secret lives. Meanwhile, poor people end up being more collateral damage.
Overall I’d rate this as one of the best pure mysteries thus far. It’s a poisoning this time, and poisonings are fun because they’re a more thoughtful sort of crime. The killer has a plan that has to be unraveled, as it is here in a satisfying way. Minus what happens to that bottle of Calvados.
Alex Good 
Mmmm Calvados!
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You like it? I’d never even heard of it. But I’m no connoisseur when it comes to liquor.
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Ive been to Normandy a few times, so have sampled the odd glass, and it’s nice in cocktails.
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I wonder if it’s mostly a local favourite. I was just over visiting a few neighbours and asked if they’d tried it and none of them knew what it was. But then none of us are big drinkers.
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The official regimental drink of the Royal Canadian Hussars, and the Queens Own Rifles of Canada! There’s some somewhere abouts in your land!
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Must have kept that stuff in the officers’ mess. I never saw any of it!
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Were you a rifleman??
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Yes, it was a reserve unit based out of Toronto. Still is probably.
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Did you have a horsey too?
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No, no, no. You’re thinking of the Mounties. Maybe. Riflemen are infantry. And they march at a faster cadence than other infantry regiments.
I didn’t even have a horsey on the farm. Just cattle and big dogs.
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Cattle and big dogs are just as good as horses, farming is hard work though I think.
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Oh I definitely prefer dogs to horses!
Farming is a way of life. I think it’s actually far nicer work, and in a lot of ways easier, than most of what people do for a living. Though as a lifestyle it can be hard. But I don’t live on a farm anymore.
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Was it your own farm or you worked for someone? Blimey I sound nosy now so feel free to ignore me!
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My own. Or a family farm. I was the last one out though and lived there alone for the last eight years or so.
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Do you miss it?
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Parts of it. The good parts. Same things we all miss about the past. But it was impossible for me to stay there any longer and my time was done so there are no regrets about leaving.
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Having no regrets is always a good thing.Like Sinatra says/sings, I have a few but too few to mention! Happy days mon ami!
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