Un meurtre de première classe

On a train to Paris a first-class passenger slumps over dead into the lap of a young woman. He's been murdered (oh so subtly) at the Jeumont stop. Maigret's nephew, a police detective, calls his uncle and asks for his help. Maigret obliges and soon arrives to find that, under orders from his nephew, the two first-class cars have been decoupled from the train and both the first-class cars and the first-class passengers are held at the station. The train, without them, then continues on to Paris.

This episode is based on a Maigret short story (Jeumont, 51 minutes d'arret), one that I don't think has been translated into English. (I don't have it, nor could I find it.) My guess is, Simenon wished to write something akin to Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express." Christies' story is set in winter with a snow drift blocking the train from proceeding; whereas Simenon's is set in the summer and certain train cars are pulled from the train and isolated.

I enjoyed meeting the characters--suspects, really--and getting glimpses into their lives. Two traveling businessmen are ready to help an elderly woman, a boy plays around the trains, a man and woman fall in love, . . . All the while Maigret moves closer and closer to what happened. As for the conclusion, it is reasonable and Maigret's reasoning is solid.