Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon

Detective Chief Inspector Maigret of the flying squad received a series of telegrams from the International Police Commission (IPC) which was based in Vienna. The IPC was an organization which tried to stop those who were engaged in organized crime in Europe. These telegrams informed him that Pietr the Latvian was headed for Paris.  Maigret had also received a very detailed description of Pietr the Latvian, and Margret knew that he would recognize him . Maigret also knew that Pietr was in car 5 of the train which would arrive at the Gare du Nord, and Maigret went to the station to watch him arrive. Maigret easily recognized him from the description. A very well dressed Pietr was leaving the station for one of the most expensive hotels in Paris and was being followed by three porters with his luggage. At exactly the same moment, a cry of murder came from the train carriage. Maigret found the body of a man in the restroom of car 5 who exactly matched the description of Pietr the Latvian.

Maigret would also find two other manifestations of Pietr as his investigation continued. One was a disreputable alcoholic named Fyodor Yurevich who was living with a Jewish woman in a dismal room in Paris. The other was found by tracing a photograph cover found in the pocket of the dead Pietr. This led Maigret to the village of Fecamp where he found a Mrs. Swaan who stated that her husband (who also appeared to be Pietr) was the first mate on a ship.

 Maigret found that the well dressed Pietr was engaged in some kind of business deal with a very wealthy American businessman named Mr. Mortimer-Levingston. Surveillance of Pietr in the hotel led to a shooting and the death of a policeman for which Maigret felt responsible.

Maigret is a man who enjoys the confort and warmth of the big cast iron stove in his office. This investigation seems mainly to be conducted in the cold, rain, and mud. He was shot in the coarse of the investigation, and carried on with very little medical attention. He eventually found the solution to the various personalities, pseudonyms, and murders involved in this story. Maigret follows his hunches and follows people who will eventually provide an explanation of what is going on.

This book was written in 1929. There is a mention of the political situation in the Baltic, of the communists in this area, of the various ethnic groups in regions where national boundaries do not match ethnic differences.  There are several antisemitic statements in the book.

This is the first of the series of seventy five Maigret novels. It was translated by David Bellos, and the edition which I read is the first in the series of Maigret novels which Penguin is currently publishing. It was a very readable book, very dark, and the problem of determining the identities of the various Pietrs does keep the reader going.