The Two-penny Bar

A story told by a condemned man leads Maigret to a bar by the Seine and into the sleazy underside of respectable Parisian life. In the oppressive heat of summer, a forgotten crime comes to light. ''The father of contemporary European detective fiction'' Ann Cleeves ''A radiant late afternoon. The sunshine almost as thick as syrup in the quiet streets of the Left Bank . . there are days like this, when ordinary life seems heightened, when the people walking down the street, thetrams and cars all seem to exist in a fairy tale. ''A story told by a condemned man leads Maigret to a bar by the Seine and into the sleazy underside of respectable Parisian life. In the oppressive heat of summer, a forgotten crime comes to light. Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel is a revised translation, previously published as The Bar on the Seine. ''Compelling, remorseless, brilliant'' John Gray''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories'' Guardian ''A supreme writer . . unforgettable vividness'' Independent