The Madman of Bergerac — Georges Simenon

A tense, unforgettable Inspector Maigret mystery from Georges Simenon

“He recalled his travelling companion's agitated sleep -- was it really sleep? -- his sighs, and his sobbing. Then the two dangling legs, the patent-leather shoes and hand-knitted socks . . . An insipid face. Glazed eyes. And Maigret was not surprised to see a grey beard eating into his cheeks.”

A distressed passenger leaps off a night train and vanishes into the woods. Maigret, on his way to a well-earned break in the Dordogne, is soon plunged into the pursuit of a madman, hiding amongst the seemingly respectable citizens of Bergerac.