Maigret and the Bum // Maigret and the Tramp — Georges Simenon

When a beggar is pulled from the River Seine, having been badly beaten, Inspector Maigret must investigate the man to uncover his attacker.

While sleeping under the Pont Marie bridge, a homeless man known as Doc is viciously beaten and thrown into the River Seine to drown. A pair of bargemen manage to rescue him, and his identification reveals he was once a doctor in Mulhouse, where, coincidentally, Inspector Maigret's sister-in-law lives. Seizing on this connection, Maigret must delve into the man's personal circumstances to figure out just who might have wanted him dead -- and why.

A fascinating, fast-paced story about the past lives we try to leave behind, and the ways in which they return, Maigret and the Tramp is a riveting mystery from Georges Simenon.