Georges Simenon was born in Li?ge, Belgium, in 1903. He is best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret novels and his prolific output of over 400 novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.
Intense and atmospheric . . . Simenon brilliantly and sparely recreates the New York of the time - the all-night diners, the sleazy bars, cheap hotels and threadbare apartments. -- Richard Hopton A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness * Independent * 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 *