Based on the book L'Affaire Saint-Fiacre. The earlier BBC version was called Maigret and the Countess.
This is the more faithful adaptation and it begins with Maigret getting a note at his police station in Paris. The anonymous letter warns him of a murder that will take place during mass at the church in the village Maigret grew up in.
Lucas thinks the letter is a hoax but Maigret travels to Saint-Fiacre and the aged Countess is found dead. The doctor thinks it was due to her weak heart. Maigret still believes it was murder. The prayer book which he later finds, contained a torn newspaper headline that her son had died. Enough to shock her to death.
The story gives Maigret an opportunity to visit the Countess's estate. His father used to manage it under the old Count when it ran like clockwork. Now it has been delipidated. Bad investments and overspending.
The Countess' son is a gambler in Paris. The farms, artworks all had to be sold off to pay debts. The estate is a shadow of what remains in Maigret's memory.
It was a tricky story, there is a suggestion that the murderer was mad. Why would they warn Maigret in Paris?. An important clue is noticed by Maigret as he interrogates one of the suspects, it looked trivial at first.
In the end the motivation was robbery but one that was going on for years.
This is the more faithful adaptation and it begins with Maigret getting a note at his police station in Paris. The anonymous letter warns him of a murder that will take place during mass at the church in the village Maigret grew up in.
Lucas thinks the letter is a hoax but Maigret travels to Saint-Fiacre and the aged Countess is found dead. The doctor thinks it was due to her weak heart. Maigret still believes it was murder. The prayer book which he later finds, contained a torn newspaper headline that her son had died. Enough to shock her to death.
The story gives Maigret an opportunity to visit the Countess's estate. His father used to manage it under the old Count when it ran like clockwork. Now it has been delipidated. Bad investments and overspending.
The Countess' son is a gambler in Paris. The farms, artworks all had to be sold off to pay debts. The estate is a shadow of what remains in Maigret's memory.
It was a tricky story, there is a suggestion that the murderer was mad. Why would they warn Maigret in Paris?. An important clue is noticed by Maigret as he interrogates one of the suspects, it looked trivial at first.
In the end the motivation was robbery but one that was going on for years.
