“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré

Inspector Maigret takes a case from a lively old widow whose maid has been poisoned
 
The inexplicable murder of the wealthy Valentine Besson’s maid leads the older woman to believe that she herself was the intended target. Inspector Maigret undertakes the investigation, meeting Mrs. Besson’s dysfunctional family and a cavalcade of suspects. As he delves into the case, Maigret must unravel a tangled web of family politics—and confront Valentine’s stepsons, who may be harboring dark secrets of their own.