«A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness»

Independent

«One of Simenon's masterpieces . . . photographic . . . a superior stylist . . . . . . Simenon's subject is how people who are pushed to the edge push themselves over it; the force of the sleuthing is that of psychoanalysis, not police interrogation»

Adam Gopnik, New Yorker

«One of the greatest writers of the 20th century . . . no other writer can set up a scene as sharply and with such economy as Simenon does . . . the conjuring of a world, a place, a time, a set of characters - above all, an atmosphere.»

John Banville, Financial Times

«Not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend . . . he exposes secrets and crimes not by forensic wizardry, but by the melded powers of therapist, philosopher and confessor.»

Boyd Tonkin, The Times

«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

«The most addictive of writers . . . a unique teller of tales»

Observer