The Train from Venice

George Simenon’s books are known throughout the world. In terms of translations, he ranks at the top together with Hugo and Jules Verne. A master of detective plots—an incredibly prolific writer (more than 400 published works!)—and the creator of one of the most charming detectives of the 20th century, Commissaire Maigret.

In the novel “The Train from Venice,” Justine Calmar returns from a vacation in Venice to Paris. On the train, he meets a mysterious fellow passenger and agrees, at the man’s request, to pick up a suitcase from the station’s left-luggage office and deliver it to an address. As a result of a chain of mysterious circumstances, a large sum ends up in his hands…