The Late Monsieur Gallet

Monsieur Galle is found dead in a hotel room where he has been staying under an assumed name — as Monsieur Clément. The circumstances of his death baffle the investigation: he was shot from just a few yards away, yet the cause of death was a stab wound to the heart.

The oddities don’t end there. The day after Galle’s death, his wife receives a postcard sent by her husband. She is also convinced that he made his living as a traveling salesman, though it turns out that this is not true.

Another question arises: where did Galle get his money? His life is insured for 300,000 francs, and the annual premium is at least 20,000, while the family lives quite modestly. Commissaire Maigret must find out who the dead man really was — and what life he had been hiding even from his closest loved ones.