As the title suggests, this Maigret investigation is rather more high-profile than the usual crime cases that the P.J. have to deal with on a regular basis, cases that an unruffled and unhurried Maigret resolves with a few enquiries interspersed with a few drinks at the bar.Indeed, Maigret is initially perturbed when phoned at home by the Auguste Point, Minister of Public Works, and reluctant to become involved in a serious political scandal that also has the Sûreté breathing down his neck. He has every reason to be concerned, since the Minister has had an important document stolen, a confidential report on the affair of the faulty construction of a mountain Health Centre that resulted in the death of over a hundred children. Only recently uncovered and handed over to the Minister for it to then disappear, the scandal has the potential to seriously embarrass some senior public figures, if not bring down the current government.
Nonetheless, despite the complications and uncertainty of the motives of the main players in all this political manoeuvring, bluffing and cover-up, Maigret does indeed tackle the case through his usual methods, involving a lot of leg-work, interviewing and trusting his own judgements and impressions. True, Maigret’s usual tipple is this time replaced by a few much stronger Pernods to see him through the crisis, but his personal background and insight into the psychology of the main characters involved helps him identify those character weaknesses that have been exploited by those in positions of power – a trap that Maigret in this complicated game has to be wary of falling into himself.
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