Whatever you do don’t commit the crime of missing this set Maigret will catch up with you in the end…. To crack his cases he peels back the veneer of seemingly idyllic villages and neighborhoods, exposing the criminals who lurk in all levels of society. I am looking to reading some of the books now that we have exhausted the series and seeing if they are equally as good as an escape. All the shows are great, plenty budget compared to the much-loved Davies versions done by the BBC in the early 60s, a good team faithful to the books, and lots of good support acting.

I lok forward to seeing him mount oleaginous malefactors on the skewer of evidence and send them to the guillotine for their misdeeds.

Like the Simenon novels, the episodes are thick with atmosphere and explore the seedy realities of life. Watching through this first season, I frequently thought about quitting the series altogether, but I am exceedingly glad I didn't because the second series provides a seismic change. Michael Gambon is spot-on as Maigret, one of the best and most faithful to the books as a matter of fact.

I thought this was a good show to watch with subtitles to catch the French personal and place names.

Along the way, there are also fun appearances from future stars including Michael Sheen, Minnie Driver and Steven Mackintosh.