“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré An atmospheric Inspector Maigret mystery set in the bustling streets of Paris “Slowly the Czech was becoming animated, but in a muted way, so typical of the man. Maigret now noticed his hands, which were long, surprisingly white and dotted with freckles. They seemed to reach out and take part in the conversation. ‘Let ’ s be clear that it's not your professionalism which I question. If you understand nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, it's because from the very start you've been working with facts which had been falsified. ’ ” Maigret sets out to prove the innocence of a man condemned to death for a brutal murder. As his audacious plan to uncover the truth unfolds, he encounters rich American expatriates, some truly dangerous characters, and their hidden motives. Praise for Georges Simenon: “One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories.” — The Guardian “These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself.” — The Washington Post “The matchless French crime novelist.” —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker “Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals.” — People “I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov.” —William Faulkner “An astute observer of human nature, writing in a spare and vivid style.” —Amor Towles “I never read contemporary fiction–with one exception: the works of Simenon.” —T.S. Eliot “A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré “One of the most important writers of our century.” —Gabriel García Márquez “A favorite writer of mine.” —Sigrid Nunez “A great writer of detail, of atmosphere.” —Leïla Slimani “Feels incredibly modern…A great writer.” —Ian Rankin “The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature.” —André Gide “A supreme writer . . . Unforgettable vividness.” — The Independent (London) “Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales.” — The Observer (London) “Compelling, remorseless, brilliant.” —John Gray “A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable—lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates.” —Muriel Spark “A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it.” —Peter Ackroyd “Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century.” —John Banville "Gem-hard soul-probes . . . 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" ― Times (London) "Strangely comforting . . . so many lovely bistros from the Paris of mid-20th C. The corpses are incidental, it's the food that counts." ―Margaret Atwood "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." ― Financial Times "Gripping . . . richly rewarding . . . You'll quickly find yourself obsessing about his life as you tackle each mystery in turn." ―Stig Abell, The Sunday Times (London) GEORGES SIMENON (1903–1989) was born in Liège, Belgium. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, his prolific output of more than four hundred novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. Georges Simenon   A MAN’S HEAD Translated by David Coward PENGUIN BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700,Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 707 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3008, Australia (a divisionof Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty)Ltd, Block D, Rosebank Office Park, 181 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North, Gauteng 2193, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England penguin.com First published in French as La tête d’un homme by Fayard 1931 This translation first published in Penguin Books 2014 Copyright 1931 by Georges Simenon Limited Translation copyright © David Coward, 2014 GEORGES SIMENON ® Simenon.tm MAIGRET ® Georges Simenon Limited Cover photo