A spate of murders sends shock waves through a small rainswept town--where, unfortunately for the killer, Maigret happens to be passing through. Traveling back from a police congress in Bordeaux, Maigret stops off to see his friend, the investigating magistrate of the small town of Fontenay-Le-Comte. In the past three days, the inspector's friend tells him, two locals have been bludgeoned to death. On the scene by sheer coincidence, Maigret would rather not get involved--until a third murder occurs, and public unrest threatens to reach a flash point. The townsfolk believe the clannish ruling elite is shielding certain figures from investigation, and Maigret is inclined to agree. Fearing a miscarriage of justice, he sets out to learn the truth--however socially inconvenient or disturbing. In gray, windswept Fontenay, emotions are already hovering on a knife's edge before the anonymous notes start arriving. But is the writer trying to facilitate or obstruct justice? A dark and atmospheric tale of local tensions and tormented minds, Maigret Is Afraid is an unmissable foray into small-town evil for Georges Simenon's iconic detective.