Officially, the first Maigret book is Pietr-le-Letton (Pietr the Latvian/Maigret und Pietr der Lette). However, there are several Mairget stories that were published before that. According to Daniel Kampa, who wrote the afterword to this German edition, the first three are quite trivial, and Maigret is mostly a minor figure, although he is gaining more importance with each story. Eventually, the fourth Maigret story is a proper Maigret. It was published in a periodical and although not the official first one, it should be considered to be the prototype, the blueprint, as Kampa puts it. There are many legends around how Maigret was invented and how Simenon conceived the idea of his most famous creation, but according to Kampa as well as two biographers of the author, the research points to this story being the first real Maigret - albeit a test version.

As far as I know, the novel has not been published in English, but it can be read online.

So now to my review: My Maigret experiences are only meagre so far (I have read one novel and listened to several audio plays), but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and do not think that it is in any way inferior to other books. The plot is interesting, if a little foreseeable towards the end. It is a little similar to Agatha Christie: A young woman seeks out Maigret late in the evening and confesses to murder. Maigret commits a rookie mistake and leaves his office for a short while - when he comes back, she is gone. Nevertheless he starts investigating and he discovers many secrets and encounters many complications.
Of course the atmosphere is a whole lot different than in an Agatha Christie, as is the setting in a big apartment building in Paris, inhabited by numerous people of different backgrounds. The writing style is as distinctive and on point as you would expect of Simenon, and the case is interesting.
I am looking forward to reading more Maigret novels and will continue to buy these new editions by Atlantik Verlag. ( )