Maigret Hesitates

Maigret, the Parisian police inspector featured in a long series of novels, appears in four 45-minute BBC Radio programs from the 1970s. They're mostly low-key, with occasional moments of high drama. The brief adaptations do justice to the mysteries (though the listener may solve them before Maigret) but give little of Maigret's character or the feel of French life, which help give charm to the books. The very British accents, which would have been "transparent" to the original audience, may come across as decidedly "not French" to American listeners. Still, they're better than listening to poorly done French accents. Overall, the shows are unimpressive, but moderately entertaining. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine