Penguin Modern Classics

''Powerful . . . unputdownably gripping'' Guardian

''The island itself. Its throbbing heat as if in a belljar under the sun, the scorpion in his son''s bed, the deafening sound of cicadas''

During his first holiday on the island of Porquerolles Dr Mahé caught a glimpse of something irresistible. As the memory continues to haunt him, he falls prey to a delusion that may offer an escape from his conventional existence - or may destroy him. This is the first English translation of The Mahé Circle, Simenon''s dark, malevolent depiction of an ordinary man trapped in mundanity and consumed by obsession.

''Extraordinary . . . Simenon is one of the most important writers of the 20th century'' Independent