Penguin Modern Classics

A new translation of Simenon''s gripping novel about lives transformed by deceit and the destructive power of lust.

It was all real: himself, the room, Andrée still lying on the ravaged bed.

For Tony and Andrée, there are no rules when they meet in the blue room at the Hôtel des Voyageurs. Their adulterous affair is intoxicating, passionate - and dangerous. Soon it turns into a nightmare from which there can be no escape. Simenon''s stylish and sensual psychological thriller weaves a story of cruelty, reckless lust and relentless guilt.

''A wondrous achievement, brief, inexorable, pared to, and agonisingly close to, the bone, and utterly compelling; in short, a true and luminous work of art.'' John Banville

''A double crime, a dark provincial scandal, and a dreadful sort of triumph . . . presented with shattering power'' San Francisco Chronicle

''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'' Guardian

''A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness'' Independent