A dark, psychological tale of deadly obsession, in a masterful new translation

'My dear Judge, I would like one man, just one, to understand me. And I really hope that man can be you.'

In a small town in western France, Dr Charles Alavoine seems to lead the perfect life: his own medical practice, two beautiful children, a new wife and a doting mother. Yet as each quiet day of bourgeois conformity passes, Alavoine begins to feel a sharp sense of futility. Then, one rainy day in December, he meets a mysterious young woman on a station platform. Fascinated by her innocence and the scars of her past, Alavoine’s passion soon gives way to a dangerous obsession, ending in a terrible act that will forever change the course of his life.

First published in 1947, Letter to My Judge is a masterful exploration of the darkest corners of the human soul, and a harrowing exorcism of Simenon’s phantoms.

"The people in Simenon’s romans durs (“hard novels”) are driven and helpless, and [Letter to My Judge] ends, as it must, in tragedy. Has there ever been a more penetrating account of love’s destructive power?" - Wall Street Journal

"One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories" - Guardian

"A great writer of detail, of atmosphere" - Financial Times

"The novels brim with atmosphere, insight and intelligence . . . quite unlike anything else written before or since" - The Times

"Irresistible... read him at your peril, avoid him at your loss" - Sunday Times