Georges Simenon, The Saint-Fiacre Affair, Pocket Books, 1942

L’Affaire Saint-Fiacre is one of the earliest of Simenon’s  75 well known Commissaire  Maigret novels (and 28 short stories). The investigation brings Maigret back to the village of his birth. Memories  come back to him  with all the vividness and rich textures of those of Proust. Maigret savoured the sensations of his youth again: the cold, stinging eyes, frozen fingertips, an aftertaste of coffee. Then, stepping inside the church, a blast of heat, soft light; the smell of candles and incense.

Alternative English language titles are  Maigret Goes Home and  Maigret on Home Ground.

The novel was adapted in 1959 to the screen by Jean Delannoy, with Jean Gabin.