Inspector Montalbano [4]
Andrea Camilleri
Viking Press (1999)
Rating:
****
Tags:
Mystery, Andrea Camilleri, Thriller
### From Publishers Weekly
In his fourth mystery to feature Inspector Salvo Montalbano (The Snack Thief, etc.), Camilleri once again thrills with his fluid storytelling and quirky characters. The irritable Sicilian detective's first challenge is to figure out a way to start an investigation into the murder of a woman whose naked body he discovered through an unauthorized break-in, without letting it be known that he was the one who found her. The long list of suspects includes the woman's husband, who's seemingly unaffected by the news of her death; the neighborhood half-wit, who would charitably be described as an admirer but more appropriately as a stalker; and the woman's out-of-town lover, who has a cryptic background of his own. Salvo is as incapable of turning his back on the mystery as he is at playing politics, and he soon finds himself in trouble with his superiors and the patsy for an ambitious colleague. Perhaps because the crime itself is less intricate than those in earlier books in the series, the author has increased the stakes for Salvo's career and the amount of maverick behavior. Through this deft translation, Camilleri's tale of lust, greed and hidden beauty should win new American readers.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
### From Booklist
Just last year, when the first Inspector Montalbano mystery (*The Shape of Water*) made its belated appearance in the U.S., we asked that the translations keep coming--and quickly. Our wish has been granted. This is the fourth in the series to be published here in a mere 18 months, and it is every bit as good as the previous three. This time the doggedly anti-bureaucratic Montalbano, police inspector in the picturesque Sicilian city of Vigata, stumbles upon the dead body of an attractive woman from Bologna and must re-create her last hours in an effort to find the killer. As usual, Montalbano finds himself appalled not only by the callousness of the killer but also by the insufferable small-mindedness of his superiors. Camilleri continues to mix procedural detail with personal drama--Montalbano's tenuous relationship with his lover and his attraction to one of the witnesses in the case--in ways that add depth to both the characters and the drama. If you like the Italian crime novel, you'll love this series. *Bill Ott*
*Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved*
The Voice of the Violin
Andrea Camilleri
Translated by Stephen Sartarelli
Andrea Camilleri is one of Italy’s most famous contemporary writers. His Montalbano series has been adapted for Italian television and translated into nine languages. He lives in Rome-Stephen Sartarelli is an award-winning translator. He is also the author of three books of poetry, most recently
PICADOR
First published 2001 by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Putnam Inc.
New York
This edition first published in Great Britain 2005 by Picador
First published in paperback 2006 by Picador an imprint of Pan Macmillan Ltd Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London ni 9r.r Basingstoke and Oxford Associated companies throughout the world www.pamnacmjllan.com
ISBN-IJ: 978-0-330-49199-7
ISBN-IO: 0-330-49299-3
Copyright O Seilerio editore 1997 Translation copyright (c) Stephen Sartarelli 2003
The right of Andrea Camillcri to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
135798642
A QP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Typeset by SetSystems Ltd, Saffron Walden, Essex Printed and bound in Great Britain by Madcays of Chatham plc, Chatham, Kent
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Praise for the Montalbano series
‘The novels of Andrea Camilleri breathe out the sense of place, the sense of humour, and the sense of despair that fills the air of Sicily. To read him is to be taken to that glorious, tortured island’ Donna Leon
‘Both farcical and endearing, Montalbano is a cross between Columbo and Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, with the added culinary idiosyncrasies of an Italian Maigret… The smells, colours and landscapes of Sicily come to life’
‘Sly and witty … Montalbano must pick his way through a labyrinth of corruption, false clues, vendettas — and
