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*