Possibly the Best Montalbano I've Read So Far
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Having said this is the best one I've read so far I know I've already said this about another one in the series. The cool thing is that I'm reading them totally out of order, so it's not as if the early works (of which this is one) are weaker than the later works. They are all great, and if you haven't yet read Montalbano you are in for a real treat, but there are some really outstanding moments in this one which for my money set it apart.
Montalbano is a wonderful detective, he's unswervingly uncorruptible in a world where corruption is rife. He is a Sicilian through and through. He is sensitive, loyal and a total swine to the women who love him. He is cultured and yet has the common touch. He is obsessed by his dinner and hates nothing more than when his obsession over solving crime takes precedence over his obsession with his stomach. He is delightful and the more you get to know him, the more you want to know him.
This book has many of the same characters from an earlier book, The Shape of Water, which it might be a good idea to read first. You won't not understand this book if you don't, but it will add depth if you do. Here the inspector gets mixed up with the Mafia, gun running and a fifty year old case regarding two star crossed lovers.
It's funny, it's pacy, it's well written and it's something fresh in the sometimes stale world of detective fiction that will give you a new zest for reading.
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the best kind of detective story
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This is one of the best of the excellent Salvo Montalbano series by Camilleri. As usual, at the outset there are odd goings on but not necessarily crimes - a characterful old man dies in a road accident (or it seems to be an accident), there is a bizarre theft from a supermarket (it does not make sense, and Montalbano is very quick to spot that) and the terrifying Tana the Greek confides in the Inspector. But it the remarkable discovery of the secret, blocked cave, the two dead, naked lovers (are they lovers?) and the terracota dog that really set things buzzing. Throw in a defrocked priest who drinks milk out of a baby's bottle, a charming old headmaster and his wife, a hospital bedside scene in which Montalbano is anxiously guarded by his three women, Livia, Anna and Ingrid, and the usual frustrations he faces in his dealings with bureaucrats and less capable officers. As usual, there is considerable atmosphere, frequent enjoyable excursions into the world of Sicilian cooking and, this time, an intriguing link between past and present, all of which combine to make this an excellent book of its kind and great fun to read.
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Inspector Montalbano is growing into his role
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One morning Inspector Montalbano gets a phone call from a criminal friend who tells him to meet "somebody". This somebody turns out to be the much wanted criminal Tano the Greek, who wants to turn himself in. He gets arrested but is murdered when transported from one prison to another. Just before he dies he tells Montalbano of a secret cave. After opening the cave where they find a considerable number of weapons, the inspector finds a second cave where he stumbles upon a gruesome, yet old scene. Together with a number of the elderly people in the village he is eventually capable of solving the crime, but at one point this nearly costs him his life.
This is the second Camilleri book that I read and I should say that Inspector Montalbano is growing in his role: he start to be an acquaintance with his good and bad habits. The Shape of Water was a low 4-stars, this one definitely is 5-stars. Reading this book is good way to spend a day off.
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A Stunning Triumph!
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The Terra-Cotta Dog is an extremely rewarding police procedural with deep cultural and historical roots that provide a delightful complexity for the reader. I would award this book six stars if I could. If you have not yet read any of the Inspector Montalbano books, I suggest that you take the time to read The Shape of Water first. That book helps set up the context of the characters and makes The Terra-Cotta Dog far more interesting. This book has Inspector Montalbano solving several mysteries before he is done. In a fascinating way, each mystery leads unexpectedly into the next one. And so on. It's like opening the Russian nesting dolls to find another treasure inside. I can rarely recall such fine plotting and seamless connections between disparate story elements in one police procedural. As the book opens, Montalbano has been invited to meet secretly with a dangerous killer. Is it a trap? Why would the killer want to meet with a police inspector? The answer leads to a merry-go-round of public relations activities to cover up the real motive. Then, the charade collapses and Montalbano finds out about an unknown crime. More public relations follow . . . and from them Montalbano gets a clue to other hidden crimes. The rest of the novel reminded me of an archeologist's work in uncovering earlier civilizations that built on the same site. The main contexts for these mysteries are the Sicilian Mafia, the Fascist era, the American invasion of Sicily during World War II, and the Christian and Moslem religions. How's that for an unusual combination? Montalbano emerges as an even more interesting character in this book than in The Shape of Water, especially as his relationship with his girl friend Livia develops. As before, the food references are a delight and add a warm human touch to offset the evil that coils throughout the story. As I finished the story, I was reminded how important it is to be dogged in chasing down details that don't seem to make sense. There's always an explanation for mysteries, but the explanation will never be revealed unless you follow the path to the answer wherever it takes you.
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A Stunning Triumph!
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The Terra-Cotta Dog is an extremely rewarding police procedural with deep cultural and historical roots that provide a delightful complexity for the reader. I would award this book six stars if I could. If you have not yet read any of the Inspector Montalbano books, I suggest that you take the time to read The Shape of Water first. That book helps set up the context of the characters and makes The Terra-Cotta Dog far more interesting. This book has Inspector Montalbano solving several mysteries before he is done. In a fascinating way, each mystery leads unexpectedly into the next one. And so on. It's like opening the Russian nesting dolls to find another treasure inside. I can rarely recall such fine plotting and seamless connections between disparate story elements in one police procedural. As the book opens, Montalbano has been invited to meet secretly with a dangerous killer. Is it a trap? Why would the killer want to meet with a police inspector? The answer leads to a merry-go-round of public relations activities to cover up the real motive. Then, the charade collapses and Montalbano finds out about an unknown crime. More public relations follow . . . and from them Montalbano gets a clue to other hidden crimes. The rest of the novel reminded me of an archeologist's work in uncovering earlier civilizations that built on the same site. The main contexts for these mysteries are the Sicilian Mafia, the Fascist era, the American invasion of Sicily during World War II, and the Christian and Moslem religions. How's that for an unusual combination? Montalbano emerges as an even more interesting character in this book than in The Shape of Water, especially as his relationship with his girl friend Livia develops. As before, the food references are a delight and add a warm human touch to offset the evil that coils throughout the story. As I finished the story, I was reminded how important it is to be dogged in chasing down details that don't seem to make sense. There's always an explanation for mysteries, but the explanation will never be revealed unless you follow the path to the answer wherever it takes you.
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