book data
370 ratings,
3.78
average rating, 40 reviews
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published
December 2nd 2004
by Wheeler Pub Inc
(first published 1996)
details
Hardcover, 375 pages
isbn
1587246333
(isbn13: 9781587246333)
description
A mysterious tete-a-tete with a Mafioso, some inexplicably abandoned loot from a supermarket heist, and dying words lead Inspector Montalbano to a sec…more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 462)
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5 stars (71)
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4 stars (169)
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3 stars (110)
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2 stars (16)
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1 star (4)
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avg 3.78
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in January, 2009
i think my aunt left this in my room after visiting from australia and i'm glad she did. it was a nicely written, entertaining read. i've seen other volumes from the mystery series at the library and now i'll definitely pick them up. the book is translated from italian and follows a italian police inspector as he tries to unravel the story behind a mysterious burial sight. the main character lives right on the beach in sicily and is prone to skinny dip in the evenings whenever he feels like ...more
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Read in November, 2009
Cranky, foul-mouthed and secretive with his subordinates and colleagues (see conversation below), Salvo Montalbano is charming to the elderly (especially older ladies who cook well), faithful to his girlfriend (a whiny thing who gets on my nerves) and a loyal, although demanding, friend. He is far from perfect, but he makes the perfect commissario of Vigata, an imaginary town on the southern coast of Sicily.
Two dead lovers are found in a cave, entombed with an earthenware water jar, ...more
Two dead lovers are found in a cave, entombed with an earthenware water jar, ...more
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2 comments
Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
ppl who can read Italian
I read this because nearly everyone on my father's side of the family adores Inspector Montalbano, and I felt it was time I was introduced. Despite Montalbano's possession of qualities I usually love in people (intense emotions, admiration of beauty, respect for honest people, the love of good food, the love of good books, the use of crude & rude language, etc), I was left feeling indifferent to the main character.
What I enjoyed most about this book was Camilleri's attention to th...more
What I enjoyed most about this book was Camilleri's attention to th...more
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Read in January, 2008
I wanted to like this book better. It was presented to me as a book I would like for the same reasons I like the Number One Ladies Detective Agency Series, i.e. that the mystery to be solved and the detective work in the story share the stage with the characters, the enjoyable quirkiness of life in that country and the personal experiences of the detective. I did not find this with The Terra-Cotta Dog. The detective's character was either not well-developed or not sympathetic enough (perhaps ...more
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Read in January, 2009
I listened to this one on the way to Cedar - it kept me awake the whole time. I really like the main character Inspector Montalbano. The book was written initially in Italian and it is set in Italy. The person reading the book was named one of the best voices of the century - his voice really lends to the character. P.S. It has some bad language and sexual content. Montalbano has a rough edge :)
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Read in June, 2009
The second Inspector Montalbano mystery by the Sicilian author Andrea Camilleri focuses on the discovery of two long-dead bodies in a cave and their ties to a current mystery involving the hijacking of a truck full of supermarket supplies. I was prepared to really love this Sicilian mystery - since I really love Sicily - but I felt that The Terra-Cotta Dog was strangely flat and relied to strongly on stock characters. Montalbano is a cipher, and there's no great sense of atmosphere to countera...more
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Read in August, 2009
This police prosedural takes place in current day Sicily. It's main character is an inspector who gets results through circuitous paths. He's given to very strong opinions about some of his underlings and lets them know about it. He's absolutley terrified of public speaking, a nice character flaw with someone otherwise so self-assured.
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Read in February, 2009
I didn't really like the first Montalbano book, but I liked this one much better. I'd still rather read something with a more sympathetic hero, but this one is really well plotted and paced. And Montalbano is growing on me. A nice southern companion to Donna Leon's northern mysteries. I'll definitely read the third.
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Read in February, 2007
Second book in Camilleri's fantastic series of commissary Montalbano. We find our hero still involve with intrigue and drama in Sicily where nothing is as it is elsewhere in Italy. Camilleri takes us on a trip of discovery of the way people in Sicily in small cities and village live, love and die. Old people, young people, mafia people and long forgotten buried secrets come to the light of day by chance. Having someone watched is never a simple task in Sicily and can have enormous consequences. ...more
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Read in July, 2009
inspector montalbano is so cute maybe a little chauvinistic. i didn't know italians had such a great sense of humor.
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Read in March, 2009
Mystery with Sicily setting, contemporary look at life in Sicily with mafia always in the mix...
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These are the kind of books that once you start the series, you can't stop.
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The Terra-Cotta Dog (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries) by Andrea Camilleri (2005)
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excellent book, like the one before. i especially liked the mythology incorporated in the story and I am intrigued with the whole mafia business.
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Another great mystery series, for once by an actual native of the country in which it is set (the other great series set in Italy - by Donna Leon, Michael Dibdin and Magdalen Nabb -- and are all written by native English speakers) Dark, funny and twisted books set in Sicily, the Inspector Montalbano book are all excellent.
I suggest you read them on a full stomach though, because the good inspector is not going to let a little murder get in the way of a good meal, and you're going ...more
I suggest you read them on a full stomach though, because the good inspector is not going to let a little murder get in the way of a good meal, and you're going ...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
international mystery story lovers
The best of the Montalbano series I've read so far. A great Inspector character based on the classic style of someone like Simenon. Egotistical, solitary, lost in his own thoughts, consumed by the case, but still has time to appreciate good food and drink. Like Simenon's Maigret stories, I really feel like I'm included in the everyday life of the character, especially when it comes to the exoticness of the setting (Sicily here, Paris for Simenon). Definitely going to get back into this series (I...more
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