The Wings of the Sphinx (Salvú Montalbano, #11)

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The Wings of the Sphinx (Inspector Montalbano #11)

by Andrea Camilleri, Stephen Sartarelli (Translator)

3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 · rating details · 820 ratings · 93 reviews

Food, love, and murder-Sicilian style-in the gripping eleventh installment of The New York Times bestselling Montalbano mystery series.

Things are not going well for Inspector Salvo Montalbano. His relationship with Livia is once again on the rocks and-acutely aware of his age-he is beginning to grow weary of the endless violence he encounters. Then a young woman is foun...more

Paperback, 240 pages

Published December 29th 2009 by Penguin Books (first published 2006)

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Jun 16, 2010 Jess rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

This is the first book I've ever read by Camilleri; I saw it in the new mystery section at the library and thought I would give it a shot. My first impression is that it's a bit difficult to jump into the middle of this series without knowing the characters prior; I occasionally had some difficulties trying to remember who was who. (This was especially the case when Camilleri would refer to someone by their last name for six or so pages before someone refers to the person in passing by their fir...more This is the first book I've ever read by Camilleri; I saw it in the new mystery section at the library and thought I would give it a shot. My first impression is that it's a bit difficult to jump into the middle of this series without knowing the characters prior; I occasionally had some difficulties trying to remember who was who. (This was especially the case when Camilleri would refer to someone by their last name for six or so pages before someone refers to the person in passing by their first name. Quite difficult to discern who the person in question was! But that may be a translation issue more than anything else.)

I had high hopes for this book, but was a bit disappointed. The first 70 pages—roughly a third of the book—were extremely slow. The murder occurs, but there's no progress toward finding the killer. Instead, Inspected Montalbano (the protagonist) is featured prominently—or more accurately, his relationship problems with a woman named Livia, with whom he has had an on-again off-again relationship for years.

This book is heavily male-oriented. By that, I don't mean that only men would enjoy this book. But the primary characters—eccentric and almost cracky—are all men. Tommaseo works with Montalbano, and he's obsessed with victims' sex lives (or sex in general). Meanwhile, Catarella—kind of the police lackey—speaks with a hokey accent. (For example, he says "poissonally in poisson" a lot, or "personally in person.")

Montalbano is kind of an interesting protagonist. In this book he seems rather gloomy, but passing references to other events and other cases implies that he's not usually so glum. The weather and access to fresh fish seem to affect his moods greatly, and he takes pleasure in a good mid-day meal, regardless of the cases he works. I found Camilleri's inclusion of Montalbano's internal monologues to be quite funny as well. He also plays a crazy cop with unusual "interrogation" techniques in the examination of one suspect, and yells out multiplication tables to get the suspect to stop crying—an extremely funny scene.

I felt that the plot twisted and turned but ended up sort of where you would expect, despite some surprising instances that interrupt one's first thoughts. I would like to read the first in this series to get a better sense of Camilleri's writing and characters before passing further judgment; I found this book a bit difficult to follow at times.(less)

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Jan 13, 2010 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-crime-detection

Camilleri, Andrea. THE WINGS OF THE SPHINX. (2009). ****. This latest installment in the Inspector Montalbano series brings us more of the taste of Sicily and its peculiar problems. The problems, mostly, involve the independent thinking of its population, tempered by the time-honored traditions of the Mafia and the Catholic Church. Montalbano is called to the scene of a garbage dump, where the body of a young woman was found. She had been shot in the face with a large caliber weapon so that she...more Camilleri, Andrea. THE WINGS OF THE SPHINX. (2009). ****. This latest installment in the Inspector Montalbano series brings us more of the taste of Sicily and its peculiar problems. The problems, mostly, involve the independent thinking of its population, tempered by the time-honored traditions of the Mafia and the Catholic Church. Montalbano is called to the scene of a garbage dump, where the body of a young woman was found. She had been shot in the face with a large caliber weapon so that she was not able to be identified. She was nude, and the cleanliness of her body indicated that she had been shot somewhere else and cleaned up before she was unceremoniously dumped down the side of the hill. The only clue available as to who she was, was a tattoo of a butterfly, later identified as a moth, on her back near her shoulder blade. Later evaluation showed it to be a Sphinx moth. When Montalbano and his crew, including the indominatable Catarella who provides the usual comic relief with his Brooklyn (Sicilian) accent, start to trace missing girls, they finally come up with a possible solution. The young girl turns out to be a Russian emigrant who worked as a housekeeper for a local family. She was placed in that job at the recommendation of an organization called Benevolence, a combination of church and government officials who tried to keep young women from falling into prostitution. Naturally, this being Sicily, the association is not strictly on the up-and-up, and all kinds of roadblocks are put in Montalbano’s way as he tries to follow the threads of clues that will help him unravel the crime. At the same time, he and his men are faced with a kidnapping of a local merchant that everyone knows was a put-on job so that the man could spend a week or so in some enchanted clime with a Swedish stewardess he recently met while keeping his wife in the dark. When the police prove this to their satisfaction, they are ordered to stay with the investigation since the man’s wife will not accept that he was not, indeed, kidnapped. There’s lots of room for Montalbano’s snide humor here. Throughout the novel, we are continually treated to his appreciation of fine food, as prepared by either his housekeeper or by one of his favorite restaurants. I think that Camilleri may someday write a cookbook that recaptures some of the meals he describes in his books. Again, too, Montalbano has troubles with his love life. His job doesn’t give him a lot of time for developing a serious relationship, and his long-term arrangement with his girlfriend continues to scrape by – just barely. If you haven’t read Camilleri’s novels, you should. There’s a treat in store for you. Recommended.(less)

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Jun 05, 2010 Joyce Lagow rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-edition, police-procedural

This is not the best in the Inspector Montalbano of Vigáta, Sicily, but it's good enough. Montalbano continues to go through his mid-life crisis while being involved in a variety of intriguing cases, including a fake kidnapping and a puzzling murder of a young woman with a moth tattooed on her shoulder.

Sartarelli, Camillieri's translator, has chosen to present the dialogue in a far more informal, idiomatic English that I assume is his attempt to render Sicilian and slang into its equivalent in E...more

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May 08, 2010 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ispettore Montalbano is in a fix - his long-term, mostly long-distance, relationship is in serious need of face-to-face discussion or it will dissolve. Telephone conversations only seem to make matters worse. In the meantime, since he's a police detective, he always has crime to work on, and two cases are active at the moment.

A young woman, face mostly blown off and nude, has been found in a local garbage dump - the only distinguishing mark is the tattoo of a sphinx moth on her left should blade...more

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Jul 15, 2011 Bill Rogers rated it 5 of 5 stars

There are several reasons that I love Andrea Camilleri's series involving Inspector Salvo Montalbani. Firstly the way in which he seems to capture the soul of contemporary life in Sicily. Secondly, the gentle humour with which excoriates the corruption and laziness of public office in his country. Thirdly the quality and intelligence of his writing. Fourthly, the simple yet engaging plots that he weaves. And finally, the wonderful characterisation that flows through the whole series; not least t...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Rob Prince rated it 5 of 5 stars

i have become addicted to european mystery/crime books. started with steig larssen's girl with the dragon tattoo - which by the way i enjoyed, all three volumes - but have moved on to henning mankell, donna leon and now andrea camillera. have read pretty much everything, or everything i could find of mankell (wallender series) and leon (brunetti series) and now have finished my first camillera book (montalbano series). this one `wings of the sphinx' was pretty good. what draws me to these books...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Alison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mediterranean

This is the 8th or 9th book in the Inspector Montalbano series that I've read, and while I obviously enjoy them enough to keep wanting to read them I do think they suffer from having been badly translated. They are all very obviously written in "Translatese", with a very stilting, faltering style and I can't help but think that a more skilled translation would bump them up to a 4 out of 5.

Thankfully though the pacey plot and Montalbano's endless wise-cracks are always enough to hold my interest...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Anita rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, police-procedural

A young woman's body is found with gunshot damage to the face and the tattoo of a sphinx moth on her left shoulder blade. Montalbano discovers that she was accompanied to Sicily by three other women with similar tattoos, and they have disappeared. The women were being assisted by a charitable church organization that provided lodgings in a villa and work in the households of the area. Montalbano is suspicious of the organization and its benefactors, and sets out to find the remaining women and d...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Ardesia added it · review of another edition

Shelves: montalbano-sono, xxx

Il tempo passa per tutti e in questo libro sembra proprio che anche per Montalbano sia arrivato il momento di prenderne atto.
La storia naturalmente mi è piaciuta. Dico naturalmente perché Montalbano o si ama o si odia, e se lo si ama come si fa a non sorridere, a riflettere, a "santiare" con lui, qualsiasi sia l'indagine in corso? Anzi, a dirla tutta per quanto apprezzi la maestria di Camilleri nello svolgere una matassa di trama colma di indizi e di incastri perfetti poi alla fine il ricordo de...more

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Sep 01, 2012 Gabriel Valjan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Salvo is in one corner and Livia is in the other and the phone is their means of tense communication. The case itself is the murder of a woman, her face blown off so the only identifiable feature on her is a tattoo. Camilleri takes on the Catholic Church in this one. More so than the Mafia although they are in the mix. I should mention that if you find the French edition and can read French there is a great introductory essay that explains the French translator's three-levels in translating Cami...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a favorite. The two plot threads are beautifully paralleled.
Salvo's mid-life crisis (so-to-speak, he would of course deny it) is in full bloom. He and Livia have both been unfaithful but they cannot give up on each other, as Ingrid wisely perceives - saying "Don't throw away all those years you've spent together. You think you don't have children but in fact you do. You have one: the past you've shared. I don't even have that."
Yes, Ingrid loves Salvo but Salvo loves Livia. However, Salv...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Kathleen Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not one of my favourite Montalbano's, but a very good read nonetheless. I love the eccentric, paranoid, tetchy, but ultimately brilliant detective. He's someone I'd want on my side if I was ever in trouble. Wish I could say that he's typical of the Italian police force. Sigh..... what the books do reveal is the amount of bureaucracy the police have to contend with - and political pressure from powerful groups. In this novel it's the church that's exerting the pressure. But Montalbano is determin...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Zoli rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Yet another wonderful Montalbano novel by Andrea Camilleri, and as always it is full with hints on social and political issues in Berlusconi's Italy. Again, the exploitation and situation of illegal immigrants in Italy are the underlying topic for the crimes Salvo Montalbano tries to solve. As with any Camilleri book, it isn't really about crime or solving it, that just presents an opportunity to discuss other, more immanent questions. Definitely worth reading it even if you haven't read any oth...more

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May 02, 2010 Margo Tanenbaum rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: camilleri, montalbano, mystery

Another entertaining Inspector Montalbano mystery. Salvo has gotten into an argument with his long-time girlfriend Livia, and he is beginning to feel old. He's confronted with a case of a beautiful murdered girl who's had her face blown off, and is recognizable only by a butterfly tattoo..a case that turns out to involve prominent figures in an Italian charity. The cases, however, are not the best part of these books--it is the affectionate portrayal of the recurring characters, and the wonderfu...more

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Mar 31, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 1 of 5 stars

Donna Leon is a far superior author. Her Commissario Guido Brunetti is a better developed and more nuanced character than Inspector Montalbano. In fact, all of Camilleries's characters are portrayed as stereotypes rather than individuals.

Leon's description of Venice gives the reader a true sense of place and atmosphere -- you feel as though you are actually experiencing life as it is lived by natives of the city. While Camillerie's story takes place in Sicily, it may just as well be anywhere in...more

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Jun 10, 2010 Kasa Cotugno rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-crime-thriller, location-europe-italy

The 11th in the highly entertaining Mongalbano series finds the irascible inspector in a worse mood than ever thanks to the ongoing troubles with his long time lover in his personal life and the bureaucratic red tape he faces at work. Add to this a possible week of rain which will prevent the fishermen from going out, hence no fresh mullet for the table. The mystery is satisfying, the dialogue, hilarious at times. His methods, well, a little unorthodox. Hard to believe I have to wait until Octob...more

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Jun 28, 2010 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-italy

I wonder how many more of these are coming? The author is in his 80's and Montalbano is in his 50's and starting to have some serious issues with his work and relationship with Livia. As always these are enjoyable to read. They are over before you know it. The main character has a zest for food and reflection. He's simultaneously alike and different from other police inspectors like Kurt Wallander. He's as devoted to seeking the truth but at the same time he's a pragmatist who moves on when the...more

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Jun 23, 2010 Spuddie rated it 5 of 5 stars

#11 Salvo Montalbano mystery series set in and around Montelusa, Sicily, Italy. A young woman's body is found in a dump, shot through the head with a weapon that caused enough damage to make her face unidentifiable. But she does have a small tattoo of a moth on her left shoulderblade that should make identification a little easier. When Montalbano urges his friend at the TV news station to broadcast the picture though, several calls come in that would seem to indicate that there is a whole fleet...more

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Jul 25, 2010 Ladiibbug rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mystery Fans

#11 Inspector Salvo Montalbano mystery

A huge favorite series, set in Italy. Police Insp. Montalbano solves intriguing crimes in spite of government and/or police corruption, incompetence, mistakes, etc. As always policeman Catarella provides the laughs with his mangled speech and phone messages that leave everyone guessing what the caller really said.

"[The phone rings at home, Montalbano answers hello:]. It's Catarella calling from the station:

"Chief, whadd I do, wake y'up?"
"No, Cat, I was awake...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Arwen56 rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romanzi

Romanzo letto nel 2007. A parte l'interrogatorio di Montalbano a Morabito, uno dei personaggi coinvolti, che è una pagliacciata mal riuscita, e quell'irritante e persistente vena di maldicenza, di pettegolezzo, di insinuazione, di accenni buttati lì alla "cazzo di cane" nei confronti dei politici in generale e di Berlusconi in particolare, con la quale Camilleri si ostina a infarcire ultimamente i suoi scritti, è indubbiamente un buon racconto, pieno di ritmo e ben strutturato sul piano narrativ...more

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Mar 20, 2010 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-europe

Once again, Inspector Montalbano must investigate a murder. This time the body is a naked woman with only one identifying mark--a small tattoo of a butterfly on her shoulder blade. Of course, even without the murder there are things that keep the police busy, including the case of the kidnapping victim who may only be off with his girlfriend while his wife worries. The usual wonderfully vivid cast of characters makes up for the thin plot. I don't know why this series is so enthralling, but it is...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another Inspector Montalbano Mystery. Includes many good things Sicilian, and the sad/bad things of modern crime novels. I remember seeing a Law & Order episode that may have been modeled on this story, which focuses on solving the murder of a beautiful 20-something young lady with a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder. Turns out the tattoo is a sort of brand for those Russian emigrants, who are a type of indentured servant, albeit in less honorable trades than during colonial times.

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Mar 28, 2010 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

A quick read in the same style as Camilleri's other Montalbano books. Nonetheless, he touches on contemporary Italian (and other) issues: emigration/people trafficking, corruption, and more personally aging & human relationships.

Since I read a French edition, whose translator describes the difficulties of giving Camilleri's Sicilian style a well-written equivalence in another language, I wondered how this accomplished in English-language versions of his books.

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May 20, 2012 Skip rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-detective, foreign-authors

A young woman, her face mostly blown off and nude, is found in a local garbage dump; the only distinguishing mark is the tattoo of a butterfly (actually, a sphinx moth) on her left shoulderblade. The tattoo turns out to be common among four Russian girls, who have been recruiting by a pious group for nefarious purposes. Not as good as the others in this series, and the on-again, off-again relationship Montalbano has with Livia is actually tiring.

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Jan 02, 2012 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

liked it, but not for the mystery part- really a great character- the italian detective in a small town dealing with other great characters in his town. what do they eat, how do they get from place to place- really well written- light- a good beach read. I could have used a little more plot/twist mystery- but as far as a nice little fun book- liked it- probably more of a 3.5. Love his assistant massacring the names of anyone who called in.

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Feb 09, 2010 Dale rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, italy, mystery, favorites

This series just keeps getting better. Montalbano has mellowed with age, but still manages to be a pain in the ass and a deeply humane person. Camilleri gives us the right mix of plot, mystery, and politics. And,as always, food plays a starring role.

Most mystery series begin to get a bit stale after seven or eight novels,but this series has gotten better with each new release.

The translation by Sartarelli was a joy, as always.

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Jan 22, 2013 Shannon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Camilleri's strength is his conversation writing. I just love the back and forth with Montalbano and his co-workers as well as those he has to deal with. Catarella is my favorite but Fazio, Galluzo and Augello have developed into some of my favorite supporting characters. This story wasn't quite as in-depth as some of the past ones but it was plausible and interesting nonetheless. Very little of Livia (thank you) but I just don't feel like she adds much to the stories anyway.

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Oct 20, 2012 lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book definitely but I had trouble keeping up with all the names and got confused sometimes. It ending becomes quite face-paced in my opinion but ends quite abruptly. I was left thinking what happened to all these characters in the novel. Nevertheless I still enjoyed it and may read more of Andrea Camilleri's Montelbano series. I would also recommend this book to older readers (older teenagers plus) as it does have quite a bit of swearing and some sexual references.

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Nov 21, 2012 Karmakosmik rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gialli

Non il miglior Camilleri ma cmq un buon romanzo di Montalbano. Questo si può dire in sintesi di questa ennesima inchiesta di Salvo, che inizia in maniera tragica e finisce ancor più ridicolo. Attorno all'inchiesta principale ci sono i classici siparietti comici con Catarella ed i suoi collaboratori, la storia infinita con Livia e le mitiche abbuffate da Enzo. Forse la trama è un pochino lieve e superficiale, ma viene comunque garantita una buona lettura.

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Oct 07, 2011 Graham rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime

Whenever I read one of these books which feature the detective Salva Montalbano I wonder how the judicial system in Sicily actually works. Everybody seems to be afraid to do their jobs in case someone higher up the political chain gets upset (or worse). None the less the books are very readable, always have a good story line with interesting twists and turns, always have great food and occasionally a good recipe.

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About Andrea Camilleri

Andrea Camilleri (born september 6, 1925 in Porto Empedocle) is an Italian writer. He is considered one of the greatest Italian writers of both 20th and 21st centuries.

Originally from Porto Empedocle, Sicily, Camilleri began studies at the Faculty of Literature in 1944, without concluding them, meanwhile publishing poems and short stories. Around this time he joined the Italian Communist Party.

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Books by Andrea Camilleri

The Shape of Water (Salvú Montalbano, #1)

The Terra-Cotta Dog (Salvú Montalbano #2)

Voice of the Violin (Salvú Montalbano, #4)

Excursion to Tindari (Salvú Montalbano, #5)

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“In moments of crisis, all you gotta do is review your multiplication tables, and it’ll all blow over!” — 1 person liked it

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The Wings of the Sphinx (Inspector Montalbano #11)

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