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Commissario Montalbano #1-3
Inspector Montalbano: the first three novels in the series
The first three novels in Andrea Camilleri's bestselling Inspector Montalbano series.
This three-book compilation features:
The Shape of Water: On a waste ground in Vigata, the Sicilian town’s dark underbelly flourishes: drug dealers and prostitutes plying their trade. But when the body of Silvio Luparello, one of the local movers and shakers, is discovered there, Inspector Montalbano must investigate; and despite pressure from his commissioner, a local judge and bishop – he is determined to unearth the truth . . .
The Terracotta Dog: When two lovers, dead for over fifty years, are discovered in a mountain cave watched over by a life-size terracotta dog, Inspector Montalbano’s investigation will take him on a journey through Sicily's past and into a family’s dark heart amid the horrors of World War II.
The Snack Thief: When an elderly man is stabbed to death in an elevator and a crewman on an Italian fishing trawler is machine-gunned by a Tunisian patrol boat off Sicily’s coast, only Inspector Montalbano suspects a link between the two incidents . . .
This three-book compilation features:
The Shape of Water: On a waste ground in Vigata, the Sicilian town’s dark underbelly flourishes: drug dealers and prostitutes plying their trade. But when the body of Silvio Luparello, one of the local movers and shakers, is discovered there, Inspector Montalbano must investigate; and despite pressure from his commissioner, a local judge and bishop – he is determined to unearth the truth . . .
The Terracotta Dog: When two lovers, dead for over fifty years, are discovered in a mountain cave watched over by a life-size terracotta dog, Inspector Montalbano’s investigation will take him on a journey through Sicily's past and into a family’s dark heart amid the horrors of World War II.
The Snack Thief: When an elderly man is stabbed to death in an elevator and a crewman on an Italian fishing trawler is machine-gunned by a Tunisian patrol boat off Sicily’s coast, only Inspector Montalbano suspects a link between the two incidents . . .
892 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2013
955 people are currently reading
1006 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Camilleri
433 books2,470 followersAndrea Camilleri was 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.
From 1948 to 1950 Camilleri studied stage and film direction at the Silvio D'Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts, and began to take on work as a director and screenwriter, directing especially plays by Pirandello and Beckett. As a matter of fact, his parents knew Pirandello and were even distant friends, as he tells in his essay on Pirandello "Biography of the changed son". His most famous works, the Montalbano series show many pirandellian elements: for example, the wild olive tree that helps Montalbano think, is on stage in his late work "The giants of the mountain"
With RAI, Camilleri worked on several TV productions, such as Inspector Maigret with Gino Cervi. In 1977 he returned to the Academy of Dramatic Arts, holding the chair of Movie Direction, and occupying it for 20 years.
In 1978 Camilleri wrote his first novel Il Corso Delle Cose ("The Way Things Go"). This was followed by Un Filo di Fumo ("A Thread of Smoke") in 1980. Neither of these works enjoyed any significant amount of popularity.
In 1992, after a long pause of 12 years, Camilleri once more took up novel-writing. A new book, La Stagione della Caccia ("The Hunting Season") turned out to be a best-seller.
In 1994 Camilleri published the first in a long series of novels: La forma dell'Acqua (The Shape of Water) featured the character of Inspector Montalbano, a fractious Sicilian detective in the police force of Vigàta, an imaginary Sicilian town. The series is written in Italian but with a substantial sprinkling of Sicilian phrases and grammar. The name Montalbano is an homage to the Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán; the similarities between Montalban's Pepe Carvalho and Camilleri's fictional detective are remarkable. Both writers make great play of their protagonists' gastronomic preferences.
This feature provides an interesting quirk which has become something of a fad among his readership even in mainland Italy. The TV adaptation of Montalbano's adventures, starring the perfectly-cast Luca Zingaretti, further increased Camilleri's popularity to such a point that in 2003 Camilleri's home town, Porto Empedocle - on which Vigàta is modelled - took the extraordinary step of changing its official denomination to that of Porto Empedocle Vigàta, no doubt with an eye to capitalising on the tourism possibilities thrown up by the author's work.
In 1998 Camilleri won the Nino Martoglio International Book Award.
Camilleri lived in Rome where he worked as a TV and theatre director. About 10 million copies of his novels have been sold to date, and are becoming increasingly popular in the UK and North America.
In addition to the degree of popularity brought him by the novels, in recent months Andrea Camilleri has become even more of a media icon thanks to the parodies aired on an RAI radio show, where popular comedian, TV-host and impression artist Fiorello presents him as a raspy voiced, caustic character, madly in love with cigarettes and smoking (Camilleri is well-known for his love of tobacco).
He received an honorary degree from University of Pisa in 2005.
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.
From 1948 to 1950 Camilleri studied stage and film direction at the Silvio D'Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts, and began to take on work as a director and screenwriter, directing especially plays by Pirandello and Beckett. As a matter of fact, his parents knew Pirandello and were even distant friends, as he tells in his essay on Pirandello "Biography of the changed son". His most famous works, the Montalbano series show many pirandellian elements: for example, the wild olive tree that helps Montalbano think, is on stage in his late work "The giants of the mountain"
With RAI, Camilleri worked on several TV productions, such as Inspector Maigret with Gino Cervi. In 1977 he returned to the Academy of Dramatic Arts, holding the chair of Movie Direction, and occupying it for 20 years.
In 1978 Camilleri wrote his first novel Il Corso Delle Cose ("The Way Things Go"). This was followed by Un Filo di Fumo ("A Thread of Smoke") in 1980. Neither of these works enjoyed any significant amount of popularity.
In 1992, after a long pause of 12 years, Camilleri once more took up novel-writing. A new book, La Stagione della Caccia ("The Hunting Season") turned out to be a best-seller.
In 1994 Camilleri published the first in a long series of novels: La forma dell'Acqua (The Shape of Water) featured the character of Inspector Montalbano, a fractious Sicilian detective in the police force of Vigàta, an imaginary Sicilian town. The series is written in Italian but with a substantial sprinkling of Sicilian phrases and grammar. The name Montalbano is an homage to the Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán; the similarities between Montalban's Pepe Carvalho and Camilleri's fictional detective are remarkable. Both writers make great play of their protagonists' gastronomic preferences.
This feature provides an interesting quirk which has become something of a fad among his readership even in mainland Italy. The TV adaptation of Montalbano's adventures, starring the perfectly-cast Luca Zingaretti, further increased Camilleri's popularity to such a point that in 2003 Camilleri's home town, Porto Empedocle - on which Vigàta is modelled - took the extraordinary step of changing its official denomination to that of Porto Empedocle Vigàta, no doubt with an eye to capitalising on the tourism possibilities thrown up by the author's work.
In 1998 Camilleri won the Nino Martoglio International Book Award.
Camilleri lived in Rome where he worked as a TV and theatre director. About 10 million copies of his novels have been sold to date, and are becoming increasingly popular in the UK and North America.
In addition to the degree of popularity brought him by the novels, in recent months Andrea Camilleri has become even more of a media icon thanks to the parodies aired on an RAI radio show, where popular comedian, TV-host and impression artist Fiorello presents him as a raspy voiced, caustic character, madly in love with cigarettes and smoking (Camilleri is well-known for his love of tobacco).
He received an honorary degree from University of Pisa in 2005.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
December 1, 2023
Me ha gustado mucho, me he hecho fan de Montalbano.
September 17, 2023
I'm not huge fan of the detective/police investigation genre. Often they're just a series of interrogations, which can get boring, especially when, like me, you're never that interested in who did what to whom when or who the real killer is. That said, a good writer can spin dross into gold, and Camilleri is good writer. I read these mainly because I was going on a trip to Sicily and, coincidently, spending time in the area of the country where these novels are set. They turned out to be a lot of fun, mainly because the character of Inspector Montalbano is such a persnickety but lovable asshole. My aim was to read at least one of the novel in this collection of the first three, but I ended up powering through the whole trio. Besides the fun of Montalbano irritating and being irritated by his co-workers and the various people they encounter in their investigations of various crimes, you also get glimpses of everyday Sicilian life, including the pervasive criminal influence, a few history lessons, and lots of rapturous descriptions of food. Recommended if you're looking for something light but ultimately pretty filling.
November 9, 2021
This really should be three books added to my list instead of one since it’s the first three books in the Inspector Montalbano series. Well I loved all three. Each book got more and more intense and brought out more of Montalbano’s character. He’s an asshole and a bit of a sexist, but he’s just so much fun to read as a character. He’s intelligent and clever. As a foodie, I love his love for food. I want to go on a food tour designed by him and we can sit in silence eating the miracle that is food. I’m not sure which one is my favorite of the three books. I guess I loved the plot just a tad more in the Terra Cotta Dog. But each book was great. Each book, you have it figured out or you think you do, but then Montalbano has already figured it out and gets it wrapped up in an odd way that I can only describe as Sicilian. My only issue with the books is that sometimes, the Sicilian references or phrases are not known to me. So there were times, I got confused.
March 21, 2017
Death in Sicily is a compilation of the first three Inspector Montalbano mysteries. I did enjoy the character development and the plot tightening from the first to the third book. In the first book, The Shape of Water, it took a while to get all the key players straight. By the third book, The Snack Thief, (my favorite) I knew the players well enough to understand their motives. I would like to have had that ability in the first book.
At the beginning of the first book, I wasn’t certain whether or not I liked Inspector Montalbano. But he grew on me, and the more I got to know him, the more I liked him. By the end of the third book, he had endeared himself to me. I’ll probably buy book four, to see what new crime he’s investigating and to find out what happens next in his complicated personal life.
As for the writing style, it’s rich with creative metaphors. Certainly, the Sicilian sensibilities are at the forefront of the dialog; and I applaud Stephen Sartarelli for his deft translation.
June 1, 2021
As I waited for the newest Donna Leon mystery, I searched for some read-alikes, and the Inspector Montalbano of Sicily series was the first suggested. Death In Sicily is actually an omnibus edition of the first three books in the series. By the time I finished the third one, I knew I was in for the long haul.
The author was a former television producer and director who worked on the Italian production of the Maigret series; he was privileged to observe the playwright who adapted the novels for the screen. It was a masterclass in storytelling, he says. Over the course of these three books, he learned character development, one of the most important things in a series: it’s not only the mystery plot, but the setting and characters that bring the stories to life—particularly necessary when death is a major theme.
Inspector Montalbano is a sensualist, delighting in the taste of wine, women, and food. He’s always trying to balance the need to maintain order without the harshness of enforcing the letter of the law. A need for justice and a tender heart don’t coexist comfortably. He’s impatient with his superiors and his staff, and it goes the other way, too. He’s in the process of possibly building a family in these first three books, something he wants and pushes away with the same amount of energy. I overlook how he thinks all the younger women are after him, since the other bits make up for it: interesting plots, village antics, quirky and sympathetic characters, lots of food—worth reading for menu ideas alone! Will Montalbano and his long-distance Livia ever commit to marriage? Will he finally go too far and actually punch one of his subordinates? Or his boss? What delicious strange delicacy will housekeeper Adelina leave for dinner next?
I enjoyed Montalbano’s Sicily as much as Brunelli’s Venice. I’m not sure I’ll ever like Montalbano as much as I do Brunelli; he’s a much cruder and more cynical guy. But he is equally as honorable in his job, and that’s his saving grace. As all mystery readers know, a simple seaside village in any country can play host to an infinite amount of murder despite its quaint atmosphere. It’s what keeps us reading.
Alas, October 2021 will be the publication of the final, 28th novel.
The author was a former television producer and director who worked on the Italian production of the Maigret series; he was privileged to observe the playwright who adapted the novels for the screen. It was a masterclass in storytelling, he says. Over the course of these three books, he learned character development, one of the most important things in a series: it’s not only the mystery plot, but the setting and characters that bring the stories to life—particularly necessary when death is a major theme.
Inspector Montalbano is a sensualist, delighting in the taste of wine, women, and food. He’s always trying to balance the need to maintain order without the harshness of enforcing the letter of the law. A need for justice and a tender heart don’t coexist comfortably. He’s impatient with his superiors and his staff, and it goes the other way, too. He’s in the process of possibly building a family in these first three books, something he wants and pushes away with the same amount of energy. I overlook how he thinks all the younger women are after him, since the other bits make up for it: interesting plots, village antics, quirky and sympathetic characters, lots of food—worth reading for menu ideas alone! Will Montalbano and his long-distance Livia ever commit to marriage? Will he finally go too far and actually punch one of his subordinates? Or his boss? What delicious strange delicacy will housekeeper Adelina leave for dinner next?
I enjoyed Montalbano’s Sicily as much as Brunelli’s Venice. I’m not sure I’ll ever like Montalbano as much as I do Brunelli; he’s a much cruder and more cynical guy. But he is equally as honorable in his job, and that’s his saving grace. As all mystery readers know, a simple seaside village in any country can play host to an infinite amount of murder despite its quaint atmosphere. It’s what keeps us reading.
Alas, October 2021 will be the publication of the final, 28th novel.
January 22, 2019
This is a tale of an Italy the likes you are unlikely to see in any other book and three stories that are quirky from the beginning right to the end and the reason is that Inspector Montalbano is an original character.
And its a bit of delicious devilment to read these three novels featuring the smart but strangely odd detective as he takes on three cases with twists and turns and wild surprises all the while getting to know about the detective's co-workers and his love life. This is delightfully, silly and fun reading and not much thought to have to put into understanding what is going on. Its enough to know if the sun is shining, Montalbano is in his element and will figure out all the various threads in these tales.
And its a bit of delicious devilment to read these three novels featuring the smart but strangely odd detective as he takes on three cases with twists and turns and wild surprises all the while getting to know about the detective's co-workers and his love life. This is delightfully, silly and fun reading and not much thought to have to put into understanding what is going on. Its enough to know if the sun is shining, Montalbano is in his element and will figure out all the various threads in these tales.
September 10, 2025
It took me so long to get to you, Andrea Camilleri, but 100 years after your birth, while for the first time in Sicily I had to finally get hold of one of the Montalbano’s stories. And I got completly hooked: the Sicilian scenery, the vivid and complex characters which are not made to fit in one box, the gourmand details which brought me even deeper into the Sicilian landscape, the plots and twists that guide you, the humour and anecdotes and of course the charismatic inspector himself, Salvo Montalbano.
I started with The shape of water but could not resist and went forward with the following two novels in the serie - there is a charming inspector with a great appetite and immense love for his island, with a rather dark humour and integrity which also is aware of his own god-syndrome.
It would be too easy to compare Montalbano with other inspectors or investigators from the fictional crime universe, especially since I realize he entered the scene before some of my (current) favorites, but I sense he is gonna stay in the top of my preferences.
The shape of water presents the death of Silvio Luparello, a local engineer heavy involved in politics - a calculated and ambitious man coming from a family of strong and powerful men that have been shaping the local history in their part of the island. The death Luparello suffers is of natural causes and as it takes place on the bad famed beach locally known as Pastura, in Vigata where Montalbano is inspector he is in charge of the investigation. We get sorted quite quickly that the death was due to a heart attack, but some elements of inconsistency are nagging Montalbano to not shut close the case very quickly allthough he is pressured from all parts to do so. And so enter the scene a rich tapestry of characters that paint for the reader the customs and the characteristic of the society on the island: Rizzo, as the lawyer and counselor of the deceased, Cardamone, a former doctor and the political rival of the deceased, alongside Giacomo, his son and Ingrid, Giacomo’s second Swedish wife, Jacomuzzi, an intriguing character for me thus far as the head of the crime lab, Sergent Fazio, which seems to always be accompanied by amusing scenes, caporal Anna Ferrara from Montelusa, the daughter of one colleague and friend of Montalbano, quite much younger than him nevertheless pinning for him, Gege, childhood close friend of Montalbano now with a career on the opposite spectrum of the law than his friend Salvo but with which he shares a longlasting friendship, Ms Luparello, the widow of the deceased and a very beautiful and smart woman, Stefano Luparello, the son of Silvio which was sent away to Milano to make a career for himself far away from the shadow cast by his father, Giorgio, the nephew of the deceased which is described as an angelic beauty who loved his uncle enourmously, Pino and Saro, engineers with univeristy degrees working as garbage collectors on the Pasture, who are the ones to discover Luparello and Livia, the inspector’s girlfriend or better said the idea of Livia as she is rather little involved but mostly presented through Montalbano’s longing for her.
Montalbano is a complex, irritating and irritable but ultimately a lovable character. As a reader you sense that his “father”,Camellieri sketched him profoundly in his mind before starting to draw him on paper. The interaction of Salvo with his colleagues, especially Jacomuzzi and Fazio are always fun to read, there is humour all over the book but these interactions also reveal the everyday life of Sicilians, the long lasting influence criminal circles have on the local population, the entrapped lives of people and the amazing cuisine, history and landscape the island has. The book itself is a wonderful introduction into the sicilian and italian atmosphere with jokes and rivalries. There are remarks about Italian literature in the interaction between Salvo and his friend the commissioner, as well as about the theater and opera scenes and in some instances about the Italian master painters.
I am so looking forward to the next books now.
I started with The shape of water but could not resist and went forward with the following two novels in the serie - there is a charming inspector with a great appetite and immense love for his island, with a rather dark humour and integrity which also is aware of his own god-syndrome.
It would be too easy to compare Montalbano with other inspectors or investigators from the fictional crime universe, especially since I realize he entered the scene before some of my (current) favorites, but I sense he is gonna stay in the top of my preferences.
The shape of water presents the death of Silvio Luparello, a local engineer heavy involved in politics - a calculated and ambitious man coming from a family of strong and powerful men that have been shaping the local history in their part of the island. The death Luparello suffers is of natural causes and as it takes place on the bad famed beach locally known as Pastura, in Vigata where Montalbano is inspector he is in charge of the investigation. We get sorted quite quickly that the death was due to a heart attack, but some elements of inconsistency are nagging Montalbano to not shut close the case very quickly allthough he is pressured from all parts to do so. And so enter the scene a rich tapestry of characters that paint for the reader the customs and the characteristic of the society on the island: Rizzo, as the lawyer and counselor of the deceased, Cardamone, a former doctor and the political rival of the deceased, alongside Giacomo, his son and Ingrid, Giacomo’s second Swedish wife, Jacomuzzi, an intriguing character for me thus far as the head of the crime lab, Sergent Fazio, which seems to always be accompanied by amusing scenes, caporal Anna Ferrara from Montelusa, the daughter of one colleague and friend of Montalbano, quite much younger than him nevertheless pinning for him, Gege, childhood close friend of Montalbano now with a career on the opposite spectrum of the law than his friend Salvo but with which he shares a longlasting friendship, Ms Luparello, the widow of the deceased and a very beautiful and smart woman, Stefano Luparello, the son of Silvio which was sent away to Milano to make a career for himself far away from the shadow cast by his father, Giorgio, the nephew of the deceased which is described as an angelic beauty who loved his uncle enourmously, Pino and Saro, engineers with univeristy degrees working as garbage collectors on the Pasture, who are the ones to discover Luparello and Livia, the inspector’s girlfriend or better said the idea of Livia as she is rather little involved but mostly presented through Montalbano’s longing for her.
Montalbano is a complex, irritating and irritable but ultimately a lovable character. As a reader you sense that his “father”,Camellieri sketched him profoundly in his mind before starting to draw him on paper. The interaction of Salvo with his colleagues, especially Jacomuzzi and Fazio are always fun to read, there is humour all over the book but these interactions also reveal the everyday life of Sicilians, the long lasting influence criminal circles have on the local population, the entrapped lives of people and the amazing cuisine, history and landscape the island has. The book itself is a wonderful introduction into the sicilian and italian atmosphere with jokes and rivalries. There are remarks about Italian literature in the interaction between Salvo and his friend the commissioner, as well as about the theater and opera scenes and in some instances about the Italian master painters.
I am so looking forward to the next books now.
January 6, 2020
Andrea Camilleri has invented a Sicilian detective to solve intriguingly unique and complex crimes in ways no other detective (that I've read so far...) could. He writes in his preface that one of the people inspiring him to create this, the 1st ever, Sicilian detective hero is Italo Calvino! Calvino, being one of my top 10 favorite authors, I was excited to check out Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano.
The writing is brilliant - concise and just descriptive enough to paint the story for us. There are interspersed in the tale brief sections of action, such as several phone calls of dialogue reported verbatim in staccato bursts to create rhythm in pleasantly surprising interludes. Also fun is the direct diary-like reportage of the Inspector's thought process - intimately shared with us, letting us see a very human, humorous, and creative mind that has set itself to the joys of solving the puzzles and figuring out the motivations and behavior of the characters. The mafia has figured in one of the two novels I was able to read so far in this anthology: The Shape of Water and The Terra-Cotta Dog. In both novels many characters come into play in surprising relationships with each other. I recommend keeping a list of characters handy to track the action! I look forward to returning to read the last novel, The Snack Thief very soon!
The writing is brilliant - concise and just descriptive enough to paint the story for us. There are interspersed in the tale brief sections of action, such as several phone calls of dialogue reported verbatim in staccato bursts to create rhythm in pleasantly surprising interludes. Also fun is the direct diary-like reportage of the Inspector's thought process - intimately shared with us, letting us see a very human, humorous, and creative mind that has set itself to the joys of solving the puzzles and figuring out the motivations and behavior of the characters. The mafia has figured in one of the two novels I was able to read so far in this anthology: The Shape of Water and The Terra-Cotta Dog. In both novels many characters come into play in surprising relationships with each other. I recommend keeping a list of characters handy to track the action! I look forward to returning to read the last novel, The Snack Thief very soon!
November 10, 2023
An enjoyable break from heavier reads in a setting that allows you to travel.
November 18, 2019
Non c'è dubbio, non mi stancherò mai di leggere Montalbano.
October 2, 2016
Excellent! Came to Montalbano because of the great Italian TV series, but the books are even better: they sort of waft along relentlessly, so that it’s hard to make them last. The characters are much more extravagantly drawn, sometimes in a laugh-out-loud sort of way, and Montalbano himself is a much more flawed hero than we see on screen. All three stories are engaging, touching and fun. Not drawn to Sicily at all, but very happy to spend time there with Salvo, Mimi, Fazio, Livia and Ingrid.
Full marks to Stephen Sartarelli for the translations, too.
(Read aloud with my other half.)
Full marks to Stephen Sartarelli for the translations, too.
(Read aloud with my other half.)
March 10, 2016
The first three Montalbano novels rolled into one book. You follow the food-loving Sicilian sleuth through some typically complex cases as he battles against the bureaucracy and corruption of the Italian state.
If you're familiar with the TV adaptation of Montalbano you'll recognise all of these. That doesn't detract from the stories though as there's a good deal of nuance and humour in the books that doesn't always come across on TV.
If you're familiar with the TV adaptation of Montalbano you'll recognise all of these. That doesn't detract from the stories though as there's a good deal of nuance and humour in the books that doesn't always come across on TV.
May 20, 2017
these are eccentric novels that are kind of a cross between Donna Leon and Agatha Christie. Set in Sicily, where cuisine and graft rule everything, they are the stories of a somewhat neurotic policeman who can solve cases.
If you like a good mystery with most of the violence off-screen; and if you enjoy an understanding of good food, you'll like them.
If you like a good mystery with most of the violence off-screen; and if you enjoy an understanding of good food, you'll like them.
July 21, 2018
Oh these Italian police detective series! They are full of descriptions of wine and food, cynicism, and corruption. Inspector Montalbano is not going to replace PC Brunetti or Chief Bruno in my affections, but I enjoyed getting to meet him.
April 2, 2019
I really thought I was on to something. A mystery series set in Sicily. I love Sicily ans want to see more of it. But sadly, my hopes were dasjed. Within moments I found the pages just too heavy to turn. It was too much effort to read. I'll have to pass.
July 11, 2016
Released from the Inspector's grip (for now ;)
June 28, 2019
I just couldn't get into this book, but I did try. The writing is very longwinded and convoluted, and there was nothing in the first chapters to capture my interest or imagination.
May 11, 2020
I tried to love this book but couldn’t get into it and quit halfway through.
August 31, 2022
Les hago un favor al decirles que no vale la pena, no tiene pies ni cabeza, si le pudiera dar media estrella se la daba.
February 8, 2022
Andrea Camilleri (1925-2019) has created one of the most popular crime series at the moment with his Inspector Montalbano series. The books have a mischievous sense of humor and a lovable hero in the compassionate, but also cynical person of Montalbano. Interestingly, Camilleri, who studied stage and film direction and worked as a director and screenwriter as well as TV producer for RAI, started writing this series when he was almost 70 years of age! Salvo Montalbano is a detective in the police force of Vigàta, an imaginary Sicilian town, based on Camilleri’s home town of Porto Empedocle, on Sicily’s south-west coast. The novels contain a substantial sprinkling of Sicilian phrases. The name Montalbano was selected by Camilleri as homage to the Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, who wrote a series of crime novels about a fictional private detective called Pepe Carvalho. Like Carvalho, Montalbano is a great gourmet, and we even get some interesting recipes. These are light and bubbly books, full of Italian sunshine, although the criminals are deadly and cruel and the police officers working for Montalbano not very efficient. There is little character development, Montalbano remains the same bon vivant, who never misses a good lunch, or the delicacies prepared by his housekeeper (he lives alone, but has a girlfriend who now and then visits from the Italian mainland). So you could in principle pick any novel, although The Potter's Field excelled by winning the 2012 Crime Writers' Association International Dagger. Generally speaking, I prefer the earlier novels when Camilleri's inspiration was still fresh, so the first novel, The Shape of Water, also forms a good start. These are books that will always put you in a good mood.
April 27, 2022
I'm using this space to review the Snack Thief. I reviewed the other two on their individual pages. I have this combined edition but wanted to record each book separately. I've now read 4 Camilleri books - Montalbano's First Case (short stories) and these three. For now, that will be the end of my reading of this series. It's definitely not a favourite. It's OK, but I am not a big fan of Montalbano. I find his relationships with coworkers to be somewhat abrasive and rude, and his relationship with Livia is not one that I understand very well, particularly his expressed aversion to marriage followed by his proposal...it was just too much of a turnaround. I don't like the swearing in the dialogue - it doesn't seem to add anything and seems unnecessary. I also don't like Montalbano's focus on women's appearance. There have also been too many female characters being raped or otherwise abused that don't seem to cause Montalbano any concern, despite his role as a policeman.
The Snack Thief was probably the best of the 3 full length stories, and I liked the character of Francois. I still found the actual mystery and events to be very dark and distressing. There is so much corruption! I came away from the story feeling kind of sad, just as I did with the Terra Cotta Dog. I had purchased some more of the series as paperbacks but I'll be donating them now. I'm far more interested in reading more of other detective series set in Europe: ML Longworth's Verlaque & Bonnet, Bannalec's Inspector Dupin, Donna Leon's Inspector Brunetti, etc. Those series are much more interesting to me, and I enjoy the stories more. If I run out of series of interest, I might revisit Montalbano someday, but not anytime soon!
The Snack Thief was probably the best of the 3 full length stories, and I liked the character of Francois. I still found the actual mystery and events to be very dark and distressing. There is so much corruption! I came away from the story feeling kind of sad, just as I did with the Terra Cotta Dog. I had purchased some more of the series as paperbacks but I'll be donating them now. I'm far more interested in reading more of other detective series set in Europe: ML Longworth's Verlaque & Bonnet, Bannalec's Inspector Dupin, Donna Leon's Inspector Brunetti, etc. Those series are much more interesting to me, and I enjoy the stories more. If I run out of series of interest, I might revisit Montalbano someday, but not anytime soon!
April 12, 2025
Siento darle tan baja valoración pero conseguir terminar este libro con sus tres historias ha sido realmente dificil. Entiendo que está escrito en los años 90 y que, quizá por eso, no tenga la velocidad o ritmo de otras novelas policíacas actuales pero en los dos primeros casos no me interesaba nada su historia, ni los personajes, ni los cientos de detalles innecesarios cuando ni siquiera tenían que ver con la trama principal. Si hubiera valorado las dos primeras partes no le habría dado ni dos estrellas. En la primera ni siquiera me quedó claro quién era el asesino.
Por suerte, ‘El ladrón de meriendas’ consiguió engancharme y agilizar un poco la lectura. Me queda claro quiénes son los asesinos, el motivo y en general me pareció una historia mucho más redonda e interesante que las demás.
Tengo otro libro de Camilleri y, aunque le daré una oportunidad, tardaré bastante en abrirlo porque necesito unas semanas de lecturas ágiles y adictivas.
Por suerte, ‘El ladrón de meriendas’ consiguió engancharme y agilizar un poco la lectura. Me queda claro quiénes son los asesinos, el motivo y en general me pareció una historia mucho más redonda e interesante que las demás.
Tengo otro libro de Camilleri y, aunque le daré una oportunidad, tardaré bastante en abrirlo porque necesito unas semanas de lecturas ágiles y adictivas.
January 2, 2020
The bad news is, Camilleri died in 2019. The good news is he left behind many many books about his detective in Sicily. The books are great fun to read, particularly if you had, like I did, a Sicilian grandparent from whom I first heard of so many of the foods, customs, and earthy phrases that appear in his books. Camilleri's descriptions are armchair tourism and you can even hear the dialect in his books (thank you, translator Stephen Sartarelli, for your endnotes). When Camilleri isn't paying homage to his culture, he is paying homage to other detective novelists for me to look up. This particular collection is perfect for the novice, comprising his first three novels. The first I think he wrote as a lark, then gave a little more attention as time went on and the books proved popular. My favorite was the Terracotta Dog for its atmosphere, history, and gentle ending.
May 23, 2024
With just a little hesitation I gave this book a 5 star rating. It was a somewhat novel experience reading these 3 stories because my appreciation for the writing kept growing and growing throughout the 668 pages of this hefty trade paperback.
The scenes and scenarios that take place in this version of Sicily are really a feast and a delight for the reader's imagination. The lead character Inspector Salvo Montalbano became an old, quirky friend in the course of reading these 3 case stories.
Highly recommend to any lover of Detective Mysteries.
P.S. Must give a shout-out to the translator for a great job. Didn't realize this was not an originally English book. Outstanding!
The scenes and scenarios that take place in this version of Sicily are really a feast and a delight for the reader's imagination. The lead character Inspector Salvo Montalbano became an old, quirky friend in the course of reading these 3 case stories.
Highly recommend to any lover of Detective Mysteries.
P.S. Must give a shout-out to the translator for a great job. Didn't realize this was not an originally English book. Outstanding!
April 25, 2023
This fastidious, grumpy, but life loving Inspector Montalbano has been fascinating me for many years. So much so that when I went to Sicily on holidays, I had to visit Punta Secca, where the Italian TV series were filmed, and all the other places like his favourite restaurant “Enzo al Mare”, and the police station. The humour in this series are earthy, coarse and hilarious but all of them reflect the life in Sicily and its people. One thing I absolutely admire about Montalbano is his love for food, which keeps in perfect harmony with the depiction of Sicily and its particular culture. I can almost smell them and taste them while reading this series in my bathtub. Such a lovely feeling!
July 11, 2019
Entertaining easy read
This is a quirky series with a quirky protagonist. Set in Sicily which by reputation operates under its own moral ethical code. Montalbano is a police detective who solves cases but eschews promotion, reads extensively and loves to eat. He is surrounded by a coterie of police officials of varying talents and intelligence.
I must admit to a number of laugh out loud moments as he approaches and solves convoluted cases. By the third book we see him start t to change and become more mature as he deals with issues in his personal life.
This is a quirky series with a quirky protagonist. Set in Sicily which by reputation operates under its own moral ethical code. Montalbano is a police detective who solves cases but eschews promotion, reads extensively and loves to eat. He is surrounded by a coterie of police officials of varying talents and intelligence.
I must admit to a number of laugh out loud moments as he approaches and solves convoluted cases. By the third book we see him start t to change and become more mature as he deals with issues in his personal life.
January 24, 2019
I enjoyed this book a lot. The main character in these stories is Inspector Salvo Montalbano, a small-town detective in Sicily who resists being promoted because he likes detective work and loathes administration. He is smart, earthy, funny, and profane. He loves to eat delicious food, swim in the ocean, and connect his knowledge of literature to the drama of events happening around him. The stories show him manipulating those events to achieve justice, reward the good, and humble the corrupt.
September 7, 2021
I loved seeing the growth of Montalbano and the evolution in the author's writing style and characterization. The Terracotta Dog moved slower than the other two, and I got a little bored by the meandering, but all three stories were great. I keep coming back for more of this author's dark sense of humor in a setting of mafia wars, murder, kidnapping, revenge and other gory crimes, even though I usually avoid the kind of graphic descriptions of violence that are common in Montalbano stories.
August 5, 2024
The first novel was a bit too rushed for my liking; the second and third are top-notch. I enjoyed the lovely descriptions of Sicilian seafood dishes enjoyed by the Inspector, the commentary on Sicilian society and some very funny characters.
We've also been watching the same novels done in the Detective Montalbano TV series on Kanopy. Its good so far but missing much detail and some side plots, also the culinary delights and the Inspector's cranky and even adolescent behavior.
We've also been watching the same novels done in the Detective Montalbano TV series on Kanopy. Its good so far but missing much detail and some side plots, also the culinary delights and the Inspector's cranky and even adolescent behavior.
September 29, 2017
Questa raccolta dei primi romanzi di Montalbano è un ottimo modo per avvicinarsi al Camilleri giallista. Le trame sono sempre avvincenti e plausibili, ma l'aspetto imperdibile della narrazione è costituito dall'amata Sicilia con le sue contraddizioni, la gente ritratta fedelmente, il cibo delizioso, i colori accecanti, i profumi indimenticabili.
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