The Snack Thief

Commissario Montalbano #3

by Andrea Camilleri, Stephen Sartarelli (Translator)

In the third book in Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series, the urbane and perceptive Sicilian detective exposes a viper's nest of government corruption and international intrigue in a compelling new case. 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 Montalbano suspects the link between the two incidents. His investigation leads to the beautiful Karima, an impoverished housecleaner and sometime prostitute, whose young son steals other schoolchildren's midmorning snacks. But Karima disappears, and the young snack thief's life as well as Montalbano's is on the line . . .

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Italy, Italian Literature, Detective, Audiobook

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Andrea 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.

Reviews

[Adina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Snack Thief is the 3rd volume in Inspector Montalbano series. The series follows the unconventional investigation of Montalbano in the fictional Sicilian town of Vigata. The detective loves good food (not to read this on empty stomach) and life in general but this time he is very moody. He does not want to investigate when a Vigata registered crewman on an Italian fishing boat is machine-gunned by a Tunisian patrol boat off Sicily's coast but he is forced to in the end.. He has enough to work with the case of an elderly man is stabbed to death in an elevator. Apparently, only Montalbano begin to suspect the link between the two incidents which takes him to Karima, a cleaner with perks. She disappears and her young son becomes a key asset of the investigation.

I really like Montalbano and the ways his mind works to solve the case. Also, I enjoy reading about his personal life and the food he eats. In this book, though, he acted like an asshole for the most of it so I decided to give it 3*. The previous 2 were both 5*.

[Justo Martiañez · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 Estrellas
Menudo personaje ha creado Camilleri, y yo que me lo había perdido (hasta ahora).
En unas cuantas hojas pasa de ser un cabrón brutal, clasista, machista y obtuso que saca de quicio a todo el mundo a ser un tipo brillante y sensible, que es capaz de preocuparse de todo y de todos y, de paso, resolver los casos que se trae entre manos con un par de flashes brillantes.
Lo mismo me pasa con Livia, la novia a distancia de Montalbano, que pasa de ser un personaje absolutamente odioso, a generarte ternura y compasión en el párrafo siguiente (sobre todo cuando su querido Salvo la deja tirada todo el día). En fin un sube y baja de personajes y situaciones desbaratadas, que no puede dejarte indiferente.
Mientras tanto nos damos un paseo culinario por Sicilia (esto me interesa más bien poco o nada, pero se lo perdonaremos en aras del bien de la trama, que este hombre sin comer no funciona). También nos adentramos en la realidad delictiva de una isla, Sicilia, por la que han pasado todo tipo de civilizaciones y conquistadores, la mayoría de los cuales no la han tratado demasiado bien y en cuyo seno nació la terrible y tristemente conocida Mafia. Pero no sólo de la Mafia vive Camilleri, y por ende nuestro comisario Montalbano, todo lo contrario, forma parte de la cotidianidad de las vidas de esta sociedad y se asume como algo casi natural, sino que en estos libros nos asomamos a otros delitos en los que por su situación geográfica, Sicilia, está en el centro del huracán.
En esta entrega nos asomamos al problema de la emigración en el Mediterráneo, de la que Sicilia constituye una de las puertas de entrada hacia Europa, y muchos de los problemas que aprovechan este flujo para infiltrarse entre nosotros, como el terrorismo islámico. En base a esto crea una trama de celos, intrigas, servicios secretos, que no es demasiado brillante, pero que la pluma de Camilleri convierte en un libro interesante y ágil, en el que estás deseando llegar al final.
Se entiende que a partir de aquí, la estrella de Camilleri y sus éxitos de ventas, empezara a alcanzar su cénit en el panorama literario, sobre todo italiano, pero también europeo.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I work my way through this series, Andrea Camilleri is quickly becoming one of my favorite crime fiction authors, and Salvo Montalbano one of my favorite characters. How can you not like him? He's grumpy, cantankerous, and crabby and yet he has a compassionate side. He lives for the best, most delectable food, and although flawed in many ways, he has an incredible handle on human nature. The Snack Thief is number three in this series, and I wasted absolutely no time after Terra-Cotta Dog to start this book. And after finishing this book, I opened up the next one, The Voice of the Violin. I have a feeling that when that one's over, it's going to be on to number five and on down the line until I've finished every book that's been published in this series. That's how good these books really are and how much I like them.

The day starts out badly for Montalbano as the story begins, when he is awakened early in the morning by a call from Catarella at the Vigata station. A Tunisian man was killed when the trawler on which he was working was attacked by a Tunisian patrol boat. The trawler was in international waters, and since someone was killed, the government is forced to intervene. And because the boat came into Vigata, the nearest port, the police there are supposed to provide a detailed report because of the possible international repercussions. Montalbano would prefer not to get involved, and is happy when Mimi Augello takes it on. The Inspector has a more intriguing case to work on -- that of a businessman named Lapecora, who was found stabbed and dead in the elevator of his apartment building. As he's investigating this crime, another report is called in about someone stealing pre-lunch snacks from school children. As he focuses on Lapecora's death, more mysteries begin to reveal themselves, whetting Montalbano's appetite just as much as the promise of alalonga all'agrodolce prepared by his friend Calogero at a local restaurant. And while all of this is going on, Livia decides to come for a visit.

The Snack Thief is a wonderful read. There are multiple layers of mystery at work in this novel, and as each one is revealed, the story becomes a bit more intriguing. The characters once again take center stage -- not only are the usual players here, but there are new ones who play off of Montalbano, bringing out different sides of his character. There are many humorous moments, in the police station, or when Montalbano's hunger makes him a bit grumpy, and especially in the way he deals with his growing (but unfounded) jealousy of Livia and Mimi Augello. Stephen Sartarelli's translation is so well done that the book just flows -- there is not a line out of place, nor is there any point at which the narrative comes off even a bit awkwardly. It's absolutely incredible how well the translation captures all the characters' eccentricities, especially those belonging to Montalbano.

I can definitely recommend this one with absolutely no reservations. It will definitely appeal to all readers of crime fiction, from those who read cozy novels on through noir fans. I admire Camilleri's writing talent, and can't wait to get through the entire series.

[Andrei Bădică · Rating 4 out of 5]

"- N-am vrut să intrăm în gura lumii, asta-i, admise doamna Piccirillo, cu un aer resemnat. În clipa următoare însă, avu o descărcare bruscă de energie și strigă pe un ton isteric: Suntem persoane serioase, noi!"
" Și continuară să vorbească: comisarul în siciliană, Francois în arabă. Se înțeleseră de minune. Îi mărturisi lucruri pe care nu le spusese nimănui niciodată. Nici măcar Liviei. Plânsul deznădăjduit, noaptea, sub pernă ca să nu-l audă taică-său; pustiul din suflet de dimineața, când știa că n-avea s-o găsească pe mama în bucătărie (o pierduse de mic), pregătindu-i micul dejun sau câțiva ani mai târziu, pachețelul cu mâncare pentru școală. Un gol pe care nimic nu reușise să-l umple vreodată: îl duci cu tine până la sfârșit, pe patul morții."

[Metodi Markov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Някак съм успял да пропусна през годините чудесната криминална поредица на Андрея Камилери, но няма защо да съжалявам - сега имам за четене на български още цели пет приключения на комисар Монталбано!

Нивото продължава да е все така високо, разказът е кинематографичен и изобщо не съм учуден, че по тези книги е направен и добър сериал.

[Claire Admiral · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Montalbano e Valente manco parsero averlo sentito, sembravano pigliati da altri pinsèri, e invece erano attentissimi, facevano come i gatti che, quando tengono gli occhi chiusi e mostrano di dormire, stanno invece contando le stelle".

[piperitapitta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Della vita

e della morte.
Dell'amore e del dolore.
Della vecchiaia e dell'arte.
Della morale e della politica.



I romanzi di Camilleri non sono solo dei polizieschi: sono dei piccoli compendi dove tutte le cose della vita ruotano attorno alla figura (meravigliosa e arrogante!) di Salvo Montalbano.
E lui è così imperfettamente uomo da aver voglia di abbracciarlo. E poi di prenderlo a schiaffi. E poi magari di dargli un calcio in culo per ogni volta che ha paura di impegnarsi seriamente con Livia, per tutte le volte che maltratta Fazio (per poi accorgersi che forse meno bravo di lei, ma sempre sbirro è!), per l'invidia che prova per Mimì (anche se già so, grazie ai film con Zingaretti, che diventeranno inseparabili): perché riassume in sé tutti i difetti umani, ma anche tutti i pregi.
Camilleri poi è un genio, perché tra una triglia fritta e un'ammazzatina qualsiasi in mezzo ci ficca anche Ustica: è una Sicilia inventata quella di Camilleri, ma che non si allontana mai dalla realtà, una Sicilia che parte da Verga e Pirandello e che passando per il Gattopardo, cambia continuamente colore, come un camaleonte, una Sicilia che sembra aver imparato a memoria la lezione di Tancredi e don Fabrizio: bisogna cambiare tutto perché tutto resti come prima. Quella di Camilleri però, è una Sicilia che è passata anche per le stragi di Capaci e di Via D'Amelio, che ha una volontà ferrea di non piegarsi mai alle prepotenze e ai soprusi e che ha imparato che, a combattere lo stato dentro allo stato, può essere anche il più insignificante dei suoi servitori.



Dei Montalbano letti, il mio preferito.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crime and international politics combine to frustrate Inspector Montalbano in Vigàta, the most invented city of the most typical Sicily. While coping with crime and police procedures our Inspector adores restaurants with good food.



"Just a bite to eat . . "
He stopped in front of the restaurant where he’d gone the last time he was in Mazàra. He gobbled up a sauté of clams in breadcrumbs, a heaping dish of spaghetti with white clam sauce, a roast turbot with oregano and caramelized lemon, and he topped it all off with a bitter chocolate timbale in orange sauce. When it was all over he stood up, went into the kitchen, and shook the chef ’s hand without saying a word, deeply moved. In the car, on his way to Valente’s office, he sang at the top of his lungs: “Guarda come dondolo, guarda come dondolo, col twist . . .”

. . . and a dinner invitation
“Why don’t you stay and eat with me?”
Montalbano felt his stomach blanch. Signora Clementina was sweet and nice, but she probably lived on semolina and boiled potatoes.
“Actually, I have so much to—”
“Pina, the housekeeper, is an excellent cook, believe me. For today she’s made pasta alla Norma, you know, with fried eggplant and ricotta salata.”
“Jesus!” said Montalbano, sitting back down.
“And braised beef for the second course.”
“Jesus!” repeated Montalbano.
“My son, he says it’s undignified to eat such things at my age. He considers me a bit shameless. He thinks I should live on porridges. So what will it be? Are you staying?”



Questioning witnesses can be fun. . .
“Excuse me, ma’am, I’m Inspector Montalbano.”
The young housewife who had come to the door—about thirty, very attractive but unkempt—put a finger to her lips, her expression complicitous, enjoining him to be quiet.
Montalbano fell silent. What did that gesture mean?
Damn his habit of always going about unarmed! Gingerly the young woman stood aside from the door, and the inspector, on his guard and looking all around him, entered a small study full of books.
“Please speak very softly. If the baby wakes up, that’s the end, we won’t be able to talk. He cries like there��s no tomorrow.”
Montalbano heaved a sigh of relief.
“You already know everything, ma’am, don’t you?”
“Yes, Mrs. Gullotta, the lady next door, told me,” the woman said, breathing the words in his ear. The inspector found the situation very arousing.
“So you didn’t see Mr. Lapècora this morning?”
“I haven’t been out of the house yet.”
“Where is your husband?”
“In Fela. He teaches at the middle school there. He leaves every morning at six-fifteen sharp.”
He was sorry their encounter had to be so brief. The more he looked at Signora Gulisano—that was the surname on the plaque—the more he liked her. In feminine fashion, she sensed this and smiled.
“Will you stay for a cup of coffee?”
“With pleasure.”



With exciting twists and turn of deadly crime Inspector Montalbano is on the trail of the criminals stopping only to enjoy delicious meals.


Enjoy!

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4* of five

Ambiguity is a highly valued and well-tolerated state in Italy. (Likewise Japan.) It makes so much of the insane, illogical world the Italians have created and laughingly called a "government" and a "social fabric" function, this ability to be more than one thing at one time.

Immigrants, seldom from high ambiguity-tolerant climes, screw things up mightily. Karima certainly does, that Tunisian house cleaner-cum-sex worker. She thinks she's moved to a place away from the stark complexities she comes from in Tunisia, and instead ends up at the center of an only-in-Sicily clusterfuck that had me fearing for Montalbano's life, sanity, and love relationship.

I don't fear for his waistline or his palate. Yet again, he swims and savors his way through the book. The food descriptions! *sigh* I wish I could eat Adelina the housekeeper's roulades of bream. I long for the koftas that the Mazarase chef reinvents after a visitation from the Virgin Mary while he was in prison. The sheer sensual glory of Camilleri's Sicily makes a hungry gourmand into a ravening beast. Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin's The Physiology of Taste has not one thing on this series for sheer torture of the tastebuds.

In the end, Karima's story, which of course is so much larger than we first imagine it to be, resolves itself with losses and gains all around...death, of course, but also the slow, steady taking away that growing older in a life well lived requires us to accept and endure; the inevitable time-caused losses; but the surprises of joy and courage buoy up the other end of that cork in the wine-barrel of living emotion.

And really, in the end, isn't that what reading books is about? Experiencing living emotion, only at a safe remove; pre-feeling our feelings, or re-feeling them, in safety and without the need to explain or the desire to complain. Storytelling is, for this among many reasons, a brilliant use of language, no matter that the story told has been told before. Camilleri says as much, explicitly, on page 37: "There is no Sicilian woman alive, of any class, aristocrat or peasant, who, after her fiftieth birthday, isn't always expecting the worst. What kind of worst? Any, so long as it's the worst."

Word, as the kids of today used to say before we figured it out.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Montalbano and Valente seemed not to have heard him, looking as if their minds were elsewhere. But in fact they were paying very close attention, like cats that, keeping their eyes closed as if asleep, are actually counting the stars. ”

As with the early Louise Penny Three Pines novels, these mysteries are mainly about foodie Inspector Montalbano's love of food. As with Three Pines, you just want to visit Sicily and eat. And enjoy with Montalbano his love of women. Sicily, wine, women, and a little mystery thrown in. Early on in this one an elderly man is stabbed to death in an elevator, and women, not wanting to get involved, ride the elevator, kind of amusingly ignoring him. So a lighthearted opening, of sorts.

Then a crewman on an Italian fishing trawler is machine-gunned by a Tunisian patrol boat off Sicily's coast, and things get more serious, as Montalbano links the two crimes. Then th investigation leads to the beautiful Karima, an impoverished housecleaner and sometime prostitute, whose young son steals other schoolchildren's midmorning snacks. In the middle of all this one of Montalbano's long time lovers insists on visiting, and as the son may have seen criminal activity, they shelter him. Who will take care of the boy? Will these parental moments lead the two lovers finally to matrimony?

This is a really entertaining book, not long, filled with food and wine and Sicily and lovemaking, with laughter and then a kind of sweetness.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

So my wife and me went on vacation to Sicily which more than likely had something to do with the TV show Montalbano so what better than bringing one of the books along for the ride. The TV version of this book is one of the most touching episodes in Montalbano's and Livia's lives.
The book tells you about a murder on a fishing boat Montalbano does not want to touch as it has all the signs of a hot potato no government service wants to touch.
Instead Montalbano gives his attention to the murder of a man in a elevator, found with a knife in his body. And it would all be straightforward weren't it for the matter of a little boy stealing snacks from other kids because he is hungry. Which turns out to be the son of the disappeared cleaning lady of the murdered man in the elevator.
Montalbano solves the murder and the case of the missing cleaning lady. In what is certainly one of the better books in the series in which Montalbano is at the top of his game.
And do not forget about the culinary adventures enjoyed by the man himself.

I would like to mention the fact that I did not visit any place in which Montalbano operates, did visit Agrigento, Palermo, Etna and Cefalu. I will undoubtedly visit Sicily again and will then visit Vigata and pose with Montalbano's statue myself.

The books do tell about the beauty of Sicily and it is quite understandable that Montalbano never wanted to leave. This book is a good one and we'll worth your time reading. 👍🌞

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This takes the prize. My all-time favorite Montalbano...and as usual, when I really like something, it's harder to write about it. D'habitude, I retreat into quotations. So here goes...

Clementina Vasile Cozzo makes her first appearance - a minor character but both admirable and spicy. "For decades the respectable people here did nothing but repeat that the Mafia was no concern of theirs but only involved the people involved in it. But I used to teach my pupils that the 'see-nothing, know-nothing" attitude is the most mortal of sins. So now that it's my turn to tell what I saw, I'm supposed to take a step back?"

The theme of fathers and sons echoes throughout this book. The murdered man Lapècora appealed to his only son to come and help him shortly before he was killed, and the son went on vacation instead. Montalbano has his own "father issues" as well as commitment issues with Livia, but it doesn't stop him from speaking plainly to the son:
"'Do you have any children, Doctor?'
'A son, Calogerino. Four years old.
'I hope you never need him for anything.'
'Why?' asked Dr. Antonino Lapècora, bewildered.
'Because, if he's his father's son, you're screwed, sir.'"

Both Lapècora and a family from Tunisia are involved in the smuggling plot that Clementina has inadvertently viewed from her window, and the unraveling of this plot is complex but well handled. François, the orphaned son of Karima Moussa, the cleaning lady/mistress of Signor Lapècora, turns out to be central to this unraveling and also surfaces Livia's strong maternal drive...which both threatens and attracts Montalbano...who is at the same time struggling with losing his own father.

He is afraid to visit his dying father in the hospital, so he keeps putting it off. His old fisherman friend has his number: "The fact of your father's dying is real, but you refuse to confirm it by seeing it in person. You're like the child who thinks he can blot out the world by closing his eyes...When will you decide to grow up?"

Irony to be continued in the next of the series, "Voice of the Violin."

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Camilleri seems to be one of San Antonio's epigones, and not a bad one at all. His characters are alive and somehow afectionate, the plot is acceptable, the style is a pleasant one. Four stars are probably too much, but most of the novels are slightly overrated here.
One single question: Venerdi di Republica is a weekly magazine, so I presume it appears once a week, everytime on the SAME day. Or, the three magazines from Lapecora's studio are dated June 7, July 30 and September 1, and this doesn't match at all...

[Come Musica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Che belli che sono questi romanzi!

[Anto_s1977 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un peschereccio Mazzarese attracca a Vigàta con un uomo tunisino ammazzato durante uno sconfinamento del natante, ma, per questioni di competenze territoriali, l'indagine passa al commissariato di Mazzara.
Sembra che Montalbano si sia liberato di questa questione e possa dedicarsi all'omicidio di un uomo, ritrovato cadavere dentro un ascensore.
L'indagine è complessa: il morto aveva una relazione con una prostituta tunisina, aveva riaperto un'attività abbandonata da tempo, aveva scritto lettere anonime e invocato l'aiuto del figlio per una questione che lo preoccupava.
Come districare questa matassa ingarbugliata.?Quando la prostituta sparisce improvvisamente con il figlio, una vicina del morto testimonia in modo molto circostanziato sul comportamento dell'uomo, loschi personaggi vengono a galla e, per complicare il tutto, l'istinto materno di Livia si risveglia?
Ma è sicuro che il caso del tunisino morto in mare non c'entri niente?
Montalbano è costretto a giocare d'astuzia per stanare chi agisce nell'ombra...
Come al solito, Camilleri e la sua creatura letteraria non deludono il lettore. E questo terzo volume ci regala, oltre al giallo, agli assassini da svelare, belle pagine, delicate e dense di emozioni, dedicate agli affetti e alle debolezze del nostro commissario.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tercero que leo del inspector Montalbano y, de momento, el mejor. El que más me ha gustado, quiero decir.

Como en anteriores se mezclan dos investigaciones que tiene poco que ver … o no. Y tenemos a Montalbano en estado de gracia : disfrutando con las comidas, manipulando las pesquisas y a sus superiores, peleando con sus compañeros de oficina (impagable Catarella) y “peleando” su relación con Livia. Y entre unas cosas y otras va descubriendo detalles que le llevan a resolver la trama pero de esa forma tan suya. Más una “entente cordiale” que un seguir las leyes al pie de la letra.

Le confirmo como fondo de armario. Llevo dos títulos más cargados en el Kindle para cuando no me decida a leer otra cosa; siempre es agradable reencontrarse con este personaje.

[ferrigno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quattro romanzi di Cammilleri uno dietro l'altro sono chiaro indizio di compulsione; tuttavia, le patatine non sono tutte uguali. Il ladro di merendine ha una riuscita superiore, data dall'equilibrio con cui Camilleri riesce a bilanciare gli elementi del suo stile. Il mix tra indagine e vicende intime, la dinamica cangiante delle relazioni, le pause riflessive (l'incontro col professore di filosofia), l'azione, il sesso, il cibo, i rimandi all'attualità e il percorso accidentato dell'indagine. In Il ladro di merendine, che è il terzo, sembra che Camilleri abbia messo a punto il meccanismo alla perfezione.

Il romanzo è il miglior Camilleri letto fin'ora e si prende le mie 5 stelle e credo difficile che un altro Camilleri della serie Montalbano possa superare questo, non perché ritengo che Camilleri abbia dei limiti o perché sia il genere "poliziesco" ad essere limitato. Limitante è che Camilleri ci tenga tanto a far stare bene il lettore -a farsi capire, a non dispiacerlo, inorridirlo , confonderlo o spaventarlo troppo. Questo è il limite più grosso riscontrato fin ora.
Vedremo.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and fun. Really liked the mystery in this one.

[Giorgia Monni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dei libri di Montalbano letti finora, questo è sicuramente il più bello. Camilleri si conferma sempre geniale e nulla può eguagliarlo: l’ ambientazione, in questa Sicilia fittizia ma così reale (“se la fantasia ha potuto coincidere con la realtà, la colpa è da addebitarsi, a mio parere, alla realtà”), la narrazione dei fatti, l’ ironia, la capacità di farci amare (e anche quella di farci rispecchiare in lui!) un personaggio come Salvo Montalbano, con tutti i suoi pregi e difetti, non sono altro che la necessaria espressione della sua bravura.

[Katerina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Καλή ιστορία, με δράση και ίντριγκα αλλά δε μου άρεσε το τέλος της!
Θεώρησα κάποια πράγματα περιττά και χωρίς ουσιώδη λόγο!
Μου αρέσει που έχει τις αστείες του στιγμές ανάμεσα στον Μονταλμπάνο και τους συναδέλφους του!

[Brendan Monroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in the internationally famous “Commissario Montalbano” series, and the seventh I’ve read. There’s an extremely popular Italian TV adaptation that I haven’t seen, but the books themselves are fabulous.

The setting is the fictional Sicilian town of Vigàta and these books are most definitely Sicilian through and through. Parts are even written in Sicilian dialect, which makes me respect the Italian translator of these novels even more. What a job translating these must be!

The “Montalbano” series is the antithesis of the dark Scandinavian crime fiction we know and love. And I do love dark Scandinavian crime fiction, whether the medium is television ("The Killing" and "The Bridge" are two of my favorites) or the paperback form, for which Jo Nesbø is, in my humble opinion, the standard.

But there's just something special about Camilleri's "Montalbano" books. There’s as much nasty business happening here as in those Scandinavian crime thrillers, but it just feels so much ... happier! Lighter! Funnier!

No matter what kind of murder and mayhem is taking place in Vigàta and its surrounds, these books manage to maintain a degree of lightness and fun that Henning Mankell, Steig Larson, and Jo Nesbø just can't. Or would perhaps find distasteful.

Maybe it's on account of the food. In between the graphic details of a man being stabbed in the back with a kitchen knife and a woman possibly being forced to prostitute herself, there are pages upon pages devoted to describing a particular Italian dish and Inspector Montalbano musing on what he'll have for dinner. You'll also learn far more about Sicilian history and politics than you'd expect going in.

In a battle of wits, I’m not sure whether I’d give the upper hand to quick-witted foodie Montalbano or recovering alcoholic and uber pessimist Harry Hole (in Jo Nesbø’s novels) — the two men certainly would make for an insane buddy cup film.

Pick one of Camilleri’s “Montalbano” books up at your local bookstore!

[Karschtl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 Sterne

Dieser sizilianische Krimi gefiel mir überraschenderweise ganz gut. Überraschend deshalb, weil er mittlerweile ca 25 Jahre alt ist, einen eher gemütlicher Stil hat und Camilleri auch kein Wort zu viel schreibt. Das ganze Buch besteht fast nur aus Dialogen, mit ein paar - komplett sachlichen - Beschreibungen zu Setting und Personen. Trotzdem habe ich Spannung verspürt, wollte wissen wie der Fall aufgeklärt wird.

Zumindest solange es um den Geschäftsmann Lapecora ging und die verschwundene Tunesierin. Was mit dem Typen auf dem Boot geschah lief eher so nebenbei. Aber am Ende ergab dann doch alles zusammen einen Sinn.

[Isaac Clemente ríos · Rating 3 out of 5]

En este capítulo Camilleri dibuja una trama sucia y difícil de desentrañar, en la que la principal sospechosa del asesinato de un jubilado es una señorita de compañía. Al final hay temas de servicios secretos y bajos fondos.

El desarrollo psicológico de Montalbano es tal vez más rico que en los episodios anteriores: la relación con Livia y con su jefe por ejemplo. Los diálogos y la ambientación son tan buenos como siempre.

Me ha costado seguir todos los hilos de las pesquisas y me parece que al final peca un poco de explicativo, aunque el autor lo resuelve con elegancia gracias al episodio de la grabación.

Tan bueno como siempre, aunque me he trastabillado un poco con tanta complicación.

[Antonio Rosato · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Arriva un momento - pinsò - nel quale t'adduni, t'accorgi che la tua vita è cangiata. Ma quando è successo? ti domandi. E non trovi risposta, fatti impercettibili si sono accumulati fino a determinare la svolta. O macari fatti ben visibili, di cui però non hai calcolato la portata, le conseguenze. Spii e rispii, ma la risposta a quel «quando» non la sai trovare. Come se avesse importanza, poi! Lui, Montalbano, no, a quella domanda avrebbe saputo rispondere con precisione. Fu esattamente il dodici di maggio che la mia vita cangiò, avrebbe detto".
Romanzo breve ma intenso e, a tratti, commovente. Forse non esagero se dico che, sin qui (visto che sto leggendo tutti i libri del maestro Camilleri in ordine cronologico) è il più bello… non solo tra quelli dedicati al commissario Montalbano. Un libro che scava nell'animo umano, e con interessanti ripercussioni sulla vita futura dello stesso commissario.
Il ladro di merendine ti fa, letteralmente, innamorare sia del "personaggio" Montalbano (umanissimo ma incredibilmente intelligente) che delle figure di Fazio ed Augello. Ma, soprattutto, un racconto che ti fa "riflettere" su alcuni risvolti sociali (sempre attuali e, con molta delicatezza, portati all'attenzione del lettore).
[https://lastanzadiantonio.blogspot.co...]

[LaLópezIborra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un reencuentro con Salvo Montalbano después de más de 20 años... y ni tan mal. Me lo he leído de una sentada. Genial la ironía -en algún momento, casi sarcasmo- de Camilleri respecto a la situación de la Italia del momento, que no ha cambiado mucho en todo este tiempo, y que tanto se parece a nuestra realidad.

Montalbano es egoísta, sarcástico, gourmet y glotón, solitario, profesional, inteligente y bastante machista. A pesar de o gracias a todo ello, pasa a ser uno de mis favoritos, juntamente con Pepe Carvalho, Guido Brunetti y Héctor Salgado. La galería de personajes más o menos prototípicos, las descripciones gastronómicas (tan deliciosas como las de Vázquez Montalbán y Donna Leon: qué hambre leyendo), la trama con doble delito que acaba imbricándose, los diálogos llenos de zascas, la crítica social (corrupción, inmigración ilegal, infancia desprotegida, prostitución)... todo me ha levado a disfrutar de la novela y a buscar, entre todo lo pendiente por leer, más libros de la serie. Creo que ahora llega el momento de lecturas un poco más relajadas.

[Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful series, growing in skill with each volume, but volume three marks the point of oversentimentality and plotiness when Camilleri realized he was not LaCarre! As the absurdity and freedom of style grow, Camilleri reaches his full abilities.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

E' un bel romanzo, in cui il personaggio di Montalbano mostra aspetti del suo carattere.. molto umani.

[amapola · Rating 1 out of 5]

https://youtu.be/geZ6PAuwSxY

[Sofi Bru · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cumple con entretener, acudiendo a recursos simpáticos y pintorescos como la deliciosa comida mediterránea y los entuertos en la relación entre autoridades policiales, peritos científicos y el servicio secreto nacional.
Es la segunda novela que leo de Andrea Camilleri y seguro no será la última. De hecho, creo que es una lectura obligada para aquellos adeptos al Dottore Montalbano, puesto que narra aspectos de su pasado y vida personal que por lo general son esquivos en los relatos que Camilleri le ha dedicado a este simpático personaje.

[Roberta Castelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Camilleri? Una garanzia!