Montalbano's colleagues, chance encounters, Sicilian mores, even the contents of his fridge are described with the wit and gusto that make this narrator the best company in crime fiction today
Guardian
Among the most exquisitely crafted pieces of crime writing available today . . . Simply superb
Sunday Times
One of fiction's greatest detectives and Camilleri is one of Europe's greatest crime writers
Daily Mail
The novels of Camilleri breathe out the sense of place, the sense of humour and the sense of despair that fills the air of Sicily. Remarkable
- Donna Leon,
Never has Inspector Montalbano's character – a unique blend of humor, cynicism, compassion, earthiness, and love of good food - been more compelling than in Andrea Camilleri's third Montalbano novel, 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.
His investigation leads to the beautiful Karima, an impoverished house-cleaner, whose young son steals other school children’s mid-morning snacks. But Karima disappears, and the young snack thief’s life – as well as Montalbano’s – is endangered when the inspector exposes a viper’s nest of government corruption and international intrigue.
The Snack Thief is followed by the fourth Inspector Montalbano novel, The Voice of the Violin.
Andrea Camilleri is one of Italy’s most popular writers. His Inspector Montalbano series has sold over sixty-five million copies worldwide and been translated into thirty-two languages, as well as being adapted for Italian television aired on BBC4.
Camilleri’s iconic police-procedural series transports the reader to the fictional town of Vigàta on the sun-drenched Italian island of Sicily. However, all is not as idyllic on the isle as it looks, with reports of crimes and mysterious occurrences keeping the police department busy.
Inspector Montalbano is at the forefront of any investigation, tackling every case with his astute detective work, fractious manner and reliance on delicious meals eaten in perfect silence. The novels see him uncovering Mafia-led activity, tracking down murderers and drug-rings and stopping inexplicable overnight kidnappings. The series begins with The Shape of Water, in which Montalbano is called to The Pasture, a trash-strewn site favoured by drug dealers, where the body of an engineer has been discovered . . .
'Inspector Montalbano is one of fiction’s greatest detectives and Camilleri is one of Europe’s greatest crime writers.’ Daily Mirror