Product Description

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 . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80604 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-31
• Released on: 2005-05-31
• Original language: Italian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In his third Inspector Salvo Montalbano mystery to be made available in the U.S., Camilleri (The Shape of Water) displays all the storytelling skills that have made him an international bestseller. When gunfire from a Tunisian patrol boat kills a worker on an Italian fishing trawler, the worldly Sicilian police inspector knows that this is just the type of situation his overly ambitious second-in-command, Mimi Augello, will want to exploit. Meanwhile, Montalbano has to look into the stabbing death of a retiree in the elevator of the victim's apartment building. While the trawler incident appears to resolve itself, the elevator slaying gets more complex by the minute. Soon Montalbano is searching for the retiree's beautiful housekeeper (and sometimes prostitute) and her son. It's only when he finds the boy (the snack thief of the title) that Montalbano learns the true nature of the case, its relation to the trawler shooting and the danger it poses. Although warned to keep his distance, Montalbano, who can't deny his investigative instincts any more than he can refuse a hardy portion of sardines a beccafico, proceeds headlong into the thick of government corruption with a risky plan to set things right. Montalbano, despite his curmudgeonly exterior, has a depth to him that charms. Readers are sure to savor this engrossing, Mafia-free Sicilian mystery.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
In the third Inspector Montalbano mystery to appear in the U.S., the maverick Sicilian cop is once again convinced that the fix is in and determined to unfix it. This time Montalbano suspects a link between the stabbing of a businessman in an apartment-house elevator and the shooting of a crewman on a fishing boat. Connecting the two are an enterprising Tunisian prostitute, now vanished, and her young son, who has been surviving by stealing lunches from schoolchildren. Montalbano fits the pieces together gradually, taking time, as always, for plenty of leisurely lunches but eventually exposing a wide-ranging plot fuelled by high-level corruption. What makes this series so good is Camilleri's unsurpassed ability to mix hard-boiled terror with the comic frustrations of daily life. Montalbano is the southern Italian equivalent of Magdalen Nabb's Marshal Guarnaccia, also a Sicilian but stationed in Florence. Both men covet the quiet pleasures of food, drink, and female companionship, but neither is quite able to resist the compulsion to help others. In the tension between those two forces, the Italian crime novel thrives. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Camilleri is as crafty and charming a writer as his protagonist is an investigator." -- The Washington Post

"Subtle, sardonic, and molto simpatico: Montalbano is the Latin recreation of Philip Marlowe." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Customer Reviews

strong police procedural
At about the same time a Tunisian patrol boat kills a worker on an Italian fishing trawler, an unknown assailant stabs to death a retiree, Mr. Lapecora, in the elevator of his apartment building. Montalbano is assigned the local homicide while his Lady Macbeth-like ambitious superior Mimi Augello takes "public" charge of the international incident.

Montalbano seeks Mr. Lapecora's house cleaner, Karima, who supplements her income with prostitution and the lady's son. When the Inspector catches up to the lad, he begins to understand the elevator homicide and it's surprisingly link to the trawler killing. Though warned to stay out of the Tunisian murder by both sides of the law and others, Montalbano digs deep into cases filled with government corruption packed tighter than a can of sardines.

Even though this is a translation from the original Italian, fans of police procedurals will appreciate this tight sans Mafia Sicilian mystery. The story line never slows down as the hero investigates one crime that takes him to the second murder and much more. Montalbano is a delightful protagonist who sub-genre readers will want to follow. Hopefully more of Andrea Camilleri's novels are translated into English rather quickly or many Anglo-speaking fans will learn Italian rather soon.

Harriet Klausner

Yum!
The best, I think, of the series. I literally laughed out loud at some points, because Montalbano is such a great and quirky character. He's wonderful in so many ways -- from his foul mouth to his love of fine food to his ability to see smells in color. This book is a feast for the senses, delicious in all ways. It's just as good as The Terra Cota Dog and better, I think, than The Shape Of Water. One of the things I like most about this book is how Montalbano retains his hard edges but becomes softer and more sensitive because of the "snack thief" and his effect on the inspector. My advice: read Camilleri rather than Dona Leon, who cannot and does not capture the beauty and wonder of Italy the way Camilleri does, and whose mysteries aren't as interesting as Camelleri's. The latter's writing is so spare and so wonderful; he gets to the heart of the matter without seeming to try at all. Despite this simplicity, Italy comes alive with all its colors and smells and beauty. I love this author and can't wait to read the next book.

For a good time.....
For a really good time, obtain the audio version of The Snack Thief, put it in your player, and relax, because you're in for a treat. Inspector Montalbano reminds me of Donna Leon's Inspector Brunetti in his determination to see that justice is done while retaining his essential humanity, not an easy task for a cop. In love with the lovely Livia, but not entirely sure he wants to settle down as a married man, Montalbano's insecurities are multiplied when an orphaned little boy lands in his lap. What do the boy's prostitute mother, a murdered Tunisian fisherman, and a Sicilian businessman found stabbed in an elevator have to do with one another? Listen to this skillfully narrated version (by Grover Gardner) and enjoy the scrumptious food, the sunshine of Sicily, and the workings of a great detective's mind, and find out. A great MP3 book for the beach or that long flight.