"Subtle, sardonic, and molto simpatico: Montalbano is the Latin re-creation
of Philip Marlowe, working in a place that manages to be both more and less civilized than
Chandler's Los Angeles."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Savagely funny police procedural prove[s] that sardonic laughter is a sound that translates
ever so smoothly into English."--New York Times Book Review

"Hailing from the land of Umberto Eco and La Cosa Nostra, Montalbano can discuss a
pointy-headed book like Western Attitudes towards Death as unflinchingly as he
can pore over crime-scene snuff photos. He throws together an extemporaneous lunch
as gracefully as he dodges advances from attractive women."--Los Angeles Times

Andrea Camilleri's novels starring Inspector Montalbano have become an international
sensation in eight different languages. This funny and fast-paced Sicilian page-turner will
be a delicious discovery for mystery afficionados and fiction lovers alike.

Early one morning, Silvio Lupanello, a big shot in the village of Vigàta, is found dead in his
car with his pants around his knees. The car happens to be parked in a rough part of town
frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers, and as the news of his death spreads, the rumors
begin. Enter Inspector Salvo Montalbano, Vigàta's most respected detective, who has his
doubts about the way Silvio died. With his characteristic mix of humor, cynicism, compassion,
and love of good food, Montalbano goes into battle against the powerful and the corrupt who
are determined to block his path to the real killer.