From Publishers Weekly
In his fourth mystery to feature Inspector Salvo Montalbano (The Snack Thief, etc.), Camilleri once again thrills with his fluid storytelling and quirky characters. The irritable Sicilian detective's first challenge is to figure out a way to start an investigation into the murder of a woman whose naked body he discovered through an unauthorized break-in, without letting it be known that he was the one who found her. The long list of suspects includes the woman's husband, who's seemingly unaffected by the news of her death; the neighborhood half-wit, who would charitably be described as an admirer but more appropriately as a stalker; and the woman's out-of-town lover, who has a cryptic background of his own. Salvo is as incapable of turning his back on the mystery as he is at playing politics, and he soon finds himself in trouble with his superiors and the patsy for an ambitious colleague. Perhaps because the crime itself is less intricate than those in earlier books in the series, the author has increased the stakes for Salvo's career and the amount of maverick behavior. Through this deft translation, Camilleri's tale of lust, greed and hidden beauty should win new American readers.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Just last year, when the first Inspector Montalbano mystery (The Shape of Water) made its belated appearance in the U.S., we asked that the translations keep coming--and quickly. Our wish has been granted. This is the fourth in the series to be published here in a mere 18 months, and it is every bit as good as the previous three. This time the doggedly anti-bureaucratic Montalbano, police inspector in the picturesque Sicilian city of Vigata, stumbles upon the dead body of an attractive woman from Bologna and must re-create her last hours in an effort to find the killer. As usual, Montalbano finds himself appalled not only by the callousness of the killer but also by the insufferable small-mindedness of his superiors. Camilleri continues to mix procedural detail with personal drama--Montalbano's tenuous relationship with his lover and his attraction to one of the witnesses in the case--in ways that add depth to both the characters and the drama. If you like the Italian crime novel, you'll love this series. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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

The New York Times Book Review
In Sicily, where people do things as they please, Inspector Salvo Montalbano is a bona fide folk hero.

Book Description
Inspector Montalbano, praised as "a delightful creation" (USA Today), has been compared to the legendary detectives of Georges Simenon, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler. As the fourth mystery in the internationally bestselling series opens, Montalbano’s gruesome discovery of a lovely, naked young woman suffocated in her bed immediately sets him on a search for her killer. Among the suspects are her aging husband, a famous doctor; a shy admirer, now disappeared; an antiques-dealing lover from Bologna; and the victim’s friend Anna, whose charms Montalbano cannot help but appreciate. But it is a mysterious, reclusive violinist who holds the key to the murder.

About the Author
Andrea Camilleri is the author of many books, including the Montalbano series, which has been translated into eight languages. Stephen Sartarelli is a poet and translator.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this latest novel, Montalbano's gruesome discovery of a lovely, naked young woman suffocated in her bed immediately sets him on a search for her killer. Among the suspects are her aging husband, a famous doctor; a shy admirer, now disappeared; an antiques dealing lover from Bologna; and the victim's friend, Anna, whose charms Montalbano cannot help but appreciate. But it is a reclusive violinist who holds the key to the murder.

FROM THE CRITICS

The New York Times

With his eye for beautiful women, his taste for fine literature and a tendency to stop in his tracks to indulge in a meal, the idiosyncratic Montalbano is totally endearing. But he's also a shrewd tactician and a very sensitive man, capable of listening with rapture to a private violin concerto played by a disfigured recluse -- no colorful throwaway scene, but a key piece of the plot. Stephen Sartarelli's light touch with the translation captures the sunny humor of Camilleri's idiomatic Sicilian dialect, even as it conveys the darker nuances of this complicated region. —Marilyn Stasio

Publishers Weekly

In his fourth mystery to feature Inspector Salvo Montalbano (The Snack Thief, etc.), Camilleri once again thrills with his fluid storytelling and quirky characters. The irritable Sicilian detective's first challenge is to figure out a way to start an investigation into the murder of a woman whose naked body he discovered through an unauthorized break-in, without letting it be known that he was the one who found her. The long list of suspects includes the woman's husband, who's seemingly unaffected by the news of her death; the neighborhood half-wit, who would charitably be described as an admirer but more appropriately as a stalker; and the woman's out-of-town lover, who has a cryptic background of his own. Salvo is as incapable of turning his back on the mystery as he is at playing politics, and he soon finds himself in trouble with his superiors and the patsy for an ambitious colleague. Perhaps because the crime itself is less intricate than those in earlier books in the series, the author has increased the stakes for Salvo's career and the amount of maverick behavior. Through this deft translation, Camilleri's tale of lust, greed and hidden beauty should win new American readers. (Nov. 10) Forecast: An international bestseller, Camilleri should benefit from the recent attention given to Donna Leon, author of Uniform Justice (Forecasts, Aug. 4) and other mysteries set in Italy. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

In the fourth entry in Camilleri's best-selling series about Sicilian "hero" Salvo Montalbano (after The Snack Thief), a late-night car wreck caused by Salvo's driver leads to discovery of a murder victim. The dead woman, the much younger wife of an impotent wealthy physician, apparently had just one lover, one mentally deficient admirer, and many wannabes. Higher-ups take the case away from Salvo after he has nearly solved it, but when the mentally deficient guy becomes a scapegoat, Salvo continues investigating anyway. Smooth prose adeptly translated carries the reader into the often-comic world of Sicilian police procedure. Strongly recommended for fans of police procedurals and international mysteries. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews