- This edition read on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
- Translated by Stephen Sartarelli
- ASIN : B006NV9C4K
- Publisher : Picador, Publication date : 1 October 2005
- Print length : 260 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-1743291474
- Book 3 of 28 : Inspector Montalbano Mysteries
Synopsis (AmazonAU)
The third novel in Camilleri's savagely witty and hauntingly atmospheric Sicilian mystery series featuring Inspector Montalbano.
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 and sometime prostitute, 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.
My Take
I have only read a couple of novels by this highly rated Italian author. This one I am reading for discussion with my U3A Crime Fiction Reading Group.
Inspector Montalbano is a fascinating and vivid character, an unusual detective, a man with a rough exterior and a tender interior. The plot combines the discovery of a local murder with the death of a trawlerman off the coast of Sicily in international waters.
The human side of Montalbano gets an outing too as he and his girl friend become involved in creating an instant family.
My rating: 4.5
I've also read
- 4.5, AUGUST HEAT - #10
- 4.2, ROUNDING THE MARK - #7
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