Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri, Mr Stephen Sartarelli

You either love Andrea Camilleri or you haven't read him yet. Each novel in this wholly addictive, entirely magical series, set in Sicily and starring a detective unlike any other in crime fiction, blasts the brain like a shot of pure oxygen. Aglow with local color, packed with flint-dry wit, as fresh and clean as Mediterranean seafood -- altogether transporting. Long live Camilleri, and long live Montalbano. A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window 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. Editorial Reviews Praise for Andrea Camilleri and the Montalbano Series The idiosyncratic Montalbano is totally endearing.--The New York Times Camilleri is as crafty and charming a writer as his protagonist is an investigator.--The Washington Post Book World Hailing from the land of Umberto Eco and La Cosa Nostra, Montalbano can discuss a pointy-headed book like Western Attitudes Toward Death as unflinchingly as he can pore over crime-scene snuff photos. He throws together an extemporaneous lunch of shrimp with lemon and oil as gracefully as he dodges advances from attractive women.--Los Angeles Times [Camilleri's mysteries] offer quirky characters, crisp dialogue, bright storytelling--and Salvo Montalbano, one of the most engaging protagonists in detective fiction...Montalbano is a delightful creation, an honest man on Siciliy's mean streets.--USA Today Camilleri is as crafty and charming a writer as his protagonist is an investigator.--The Washington Post Book World Like Mike Hammer or Sam Spade, Montalbano is the kind of guy who can't stay out of trouble...Still, deftly and lovingly translated by Stephen Sartarelli, Camilleri makes it abundantly clear that under the gruff, sardonic exterior our inspector has a heart of gold, and that any outburst, fumbles, or threats are made only in the name of pursuing truth.--The Nation Camilleri can do a character's whole backstory in half a paragraph.--The New Yorker 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' Los Angeles.--Kirkus Reviews (starred) The novels of Andrea Camilleri breathe out the sense of place, the sense of humor, and the sense of despair that fills the air of Sicily.--Donna Leon - From the Publisher 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 - The New York Times 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. - Publishers Weekly 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. - Library Journal A dearth of evidence and an abundance of fools confound Sicilian sleuth Salvo Montalbano. Inspector Montalbano's fourth case begins with an inconvenient funeral and a squabble with Livia, his hot-tempered mistress. The latter concerns a snafu in the couple's planned adoption of a waif named Francois (The Snack Thief, p. 428). The former requires a three-hour drive with Montalbano's reckless subordinate Gallo behind the wheel to pay respects to the deceased wife of a distant friend. Characteristically, Montalbano is annoyed about the trip and forthright in expressing this annoyance. Via an odd sequence of events, he discovers the body of a recently murdered blond. The twisty plot follows his attempts first to control the investigation from afar, then, once he abandons that strategy, to learn the identity of the victim and reconcile numerous inconsistencies about the crime: the condition of the body, the state of the house it was found in, and varying reports about the blond's character. Nearly everyone describes her as a devoted wife, a prominent doctor, yet the crime scene indicates rough sex. Disagreements with the similarly abrasive local inspector lead to Montalbano's removal from the case. But when the police target an innocent man as the killer and later shoot him, conscience draws Montalbano back. Camilleri has ample opportunity to showcase Montalbano's droll misanthropy in his shaggiest adventure to date. - Kirkus Reviews Grover Gardner doesn't waste time on Italian accents, instead providing personal touches and quirky behaviors to Camilleri's many honest character portraits. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award. - AudioFile The novels of Andrea Camilleri breathe out the sense of place, the sense of humour, and the sense of despair that fills the air of Sicily. To read him is to be taken to that glorious, tortured island. - New York Times bestselling author Donna Leon 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. - Booklist While making an illegal search of a seemingly deserted house, Sicilian Police Inspector Salvo Montalbano stumbles upon the naked body of a woman. He arranges for the body to be found and then proceeds to investigate the crime. Montalbano regularly butts heads with police bureaucracy, and his sharp wit and sharper tongue add dimension to the convoluted case with its eccentric cast of suspects. AUDIOFILE Golden Voice Grover Gardner doesn't waste time on Italian accents, instead providing personal touches and quirky behaviors to Camilleri's many honest character portraits. Montalbano loves fine cuisine, and Gardner adds just the right spice to each mouth-watering description. Translator Stephen Sartarelli earns top marks for his impeccable work in the fourth Inspector Montalbano mystery published in the U.S. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2009 Audies Winner AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine - OCT/NOV 08 - AudioFile