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. (Apr. 28)
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Reviewed on: 03/31/2003
Release date: 04/01/2003
Genre: Fiction
Open Ebook - 304 pages - 9781436271998
Paperback - 304 pages - 9780142004739
Hardcover - 336 pages - 9781587246340
Open Ebook - 304 pages - 9781440623349
Peanut Press/Palm Reader - 304 pages - 9781436273626
Open Ebook - 224 pages - 9780330526203
Other - 1 pages - 9781433283079
Compact Disc - 5 pages - 9781433202131
Hardcover - 336 pages - 9781405630818
Hardcover - 304 pages - 9780670032235
Hardcover - 336 pages - 9781405630825
Mass Market Paperbound - 304 pages - 9780142003497
Paperback - 224 pages - 9780330492973