August Heat (Montalbano 10) [Hardcover]

As the interest of readers in crime fiction in translation continues to grow, it’s common knowledge that one writer's name guarantees highly individual writing: the veteran Italian master Andrea Camilleri. And August Heat demonstrates once again why the author is held in such high esteem -- and why Inspector Montalbano is one of the treasures of the current crime scene. This latest offering (with Montalbano dealing with the discovery of a young woman’s body) is par for the course – not vintage Montalbano, but more than serviceable -- aided by a translation courtesy of the adroit Stephen Sartarelli.

As usual with Montalbano (whose gourmet instincts are as keen as his investigative skills), his methods for learning the truth from suspects vary according to the individuals he is dealing with; here, an unpleasant paedophile comes in for some particularly no-nonsense treatment -- and the legality of some of Montalbano’s actions is distinctly questionable.

The setting, as usual, is the picturesque, non-metropolitan region of Vigata in Sicily. And it's hot --stiflingly hot. In August Heat, we are never allowed to forget the all-enveloping sultriness (the inspector -- possessor of miniature fan, the only one in the police station -- sometimes cloisters himself in his office and strips naked to deal with the heat). At the beginning of the novel, Montalbano’s lover, Livia, has arranged for some friends to stay near them. But their guests' irritating child disappears, and Montalbano undertakes a search. The house they are using yields no clues, despite being searched with a fine toothcomb. The mystery is total -- is it an abduction? Has the child wandered away? Until, that is, Montalbano finds a tunnel in the ground outside -- one that that takes him to a concealed layer of the house. He finds the child, unharmed, but there is another discovery waiting for him in the subterranean room: a trunk. Inside, wrapped in plastic, is the unclothed body of a girl -- her throat has been slashed. The clues to her killer may lie with those responsible for the concealed floor.

Camilleri fans will be more than happy with this, though there is no catch-up characterisation for Montalbano's police colleagues; the author clearly makes the assumption that we’ll be familiar with them. This reservation apart (plus a few others involving a comic secondary figure), followers of this urbane, relentless Italian copper need not hesitate. --Barry Forshaw

'Camilleri underpins the story with caustic sideswipes...which always makes his books a cut above the average thriller.'
--Books Quarterly

'A friend of mine sent me a set of Camilleri's detective stories when he realized what rubbish I was reading. They're brilliant, all about a food-loving detective based in Sicily who can't get his life together.' -- Will Young, She Magazine

aA fascinating survey of the digital age [and] an eye-opening paean to possibility.a
a"The Boston Globe"
aDrawing from anthropology, economic theory, and keen observation, [Shirky] makes a strong case that new communications tools are making once-impossible forms of group action possible . . . [An] extraordinarily perceptive new book.a
a"Minneapolis Star Tribune"

'Affirming that even the sweltering summer is no bar to murder and corruption in Sicily'

'Camilleri underpins the story with caustic sideswipes at the political and criminal elements of Sicilian society'

The tenth novel in Camilleri's engrossing mystery series featuring the irrepressible Inspector Montalbano

Montalbano quickly slammed the trunk shut and sat down on top of it. When the beam from Livia’s torch shone on his face, he automatically smiled. ‘What’s in the trunk?’ Livia asked. ‘Nothing. It’s empty.’ How could he possibly have told her there was a corpse inside? The lazy, slow month of August at the height of the Sicilian summer is, Montalbano assures his girlfriend Livia as they prepare for a relaxing holiday in a villa he has found for them, far too hot for any murders to be committed. But when Livia's friends’ young son goes missing, a chain of events is sparked which will certainly ruin the Chief Inspector’s pleasant interlude. A secret apartment and a grisly find in an old trunk are just the beginning, as Montalbano navigates his way though the case, as well as coping with the sweltering heat, the suspicious death of an Arab labourer and the tempting lure of a beautiful girl . . . ‘A magnificent series of novels’ Sunday Times ‘Wonderful Italian detective stories’ Guardian

Andrea Camilleri is one of Italy's most famous contemporary writers. His Montalbano series has been adapted for Italian television and translated into nine languages. He lives in Rome.