The Wings of the Sphinx (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries) [Paperback]

The best foreign crime fiction writing is as much to be found in the idiomatic prose of the field as it is in the exotic settings we are taken to. Both of these elements are delivered with the panache that is Andrea Camilleri’s signature in The Wings of the Sphinx. We are back in the company of Camilleri’s wily Sicilian copper Salvo Montalbano (he of the hyper-analytical mind, and endlessly indulged gourmet tastes). And we’re back on Commissario Montalbano’s stamping ground: the exquisite, sleepy territory of Vigata.

In the new book, the detective is going through a distinctly rocky patch with his long-distance lover, Livia, and he has other concerns: he is uneasily conscious of anno domini and the dispiriting effect of the violence that is such an omnipresent part of his job. At the same time, a gruesome discovery is made – the body of a young woman is found; half of her face has been blown away. The only clue to the dead woman’s identity is a tattoo – not of a dragon, but of another mythical creature: a sphinx – and she shares this mark with three other young women, Russian immigrants to Italy. All three are involved with the sex trade – and all three are missing.

All of this is authoritatively handed, and The Wings of the Sphinx (translated, as usual, by Stephen Sartarelli) will please Camilleri admirers. The Montalbano books follow certain pre-arranged patterns, but they are none the worse for that. Readers will be intrigued by Montalbano's disturbing professional case here – and the detective’s attempts to salvage his damaged relationship with his lover. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

'Andrea Camilleri's latest is the 11th delightful adventure of the attractively irascible Inspector Salvador Montalbano, lover of food (provided its Sicilian) and of Livia (provided he doesn't have to commit.) As he gets older he is becoming sadder and wisser, and the books a little darker and more serious - though without losing their effervescent wit and general mood of bonhomie.' --The Times --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

The latest Sicilian investigation featuring the inimitable Inspector Montalbano --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Things are not going well for Inspector Salvo Montalbano. His long-distance relationship with Livia is on the rocks, he feels himself getting even older and he’s growing tired of the violence in his job. Then the dead body of a young woman is found in an illegal dump, with half her face missing. Her identity at first unknown; a tattoo of a sphinx moth on her left shoulder links her with three other girls bearing the same mark, all recent Russian immigrants to Italy. Victims of an underworld sex trade, these girls have been rescued from the Mafia night-club circuit by a Catholic charity organization. The problem is, the other girls can’t help Montalbano with his enquiries. They are all missing. As his investigations progresses, it seems that not everyone wants Montalbano to discover what really lies behind the organisation’s charitable façade. And not only does Montalbano have a case to solve, he has a demanding stomach to feed, and he must save his foundering relationship with Livia . . . --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.