"The Terracotta Dog" opens with a mysterious tete-a-tete with a Mafioso, some inexplicably abandoned loot from a supermarket heist, and some dying words that lead Inspector Montalbano gives to a secret grotto in a mountain cave where two young lovers dead fifty years ago and still embracing are watched over by a life-size terracotta dog. Montalbano's passion to solve this old crime takes him, heedless of personal danger, on a journey through the island's past and into a family's dark heart amid the horrors of World War II.Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Salvo Montalbano has garnered millions of fans worldwide with his sardonic, engaging take on Sicilian small-town life and his genius for deciphering the most enigmatic of crimes. 'The novels of Andrea Camilleri breath out the sense of place, the sense of humour, and the sense of despair that fill the air of Sicily. To read him is to be taken to that glorious, tortured island' - Donna Leon. 'Both farcical and endearing, Montalbano is a cross between Columbo and Chandler's Philip Marlowe, with the added culinary idiosyncrasies of an Italian Maigret' - "Guardian".

"The Terracotta Dog" opens with a mysterious tete-a-tete with a Mafioso, some inexplicably abandoned loot from a supermarket heist, and some dying words that lead Inspector Montalbano gives to a secret grotto in a mountain cave where two young lovers dead fifty years ago and still embracing are watched over by a life-size terracotta dog. Montalbano's passion to solve this old crime takes him, heedless of personal danger, on a journey through the island's past and into a family's dark heart amid the horrors of World War II.Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Salvo Montalbano has garnered millions of fans worldwide with his sardonic, engaging take on Sicilian small-town life and his genius for deciphering the most enigmatic of crimes. 'The novels of Andrea Camilleri breath out the sense of place, the sense of humour, and the sense of despair that fill the air of Sicily. To read him is to be taken to that glorious, tortured island' - Donna Leon. 'Both farcical and endearing, Montalbano is a cross between Columbo and Chandler's Philip Marlowe, with the added culinary idiosyncrasies of an Italian Maigret' - "Guardian".

Andrea Camilleri is one of Italy's most famous contemporary writers. The Montalbano mysteries have been best-sellers all over Europe. He lives in Rome. Stephen Sartarelli is a poet and translator. He lives in France.

2008-04-24 Possibly the Best Montalbano I've Read So Far

Having said this is the best one I've read so far I know I've already said this about another one in the series. The cool thing is that I'm reading them totally out of order, so it's not as if the early works (of which this is one) are weaker than the later works. They are all great, and if you haven't yet read Montalbano you are in for a real treat, but there are some really outstanding moments in this one which for my money set it apart.

Montalbano is a wonderful detective, he's unswervingly uncorruptible in a world where corruption is rife. He is a Sicilian through and through. He is sensitive, loyal and a total swine to the women who love him. He is cultured and yet has the common touch. He is obsessed by his dinner and hates nothing more than when his obsession over solving crime takes precedence over his obsession with his stomach. He is delightful and the more you get to know him, the more you want to know him.

This book has many of the same characters from an earlier book, The Shape of Water, which it might be a good idea to read first. You won't not understand this book if you don't, but it will add depth if you do. Here the inspector gets mixed up with the Mafia, gun running and a fifty year old case regarding two star crossed lovers.

It's funny, it's pacy, it's well written and it's something fresh in the sometimes stale world of detective fiction that will give you a new zest for reading.