The Wings of the Sphinx is the eleventh book in the wickedly funny Inspector Montalbano series by Italian author, Andrea Camilleri.
Things are not going well for Inspector 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 organization'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 . . .
The Wings of the Sphinx is followed by the twelfth gripping mystery, The Track of Sand.
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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
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0330507656
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. 1st paperback ed. Reprint. This translation originally published: New York: Penguin; London: Picador, 2009. Seller Inventory # ss000210
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