The Wings of the Sphinx (Kennebec Large Print Superior Collection: Inspector Montalbano Mystery) - Softcover

Camilleri, Andrea

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1410425843 ISBN 13: 9781410425843

Publisher: Kennebec Large Print, 2010

Synopsis

Things are not going well for Inspector Salvo Montalbano. His relationship with Livia is once again on the rocks and -- acutely aware of his age -- he is beginning to grow weary of the endless violence he encounters. Then a young woman is found dead, her face half shot off and only a tattoo of a sphinx moth to identify her. The tattoo links her to three other girls, all victims of the underworld sex trade, who are all missing . . .

About this title

Review:

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

Review:

'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

About this edition

• Publisher: Kennebec Large Print
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1410425843
• ISBN 13: 9781410425843
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 325