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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Nov 2003, 256 pages
Paperback:
Jul 2004, 249 pages
The Sicilian detective, Inspector Salvo Montalbano, is on the search for the killer of a young woman. Among the suspects are her aging husband, a famous doctor; a shy admirer (now disappeared) and her lover - an antiques dealer from Bologna. However, it is a mysterious, reclusive violinist who holds the key.
The fourth in the internationally bestselling series featuring the irresistible Sicilian detective.
Inspector Salvo Montalbano, with his compelling mix of humor, cynicism, and compassion, has been compared to Georges Simenon's, Dashiel Hammett's, and Raymond Chandler's legendary detectives.
In this latest novel, Montalbano's gruesome discovery of a lovely, naked young woman suffocated in her bed immediately sets him on a search for her killer. Among the suspects are her aging husband, a famous doctor; a shy admirer, now disappeared; an antiques-dealing lover from Bologna; and the victim's friend Anna, whose charms Montalbano cannot help but appreciate. But it is a mysterious, reclusive violinist who holds the key to this murder.
Chapter 1
Inspector Salvo Montalbano could immediately tell that it was not going to be his day the moment he opened the shutters of his bedroom window. It was still night, at least an hour before sunrise, but the darkness was already lifting, enough to reveal a sky covered by heavy rain clouds and, beyond the light strip of beach, a sea that looked like a Pekingese dog. Ever since a tiny dog of that breed, all decked out in ribbons, had bitten painfully into his calf after a furious fit of hacking that passed for barking, Montalbano saw the sea this way whenever it was whipped up by crisp, cold gusts into thousands of little waves capped by ridiculous plumes of froth. His mood darkened, especially considering that an unpleasant obligation awaited him that morning. He had to attend a funeral.
The previous evening, finding some fresh anchovies cooked by Adelina, his housekeeper, in the fridge, he'd dressed them in a great deal of lemon juice, olive oil, and freshly ground ...
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