Sit down to a three-course meal of comfort food, ideally suited to the chilly weather, accompanied by a quirky Italian aperitif: three chart toppers and a Sicilian mystery make a perfect winter feast.

Paper Moon is Andrea Camilleri’s ninth Inspector Salvo Montalbano mystery, set in the fictitious Sicilian town of Vigata, and engagingly translated by the poet Stephen Sartarelli.

Like American police inspectors of ‘a certain age’, Montalbano is starting to doubt himself – but shows no sign of wanting to suck on a gun, a bottle or a cigarette.

A murdered man, dead politicians, dirty drugs, lovely women – Salvo rises to the challenge. Instead of being mired in the mafia, as befits its location, the plot is personality-driven and unpredictable. Different – but definitely rewarding. ( )

Inspector Montalbano wakes this time not by his inner alarm clock but from one he now sets each night to wake him prompt each morning. His usual slapstick routine of starting the day had fallen by the wayside, irrelevant random thoughts had been plaguing his mind, with a touch of forgetfulness, tiredness and that feeling of age had suddenly creep upon him.

Within ten minutes of being at the station Montalbano is confronted by Signorina. Michela Pardo who cannot locate her brother Angelo, he may have been forty-two but had been missing for some forty eight hours and would always call when away. After a few questions and being won over by Michela's deep, violet lake eyes he was willing to check out her brother's apartment. Montalbano stumbles into a gruesome situation on Angelo's terrace, a man shot at point blank range in the face presented in a rather lewd position.

As things begin to unfold Angelo Pardo the victim was certainly appearing to be no saint. A former doctor struck off the Medical Association ten years earlier after indecent relations with a female patient. Montalbano also had suspicions and doubts about Angelo's job as a medical/pharmaceutical `Informer' and the wealth that seemed to go with it, not only was he lacking a bank account, the money had instead been spent on lavish expensive gifts for his mistress. Then there was Angelo's computer, three files protected by passwords and within secret codes were used! What for? Threatening letters had been found but a strongbox Angelo kept was missing. Montalbano sized up possible motives female entanglements or shady influence in the medical profession with plenty of suspects past and present to go with both, or was it something else? While Montalbano's faithful team cracked codes and follow all other leads including a political one, Montalbano on the other hand was looking for trouble and decided his line of enquiry, presence was best felt with the ladies.

Andrea Camilleri has done wonders with the character Inspector Salvo Montalbano over the years, always in hot water with female trouble, his moods dark, aging but not lacking in sophistication and charm it just melts right off the pages. In this book Montalbano wits become changellened against the leading ladies Michela Pardo and Elena Sclafani but its Montalbano inner thoughts about these two which adds to the comedy. His team follow him as he leadeth them into temptation; always using his unorthodox route to get an answer, meanwhile the description of a chaotic police station always cracks me with a smile. The whole series has a timeless feel, for any thinking of starting to read they clearly deserve to be read from the beginning.

Camilleri has written a wonderful Montalbano Mystery series, this book is the ninth in the series and again he doesn't disappoint. All Montalbano mysteries start in comedy but end in horror or melodrama but its all done with lots of human interest in every plot. This novel I found to start slower than others but it soon picked up pace and again the ending was a gem with its darker twists. What I love about this whole series would be the characterisation and language the usage of dialogue in conversation, directness, it's all been kept real with sharp dry wit and ironic comedy moments, the sly comments on Italian life and culture keeps things amusing and interesting. A big also for me is the passion for great flavoured foods, all the dishes in these books are mouth-watering and endless, described so vividly you can almost taste them.

This is also where I bring in my special thank you to poet Stephen Sartarelli who has translated each book smoothly and clearly managing to keep its humour throughout and for the informative notes given at the back on wording, I would also say notes are always advised to be read before reading the novels.

Another thoroughly enjoyable read in the series.

Andrea Bowhill ( )

No. 9 in the Inspector Montalbani series.

Until this installment, Camilleri’s series was—and remains—unique in that its single most outstanding characteristic is a gusto for life. The protagonist, Sicilian Inspector Salvo Montalbano, is moody, as changeable as the weather—passionate, highly moral in his work, a cowardly liar when he feels it necessary in his relationship with his lover Livia, a gourmand and glutton, compassionate jealous, intuitive, sarcastic, protective of his police officers, stubborn, well-read—the list goes on and on. He seems to be larger than life and yet totally believable.

Camilleri takes the same approach with his wonderful cast of recurring characters, although on a more minor scale: Fazio, the sergeant, Mimí Augello, Montalbano’s second-in-command, Catarella the foolish, bumbling officer who has his own take on the Italian language and police procedure, Dr. Pasquano the coroner, Livia, Adelina his housekeeper, Nicoló Zito the Communist TV announcer, and many, many others. Vigáta, Montalbano’s headquarters, positively comes alive, as does the Sicilian landscape in general. Throughout the books are running commentaries from Montalbano’s (liberal) point of view on current-day Italian politics. The books vibrate with life and energy.

As well as the recurring characters, the once-off ones are also handled brilliantly.

And the books have been hysterically funny. Camilleri taught stage direction for over 20 years, and it shows, both in the way he sets his scenes and the way he uses comedy. I have read the books in this series at least 3 times, some of them more often, and it makes no difference—I have laughed so hard in my recent rereading, for instance, of Rounding the Mark, that I could barely breathe. His touch just borders on slapstick but does not fall over the line—it’s far more Shakespearean and extremely effective.

To top it all off, the plotting is excellent; for the most part, the stories are engrossing.

Therefore it was a shock to my system when I read The Paper Moon.

The humor is gone. We’re left with Montalbano’s sarcasm with not a shred of his sense of the ridiculous to balance it off. Catarella becomes a computer-obsessed maniac instead of a Shakespearean fool. Food, an important minor part of the series (treated in such a way that you want to move to Sicily immediately), is barely mentioned. Recurring characters, such as Mimí Augello and Fazio are much reduced in presence; Mimí, a new father, is made out to be a nitwit. Livia appears only in brief phone conversations.

Everything, in other words, is subdued, especially Montalbano himself. Instead, the book centers yes, on the plot, which is one of his best, but also on Montalbano’s angst about aging and to a lesser extent, death. While this does not interfere with the story—indeed, it is a crucial part of it—there is almost nothing left of the old Montalbano except his irritation and sarcasm.

Two things save this book: the plot and the handling of the two women who, with Montalbano himself, are the center of attention.

The story begins with the report of a missing person by his sister; the brother turns to have been murdered under embarrassing circumstances. The major suspect is his mistress. Both women are drawn beautifully and powerfully. Other, drug-related deaths, some of them powerful political figures, add to the mix and the pressures on Montalbano to solve the crime become nearly unbearable.

This is the matrix for Montalbano’s introspection over his aging and his inner questioning of whether he himself is really capable of carrying on effectively in his job.

Overall, it feels as if Camilleri is getting tired of this series and is preparing the way out for Montalbano.

A good story, but not up to his usual spectacularly high standard. ( )

Another in a series involving the Sicilian Commissario Montalbano

Fiction, Detective and mystery stories, Commissario (Inspector) Montalbano series, Michela Pardo, implores Montalbano to help about her missing brother; they find him murdered by gunshot blast in a compromising position. First edition: Palermo, Sellerio, 2005; First USA edition: Penguin (Non-Classics), April 1, 2008, pp. 272, Paperback, traslation Stephen Sartarelli; First UK edition, London, Picador, 06 Jun 2008, pp. 320, Hardcover ( )