3.5* for the book itself, boosted to 4 by Grover Gardner's narration which was excellent as usual.

I may be slightly hard in my rating due to the fact that I decided to re-read the whole series before tackling the final few books that I hadn't read yet. Reading them almost back to back, I noticed more of the repetitive language and behavior than I had previously. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the repetitions grated a bit than this time around.

I found the plot of this penultimate book to be quite a surprise but won't comment further. ( )

Kind of a silly little book, but for some reason I do like Inspector Salvo Montalbano. I wasn't sure if I had read any Camilleri before, but once I began reading it started to sound familiar so I'm guessing this would be my third Montalbano mystery. However, I cannot recall my impressions of the others.

This story was very weak though, the premises all around not adding up but the author just went with it. You could certainly give this title a miss and you wouldn't be missing a whole lot.

I'm also not a fan of the stereotyped Italian (Sicilian?) used in this book like... "Righ' 'ere onna premisses, Chief, righ' ere!" There are probably better examples, but that one was close to this Popeye-like one... "Whatta goil, Chief!" Exclamation! Exclamation! Exclamation! WTF! ( )

2.5 stars, rounded up. Weird story, partially explained by Camilleri in his end note as this novel was initially intended to be a screenplay. A local businessman, who is living large, closes his factory, drawing massive protests from disgruntled employees. Montalbano's small police force in Vigata allows the mob to beat up the security team at the factory. Out of the blue, Montalbano is forced to take a vacation, and when he tries to organize his own protest, he is dismissed. The FBI becomes interested in the criminal activities of the same local businessman from his connection to a yacht (the Halcyon), operating in international waters as a gambling and vice center. ( )

A Flashback for Montalbano
Review of the Penguin Books paperback (March 2021) English language translation of the Italian language original "Il cuoco dell'Alcyon" (2019)

Andrea Camilleri (1925-2019) left us hanging at the end of #26 The Sicilian Method (orig. 2018/trans. 2020) with what seemed like an uncharacteristic walk into the sunset for his Inspector Montalbano character. Early reports of books #27 The Cook of the Halcyon and #28 Riccardino said that they were recycled works written years earlier.

Now that we have #27 in hand and can also read the English language synopsis for Riccardino (expected publication of the English translation September 21, 2021) we know all. Riccardino is indeed the final planned book of the Montalbano saga, although originally written in 2005 and updated prior to the author's death. The Cook of the Halcyon is both a flashback and a sidestep as explained in the Author's Note:

This story was conceived about ten years ago, not as a novel but as a script for an Italian and American film co-production. When the plans for collaboration fell through, I used the screenplay, with a few variants, for a new Montalbano book, and I suppose that, for better or for worse, the nonliterary origins of the work show through in the telling.

Indeed, Montalbano is turned into not only an action hero, he also becomes a chef under the tutelage of his housekeeper Adelina and favourite trattorio owner Enzo in order to infiltrate the lair of the baddies in this adaptation. So it is definitely not our usual Montalbano here, but any visit with the cantankerous police inspector of Vigàta, Sicily is a welcome one.

The rest of the regular Montalbano cast make their standard appearances, girlfriend Livia; policemen Mimi, Fazio and Catarella; and of course Adelina and Enzo with recipes for basic dishes such as spaghetti agio e olio (Spaghetti with Garlic and Olive Oil).

Trivia and Links
Alcyone or Halcyone (Greek Mythology): Mythical origin of the term Halcyon Days, a time of peace and respite from storms.
halcyon (adjective): 1. denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful.
halcyon (noun): 1. a tropical Asian and African kingfisher with brightly colored plumage.
2. a mythical bird said by ancient writers to breed in a nest floating at sea at the winter solstice, charming the wind and waves into calm. ( )

Unusual Camilleri Montalbano plot, with a poorly plotted ending. Let's hope that the final chapter in this series is better. ( )