Terra-Cotta Dog: An Inspector Montalbano Mystery (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries) (original 1996; edition 2007)

by Andrea Camilleri

Series: Commissario Montalbano (2)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
1,920	66	8,624	(3.78)	272
Montalbano's latest case begins with a mysterious tete a tete with a Mafioso, some inexplicably abandoned loot from a supermarket heist, and some dying words that lead him to an illegal arms cache in a mountain cave. There the inspector finds two young lovers, dead for fifty years and still embracing, watched over by a life-sized terra-cotta dog. Montalbano's passion to solve this old crime takes him on a journey through Sicily's past and into a family's dark heart amidst the horrors of World War II bombardment. Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano has garnered millions of fans worldwide with his sardonic take on Sicilian life. With sly wit and a keen understanding of human nature, Montalbano is a detective whose earthiness, compassion, and imagination make him totally irresistible.… (more)

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Member:	SuziQoregon
Title:	Terra-Cotta Dog: An Inspector Montalbano Mystery (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries)
Authors:	Andrea Camilleri
Info:	Blackstone Audiobooks (2007), Audio CD
Collections:	Read, Library, Audio, Read but unowned
Rating:
Tags:	2013

Work Information

The Terracotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri (1996)

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The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri (ed.pendragon)
ed.pendragon: The first two titles in the Montalbano series, with many of the same characters appearing in both.
10
Blood Rain by Michael Dibdin (browner56)
browner56: Typical examples of two excellent Italian detective series (Camilleri's Salvo Montalbano and Dibdin's Aurelio Zen); both books are set in Sicily and have Mafia-related themes.

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English (54) Spanish (5) Italian (3) German (2) French (1) Dutch (1) All languages (66)

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Semplicemente stupendo e aggiungere altro sarebbe solo un’inutile ripetizione di quanto di meglio si possa dire di uno scrittore unico, di un libro imperdibile e di una serie tanto famosa quanto amata. (

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Raffaella10 | Jan 28, 2023 |

This is the second book in the Inspector Montalbano series that takes place in Sicily, Italy. The setting and atmosphere is the best part of the book. I was not a big fan of Inspector Montalbano, he is a bit crude and sexist for my tastes. The mystery was OK and I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the first, it picke up once he really began investigating the cold case mystery. Over all it was just OK. I am not sure if I want to keep going in the series. (

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Cora-R | Feb 4, 2022 |

Ritorna l'investigatore Montalbano: nel corso di un'inchiesta su di un traffico d'armi, ispezionando una caverna che funge da deposito di ordigni, Montalbano scopre un passaggio che conduce a un'altra grotta, e qui trova due cadaveri: un ragazzo e una ragazza uccisi cinquant'anni prima.
Obbedendo all'istinto prepotente che lo spinge a ricercare una verità sbiadita e forse ormai inafferrabile, il commissario Montalbano inizia un'indagine improbabile, che cerca di ricostruire vicende apparentemente non destinate ad approdare in un'aula di tribunale.

Source: Amazon - January 11, 2022

fontanitum | Jan 11, 2022 |

I enjoy the Inspector Montalbano series. Camilleri does an excellent job describing the setting of Sicily and the Italian culture. The mafia is present, but does not dominate the story. This one lost a star from me because there was too much going on in the story. I'm sure this is an accurate depiction of a police officer's life, but I lost the main thread of the story which was the 50 year old bodies found in a cave. The other threadlines were interesting, but the main story did get a little lost in the kerfluffle. However, I love the ending and how the main story was resolved. Still an excellent read. (

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jguidry | Sep 12, 2021 |

Inspector Montalbano is contacted by a notorious criminal, who wants to surrender; however, on his way to prison, he is mortally wounded and tells Montalbano about a cache of weapons hidden in a cave. Montalbano discovers a hidden chamber with two long dead bodies and solves the murder of two star-crossed lovers. (

)

skipstern | Jul 11, 2021 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Andrea Camilleri	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Sartarelli, Stephen	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Commissario Montalbano (2)

Belongs to Publisher Series

Bastei Lübbe Taschenbuch

BLT (92065)

Edicions 62

El balancí [Edicions 62]

La memoria [Sellerio] (355)

SaPo (429)

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Is contained in

The Shape of Water; The Terracotta Dog; The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri

The Shape of Water / The Terracotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri

▾Awards and Honors

Notable Lists

Canon de la narrativa universal del siglo XX (1996)

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▾Common Knowledge

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Canonical title

The Terracotta Dog

Original title

Alternative titles

The TerraCotta Dog

Original publication date

1996-04-18

2002 (English: Sartarelli)

People/Characters

Important places

Vigata, Sicilia, Italia

Sicily, Italy

Important events

Information from the Catalan Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.

Guerra Mundial, II

Related movies

Il commissario Montalbano (1999 | IMDb)

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

Aamusarastuksesta päätellen luvassa oli aivan ilmeisesti omituinen päivä, toisin sanoen välillä auringon porotusta, välillä jääkylmiä sadekuuroja ja mausteena vielä äkillisiä tuulenpuuskia.

To judge from the entrance the dawn was making, it promised to be a very iffy day-that is, blasts of angry sunlight one minute, fits of freezing rain the next, all of it seasoned with sudden gusts of wind-one of those days when someone who is sensitive to abrupt shifts in weather and suffers them in his blood and brain is likely to change opinion and direction continuously, like those sheets of tin, cut in the shape of banners and roosters, that spin every which way on rooftops with each new puff of wind.

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Last words

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Original language

Italian

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▾References

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Wikipedia in English (2)

The Snack Thief

The Terracotta Dog

▾Book descriptions

Montalbano's latest case begins with a mysterious tete a tete with a Mafioso, some inexplicably abandoned loot from a supermarket heist, and some dying words that lead him to an illegal arms cache in a mountain cave. There the inspector finds two young lovers, dead for fifty years and still embracing, watched over by a life-sized terra-cotta dog. Montalbano's passion to solve this old crime takes him on a journey through Sicily's past and into a family's dark heart amidst the horrors of World War II bombardment. Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano has garnered millions of fans worldwide with his sardonic take on Sicilian life. With sly wit and a keen understanding of human nature, Montalbano is a detective whose earthiness, compassion, and imagination make him totally irresistible.

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