The Snack Thief

The Snack Thief (1996/2003) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli

Obviously, Camilleri didn’t stop after the second book, so we have the third in the series, which finds Montalbano investigating the stabbing death of an elderly man, while elsewhere, a fisherman is shot to death in a typically international incident with Tunisia.

Yes, the title of this book is weird and unenticing, but the trivial sounding title covers a bunch of ugliness.

There were some lovely sayings throughout this series, that I am presuming Italian or Sicilian, but might well be the fancy of the author.

Montalbano and Valente seemed not even to have heard him, looking as if their minds were elsewhere. But in fact they were paying very close attention, like cats that, keeping their eyes closed as if asleep, are actually counting the stars.

And we discover more Montalbano quirks.

whenever he had to write a fax, he composed it as if it were a telegram.

And that everyone knows it.

“Has he gone crazy?”
Fazio, in all sincerity, would have liked to answer that in his opinion the inspector had been crazy since birth, but he said nothing and merely stared out the window.

“You are totally insane,” said the colonel, sincerely terrified.
“You’ve just noticed?”

Don’t be put off by the name, this is a very good mystery, dealing with Italian corruption.
Rating: 8/10

Published by Penguin

• Browse the archives:
  
• Halfway to the Grave, Audible Version » »
• « « The Terra-Cotta Dog