A Beam of Light

A Beam of Light (2012/2015) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli

The problem with the “surprise” in this book is that it refers to events that happened early in the series, and since that character hadn’t been referred to in years, having him brought up again (when he hadn’t been for ages) made it pretty obvious that this character was going to appear in this story in some manner.

As usual for a Montalbano story, the banter and amusing dialog are there:

Montalbano didn’t waste a single minute and immediately rang Dr. Pasquano, turning on the speakerphone. “Excuse me for disturbing you, Doctor, but—”
“The disturbance you create is of such magnitude and depth that there can be no excusing it.”
“My, how well you can speak when you put your mind to it!”

But Montalbano’s latest “love” interest had a confusing plotline that didn’t make a lot of sense. And Montalbano’s philandering isn’t on of my favorite themes–I suppose that as both the character and the author get older, they need to prove their virility, but… I just always find it disappointing. Mostly because I just wish Motalbano would end things with Livia.

Apparently, the English translation of this book was published on Camilleri’s 91st birthday, so I suppose there are not many Montalbano books left to come, which even if I found this story somewhat disappointing, still makes me sad.
Rating: 7/10

Published by Penguin

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