The Paper Moon

The Paper Moon (2005) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli

I am sad.

I have now read all the Inspector Montalbano books that have been published and translated into English. August Heat comes out later this year, but after that? No more Inspector Montalbano for me–at least until the next book is translated.

Montalbano is starting to feel his age and it’s getting to him. He’s begun waking up in the morning, afraid that if he thinks about his death it will suddenly come true.

I find this quite interesting, since he’s had two (?) life threatening injuries in this series, but a quiet death has become his fear and obsession.

He is, of course, eventually distracted from this by a case. A woman complains that her brother has disappeared, and Montalbano ends up taking the case. He quickly discovers there are several beautiful and manipulative women involved–all of whom he has to deal with to solve the case.

I’m not sure how I feel about the mystery in The Paper Moon. The parallel cases made the solution feel obvious to me, however, Montalbano would usually have multiple cases going on, most of which were not related, so perhaps the link was meant to be obvious.

Regardless, the true mystery came not from the link between the two cases but what had actually happened to Angelo Pardo–and how the women in his life relate to the case.

Now, of course, I’m left bereft of any new Montalbano cases, and must find something else to read.
Rating: 7/10

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