August Heat

August Heat (2005) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Satarelli

It’s August, and it’s hot, and Inspector Montalbano is unhappy not only because of the heat, but because Liva made Salvo find a house from her friends to rent during their vacation.

Unfortunately, the house turns out to be far more trouble than Inspector Montalbno expected

Montalbano continues to try and deal with the problems that he is associating with age–and he is right to do so. And this is a book where Liva is a problem rather than a help (sometimes they are in love, sometimes things are falling apart. In this book, things are worse than normal.)

Again, Montalbano is conflicted over his ethics and morality. He is willing to cross the line in the name of doing good, but if he can cross the line, then what makes it wrong for others to do so. And what makes Montalbano, when he crosses the line, different from others who do so.

And again Montalbano is really starting to feel his age. Unlike some other series, Montalbano is aging over the course of the series, and is having to deal with those changes and how they are affecting his ability to do his job.

He can still be a right bastard, but he’s mellowed out a lot over the course of the series, and even characters like Cat have become more understandable and likable as opposed to simply frustrating and annoying.

And now I have no idea when the next Montalbano book will be coming out, so no more time in Vigata for awhile. Which is too bad. If you have not read a previous book in the series, you should be able to start here with no difficulty.
Rating: 7/10

ADDENDUM:
I apologize if you read the first version of those review. In case it wasn’t obvious, I fell asleep in the middle of writing it.

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