{"id":9176,"date":"2017-08-07T19:47:05","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T23:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=9176"},"modified":"2021-06-04T13:13:46","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T17:13:46","slug":"a-nest-of-vipers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9176","title":{"rendered":"A Nest of Vipers"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Nest of Vipers<\/a><\/em> (2013\/2017) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli (written in 2008)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Cosimo Barletta has been found shot in his beach house, but the murder is strange–stranger than a normal murder–and the dead man was so horrible there seem to be too many suspects to count.<\/p>\n

\u201c(H)ow did you explain to your father where you got the money?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI said I\u2019d won a scholarship. After losing his job my dad wasn\u2019t really all there and so he didn\u2019t ask many questions. And my mother\u2019s just a poor woman who . . . Then, luckily, my father found a new job. But Barletta wanted to continue.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHow could he make you?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHe blackmailed me.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHow?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019d secretly taken photos with his cell phone as I . . . And he showed them to me and threatened to send them to my parents and boyfriend if I didn\u2019t . . . He said I had to be at his beck and call until he no longer wanted me. Over the past month I managed not to run into him. But I couldn\u2019t sleep at night, for fear he would make good on his threat.\u201d <\/p>\n

She looked up at the inspector and said by way of conclusion: <\/p>\n

\u201cI would spit on his corpse if I could.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which makes things difficult for Montalbano.<\/p>\n

(I)t wasn\u2019t as if he was itching to dive headlong into the investigation. <\/p>\n

Because it was one thing to send the killer of a good man to jail, and it was something else entirely to put away someone who had killed a stinking scoundrel.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course, we get the usual characters, which lightens things a good deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cAhh, Chief, Chief! Isspecter Augello\u2019s wit\u2019 Fazio in espectancy o\u2019 yiz.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m in arrivancy.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We also see Livia visiting here, and for once, their relationship makes sense to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I tell you, will you get angry?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou let him seduce you among the cardboard boxes?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou are such a jerk! I\u2019m not telling you anything else!\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you tell me I\u2019ll give you this crispy little calamari ring.\u201d <\/p>\n

Livia laughed and continued.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That last element there is missing from so many other interactions between Salvo and Livia, to the point I never understood why they remain a couple. That helps a little.<\/p>\n

Plus, Catarella.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019 E called juss now! An\u2019 \u2019e tol\u2019 me ta tell yiz \u2019at as soon as ya do like wha\u2019 the Madonna does . . .\u201d <\/p>\n

The inspector balked. \u201cIs that what he said?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNah, nat azackly, Chief, bu\u2019 sints I fuhgot wha\u2019 \u2019izzoner the c\u2019mishner said azackly, I tought \u2019at mebbe if I mintioned the Madonna ya might figger out wha\u2019 \u2019izzoner the c\u2019mishner said. Know what I mean?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Not only does that amuse me, but the whole passage makes Catarella seem less stupid than normal.<\/p>\n

Was this an outstanding mystery? Not really. I saw who the murderers were pretty quickly, but spending time with Montalbano is always relaxing and enjoyable, so it really doesn’t matter how strong the mystery was, as long as the story was enjoyable.
\nRating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Penguin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Nest of Vipers (2013\/2017) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli (written in 2008) Cosimo Barletta has been found shot in his beach house, but the murder is strange–stranger than a normal murder–and the dead man was so horrible there seem to be too many suspects to count. \u201c(H)ow did you explain to your father […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,42,38],"tags":[94,95,54,435],"class_list":["post-9176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mystery","category-police","category-translated","tag-andrea-camilleri","tag-inspector-montalbano","tag-italy","tag-stephen-sartarelli"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2o0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5241,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5241","url_meta":{"origin":9176,"position":0},"title":"The Shape of Water","author":"Michelle","date":"May 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Shape of Water (1994\/2002) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli This is the first Inspector Montalbano story, and was supposed to be the only Montalbano story, however, the character got away from the author, and we now have many books to enjoy. \u201cInspector Montalbano? This is Mr. Luparello.\u201d \u201cWhat\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mystery"","block_context":{"text":"Mystery","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/mystery"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/SHape-of-Water.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12225,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12225","url_meta":{"origin":9176,"position":1},"title":"The Other End of the Line","author":"Michelle","date":"November 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Other End of the Line (2016\/2019) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli The 24th Inspector Montalbano book finds the Vigata police helping to deal with the influx of immigrants landing on their shores, and it's a problem for everyone. \u201cWhy did you summon Catarella for port duty last night?\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Other End of the Line","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/The-Other-End-of-the-Line.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10845,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/10845","url_meta":{"origin":9176,"position":2},"title":"Voice of the Violin, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"May 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Voice of the Violin, Audible Version (1997\/2003\/2008) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli narrated by Grover Gardner This book begins the slow and slight redemption of Catarella. \u201cOh, Chief, I got another streamly impoitant ting to tell ya. Somebody from Montelusa Central called to talk to me in poisson, Inspector\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/Voice-Violin-e1511038008168.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4337,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4337","url_meta":{"origin":9176,"position":3},"title":"Excursion to Tindari","author":"Michelle","date":"January 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Excursion to Tindari (2000\/2005) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli All murder mysteries are, at their heart, depressing. They tell the tale of how someone decided that the life of another human was disposable, and then act to snuff out that life. 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