Customer Reviews

Voice of the Violin (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries)

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When the police car of Inspector Montalbano hits a small car parked at an apparently deserted country home, the inspector has a gut feeling that something is wrong. He finds the body of a beautiful woman, strangled in her bedroom. After a short while it turns out that the woman has numerous acquaintances in the area and that there are a fair number of suspects. The investigation is not made any easier by the fact that Montalbano's superiors are not exactly supporting him, even though his own team is squarely behind him. A combination of good policework and flashes of brilliance in the end solves the crime. In the meantime Montalbano also has to sort out the mess that he is making of his private life. And that is the nice thing about this series: it is the combination of police work and private hassles, that make Montalbano into more than your average, typical policeman-from-a-novel, but rather a real character with his good and his bad sides.

As someone who only reads a few mystery novels a year, I was overwhelmed to discover both Andrea Camilleri and Donna Leon at about the same time. Camilleri's Inspector Salvo Montalbano stories and Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti novels are so good that I wanted to read them all and was delighted to find that both authors have written at least a dozen books each. Only five or six of Camilleri's have been translated into English from the original Italian so far, but more are on the way. And many of Leon's are out of print in the U.S., but perhaps that will change in the near future.

These are compelling mysteries that draw you right in and keep you hooked right up to the satisfying, if not always happy, conclusions. But that almost goes without saying. What keeps you coming back for more are the characters and the extras, in this case, the backdrops of Sicily and Venice.

Stephen Sartarelli's translations of the Camilleri books are marvelous. It isn't hard to translate a book, but it is difficult to do well. He strikes the perfect balance of translating most things, but turning to explanation when translating would destroy the mood. There are a few pages of explanations at the end of each book, describing pastas and exchange rates and cultural references. For instance, he translates education-impaired cop Catarella's rough speech into something Brooklyn-esque, but he explains Boghonghi the Dwarf, apparently a famous character to most Italians, but not to Americans. (Example of a bad translation -- I remember seeing a dubbed version of the French movie A Man and a Woman that completely destroyed the romantic mood when they replaced the Edith Piaf song playing on the car radio in the original version with a dubbed ragtime tune.)

I can't say which series is better, I tend to think that whichever I am reading at the moment is my favorite.

This is a murder mystery set in Sicily, with the aroma of Italian pastries and pasta, replete with questionable jurisprudence and misguided police procedures - and husbands, wives and other lovers.

Written in Italian and translated into English, series character Inspector Salvo Montalbano literally crashes into a murder crime scene while on his way to a funeral. This subtle humor continues as Montalbano must find a way to "out" the fact that a young, naked and dead woman is locked inside the quieted cottage.

The suspects include the husband of the deceased; a girlfriend; an out-of-town lover; and a quirky neighborhood admirer and sometimes stalker. Leaving no stone unturned, even a questionable judge and some trigger-happy cops are fair game for Montalbano's investigation.

While solving this crime, Montalbano has girlfriend problems of his own to mend, on top of his infatuation with the girlfriend of the deceased. Sometimes Montalbano's life is even too much for Montalbano. These times usually call for a good Italian meal and an unplugged telephone.

VOICE OF THE VIOLIN is irreverent humor, with an underlining belief that "the end justifies the means," as in half-truths, news leaks and 'anonymous' police tips. But it is the complexity of Montalbano, and the complexity of the whodunit storyline, along with the wonderful setting, that make this a thoughtful, enjoyable, fun and worthwhile read.

"Voice Of The Violin" by Andrea Camilleri, "An Inspector Montalbano Mystery". Translated by Stephen Sartarelli. Viking Penguin, 2003.

I was introduced to the Inspector Montalbano series by the comments of other Amazon reviewers. Thank you. This novel deals with the murder of a beautiful young lady in Sicily, and the story takes quite a few twists and turns, before the crime is finally solved in the last chapter. The author uses dialogue to continuously advance the story line, and, every now and then, uses the fractured dialogue of Catarella as comic relief. For example, Catarella is assigned to study the new technology, computers, which he calls "pewters".

Part of the novel is devoted to the young , educated and rising generation of new police inspectors and the conflict between them and the old-guard. And, of course, food consumes a substantial part of the book; (it WAS written by an Italian). There are descriptions of what Inspector Salvo Montalbano is expecting for lunch, what the other officers will be consuming, and the difference between northern Italian cuisine and southern Italian. In all of this, the "Voice Of The Violin" almost disappears, but in the end of the book, you will read how the violin plays a central part in the plot and in the crimes that were committed.

In the back of the book, there is an interesting glossary of sorts (pp. 245-249), where "in-phrases" are explained. For example, "baby octopus alla Luciana" ... is described as ..."a simple dish, ...octopi are cooked in a spicy tomato sauce with garlic and hot pepper". All in all, this is an appetizing book.

I have become enamoured with the Italian mystery genre in the last 2-3 years. It has been an education to explore Venice with Commissario Brunetti and Florence with Marshall Guarnaccia or Sicily with Inspector Montealbano. All three authors (Donna Leon, Magdalen Nabb, and Andrea Camilleri) know their locale and focus on the daily lives of the citizens, while moving along a rip-roaring story. But there are significant differences - Leon and Nabb write in English (Nabb uses British terms that remind me of Christie that break the spell) while Camilleri writes in Italian. He is Italian - he understands the importance of the land and the wine and especially the food that fuels Sicily. (The translation is superb.) Leon and Nabb certainly know their areas and their craft and they are very, very good, but Camilleri works the magic.

Camilleri captures the angst and the pain and the loneliness of Inspector Montalbano. But he also captures in mouthwatering detail the need to eat with a focus on the quality and variety of food that stops the Inspector's world, even when he has to go long distances to find the right place to eat.

I like to read a series from the beginning. I like to meet and greet the protagonist and then watch him/her grow with fond memories brought about by references to prior books. Voice of the Violin is one of the earliest of the very highly selected Montalbano books that have been translated and one that I come back to to reread because of how it changes, or perhaps most interestingly as you read more books, doesn't change Montalbano's life.

I highly recommend all three Italian protagonists with Inspector Montalbano and Commissario Brunetti right at the top of my list of "must buy" when a new book hit the market. They take me to places I have never visited, though I now seem to know, and allow me to interact with people I would like to know better.

Start with the TerraCotta Dog and move to the Voice of the Violin as you can, remembering to stop and focus on fine food prepared well along the way.

Fourth in the Salvo Montalbano Italian police procedural series in which Salvo discovers the body of a beautiful young woman in her home when he stops to find out why the home's owner has not responded to a note he left when one of their police cars collides with her car that was parked in front of the home. As usual, the politics of the department and the country take the investigation over and Salvo must do his sleuthing on the sly after being taken off the case by the new commissioner. The gruff and grumpy Montalbano shows his vulnerable side too, briefly. A quick, enjoyable visit to Sicily where the author puts you right in the heart of the place, evoking smells, tastes and views that leave little to the imagination. Don't read this book (or any in the series) while hungry; the author's descriptions of the food will leave you drooling all over the book! Great series!

If you decide that you want to read this book, be sure to read The Snack Thief first. Many of the references in the book don't make a lot of sense without that background. Otherwise, you will think this is a two or a three star book.

The Voice of the Violin is deftly written. It captures all of the confusing elements of a disjointed case in which the clues are deeply hidden. I didn't tumble to the full scale of the mystery until quite near the end, when Mr. Camilleri chose to make it transparent. Here's a sample of the writing from the opening paragraph: "Inspector Salvo Montalbano could immediately tell that it was not going to be his day . . . . [T]he darkness was already lifting . . . to reveal . . . a sea that looked like a Pekingese dog. Ever since a tiny dog of that breed . . . had bitten painfully into his calf . . . Montalbano saw the sea this way whenever it was whipped up . . . . His mood darkened . . . . He had to attend a funeral."

The story opens with Montalbano's futile efforts to attend that funeral in Floridia, after receiving a mangled telephone message from the ever annoying Catarella. In a day that resembles a frustration dream, Montalbano misses the funeral. The only effect of his journey is to have Gallo's efforts to evade a chicken cause the police car to clip a passenger car. Leaving a note on the car's windshield, Montalbano becomes curious when no one calls the station about making repairs. He visits the house where the car is parked and finds no one at home. As this recurs, he decides to let himself in at night with his picklocks. He finds a sight that sickens him; a beautiful nude woman has been murdered in her bed.

From there, the story takes on a Keystone Kops-like character. Montalbano must arrange for the victim to be discovered without revealing his own illegal actions. With aplomb, he recruits an anonymous phone caller and cynically decides to save his own time by calling the judge, forensics team and coroner about the body before even arriving at the house. Once there, he's sickened again by the way the policemen react to seeing the bare woman. Going against police procedures, but following his heart, he covers her with a bathrobe. That mistake leads to powerful consequences when his changing of the crime scene causes him to be removed from the case. An incompetent investigation follows that centers on a half-wit stalker. When that investigation takes a terrible turn, Montalbano calls all of his colleagues together and swears them to secrecy . . . they are taking over the investigation on their own, but it must be done totally covertly.

Montalbano finds the case to be mystifying. Why is the beautiful young wife of an older successful doctor spending all of her time alone in Sicily building a house that he never visits? The victim also seems to have acted uncharacteristically on the day of her death. Why? The men in her life all make a bad impression on Montalbano at first. A lot of valuable jewelry is missing. Is this a theft that led to a murder or a murder disguised by a theft? It's isn't clear until near the end.

In the background, Montalbano finds himself attracted to the victim's friend, Anna, who reciprocates the attraction. Livia is pressing Montalbano on his promise of marriage . . . but from a distance, and the efforts to adopt Francois are being delayed by legal problems which are driving Livia wild.

The story also has a fine comic subplot line based on Catarella's taking computer lessons which have a surprising impact on him.

I enjoyed the new character in the series, Cataldo Barbera. He's a violin virtuoso who lives a hermit's existence . . . and plays an unusual private performance for his neighbor on Friday mornings.

The book is flawed, however, by having an improbable plot in many dimensions that I found annoying. More seriously, there's a cynical view of human nature expressed here that I found powerful, but disgusting to contemplate. If you are like me, you will find the ultimate description of the murder's method and its motive to be repulsive.

The book falls far below the promise of that astonishingly fine book, The Terra-Cotta Dog, and The Snack Thief. If you read only one book in this series, make it The Terra-Cotta Dog.

Clearly, Mr. Camilleri wanted this book to speak to us about the consequences of what we do. Our actions do make a difference. He succeeded very well in making that point. I finished the book wondering about how my life would have been different if I had done things in other ways in the past. It's a thought worth considering. If that point had not come across so well, I would have graded this book at three stars . . . despite its superb writing.

Breaking and entering was the least of Inspector Montalbano worries the discovery was much more gruesome. A young female completely naked, at touch she was cold and stiff, half kneeling, belly resting against the edge of the bed her face remained buried in the sheets which had also been torn at by her sharp fingernails. This woman had not given up without a fight; there was no doubt in Montalbano mind this was murder by suffocation.

Montalbano was on the case to hunt for the killer, the victim had been a beautiful blonde and from her address book extremely active, this meant an array of suspects to filter through. Everybody was under suspicion an antiques dealing lover from Bologna, a shy admirer who had suddenly disappeared, the women's best friend Anna who's charms Montalbano could not help but enjoy. But what about the victims Husband a Famous Doctor, he was acting towards his own wife's death emotionally unattached, why? Montalbano is introduced by a friend to a reclusive skilled violinist who only performs his wonderful concertos in odd hours. Was something about this Maestro the key to the bigger picture?

Andrea Camilleri has done another wonderful job of bringing to life the Sicilian detective Inspector Salvo Montalbano. What I love about this series would be the charactizations and language the usage of dialogue in conversation it's all been kept real it's got sharp wit and comedy which I find really amusing, the sly comments on Italian life and culture make for an interesting comical read. There are some fresh characters in this book which keeps Montalbano on his toes and the tempo paced and exciting. Once again beautifully and descriptivly portrayed in the fictational town of Vigàta. Montalbano himself is a great character, he thinks about fine literature in moments of doubt, has an eye for a beautiful women and loves to indulge his taste buds into the delicious aromatic seafood pasta dishes.

I have read this whole series as far as they have been translated, I believe this whole series deserves to be read from the beginning, but if you do not wish to do that, then I would advise you read - Il ladro di Merendine - The Snack Thief before this book, only because it makes references to a pervious plot line that might make this one more amusing.

This book shows Montalbano as a shrewd tactician, with a mix of humour, cynicism and compassion; of course blended with his attractiveness "get to the point attitude".

As always a special mention to poet Stephen Sartarelli, for the clear translation of each book and for the informative notes given at the back on wording. Thank you.

A.Bowhill

Sicilian Police Inspector Salvo Montalbano is sleeping as he is being driven to a funeral when his driver crashes into the back of a parked car on a rural road. When the sound of the crash fails to bring forth the house's occupants, the policemen leave a note. Much later on their return they find all as they have left it, and Montalbano is worried. He had good reason for worry for in the house is the naked body of a beautiful young woman, kneeling by the bed, her face pushed into the bed linens until she dies of suffocation.

At one point Montalbano wonders when did "detective" novels become "mystery" novels. It is a fair question since Montalbano is the archetypal detective, slowly peeling each layer of the onion until the mystery is revealed and then solved. He is an honest cop in a dishonest jurisdiction, but is not above a little self-help. Like cops everywhere he is vulnerable to bureaucratic ambition which has the effect of hindering his work.

Yet in the end, Montalbano prevails. It is altogether right that he should. And this is a book to be treasured for its ingenious plot and dry humor. Move over Lieutenant Columbo and meet one of your paisans Inspector Montalbano.

Sicilian Inspector Salvo Montalbano is already irritated after taking a skin lashing from his live in lover Livia over a setback in their efforts to adopt Francois of THE SNACK THIEF Francois. Now Salvo is in the shotgun seat on a drive to a distant funeral that he does not want to attend.

Salvo has a new issue to cope with when he finds the body of a recently murdered young woman. He begins the inquiries from a distance hoping to avoid the trek. However, that technique fails so Salvo begins his onsite investigation. He finds the crime scene looks inconsistent as if it was tampered with and the report on the victim is even more contradictory. Was she a devoted wife and medical practitioner or was she a loose woman who enjoyed rough sex. Salvo is removed from the case for political reasons, but pushes his way back in when he believes the local cops are going down the wrong path.

This is a powerful tale even in a clever translation (by Stephen Sartarelli from the original Italian) that showcases one of the more intelligent police procedurals on the market today. Salvo is intelligent, witty and misbehaving as he steps on anyone who gets in his way on a case. On the other hand he takes rib shots in his personal life. Fans will take much delight with this strong humorous tale that displays why Andrea Camilleri is a great author and hopefully his Montalbano mysteries will reach American TV like it has in Italy.

Harriet Klausner