The Shape of Water and the Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri

I read both of these books last year and never got around to blogging about them. I got started on these when I browsed the remainder table at Borders and found Voice of the Violin there for only $4; I'd heard of Camilleri's series before, from a serious fan, and I loved the cover which seemed to convey that white Mediterranean sun particular to Italy (whoever the artist is who is creating the covers for this series in translation, he or she has my thanks -- the covers are wonderful).

I actually read Voice of the Violin first although it is the third or fourth book in the Inspector Montalbano series; it inspired me, however, to want to read The Shape of Water the first (and I found the enigmatic title increased my interest). I did enjoy it more than Voice of the Violin and I think that's because what I enjoy in a mystery is everything but the mystery and there's plenty of characterization, local color, and history to entertain me in the first novel.

Andrea Camilleri, the author of these books, intrigues me as well and that is part of the fondness that I feel for the novels: he was born in 1925, and success of the kind that he enjoys now came relatively late to him -- he published the first of the Inspector Montalbano novels, The Shape of Water, in 1994. Although he had had some success as a serious novelist, I'm going to guess that the reason for the great popularity of the first novel were some sly observations about Sicilian life, love and politics, much discussion of delicious food, a good ear for local slang and a detective, who, like the best detectives, is deeply feeling.

The Shape of Water starts with the discovery of the body of a local politician in a compromising position by two local garbagemen down at the town dump. No one except the Inspector is interested in solving this crime; the coroner rules the death natural rather than criminal. Along the way we learn a great deal about Sicily and its garbage, which I enjoyed hugely. I think there's a kind of bumptious quality to this book missing in Voice of the Violin. (I'm happy to report that the bad guys get theirs.)

Voice of the Violin is another murder mystery that opens with a traffic accident caused by Montalbano's irrepressibly goofy police driver. The failure of the other owner in the accident to respond to the note Montalbano leaves behind arouses his suspicion and he very shortly discovers a murder. The dead woman's friends and family constitute a very motley and somewhat surprising crew: the widower, who knew of and countenanced the victim's infidelities (or did he?); her lover, an attractive man from out of town. The solution to the mystery comes about through inspiration as improbable as any in a Sherlock Holmes story.

According to the Kent District Library's database, "What's Next?" (kdl.org, from Kent, Michigan), Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano novels in English are as follows:

Inspector Montalbano series
1. The shape of water - CAMILLERI, ANDREA
2. The terra-cotta dog - CAMILLERI, ANDREA
3. The snack thief - CAMILLERI, ANDREA
4. Voice of the violin - CAMILLERI, ANDREA
5. Excursion to Tindari - CAMILLERI, ANDREA
6. The smell of the night - CAMILLERI, ANDREA
7. Rounding the mark - CAMILLERI, ANDREA
8. The patience of the spider - CAMILLERI, ANDREA
9. The paper moon - CAMILLERI, ANDREA
10. August heat - CAMILLERI, ANDREA
11. The wings of the sphinx - CAMILLERI, ANDREA
12. The track of sand - CAMILLERI, ANDREA
13. The potter's field - CAMILLERI, ANDREA