The Patience of the Spider

March 26, 2007
Camilleri's agreeable eighth contemporary police procedural featuring the crotchety but insightful Inspector Montalbano finds the Italian detective at home in Marinella enjoying the ministrations of his wife, Livia, after he was shot by a child trafficker in 2006's Rounding the Mark
. But his recuperation is hampered by the demands of a new case: the abduction of Susanna Mistretta, an attractive university student and daughter of a geologist. Unable to trust his colleagues to handle the case properly, Montalbano focuses on subtle anomalies—such as the direction the missing girl's motorbike was pointed—that suggest the kidnapping is more than the simple extortion attempt it appears to be. The witty writing and acerbic protagonist should appeal to fans of Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse.

May 1, 2007
A wound can damage more than just the body, as Sicilian inspector Salvo Montalbano learns when he continues to awaken at the exact time he was shot in the shoulder weeks earlier (in "Rounding the Mark"). Still convalescing in the care of his lover, Livia, he's called back to help solve the kidnapping of university student Susanna Mistretta, an only child whose mother is dying. When a ransom far above Susanna's parents' means is demanded, it's made clear that the money must come from her uncle, a man with political ambitions who gained his wealth through shady means. Canny Montalbano eventually discovers that an unasked question is his key to solving the case. And in doing so, Montalbano finds himself rested, serene, revived, and sated, despite his awareness of advancing years and acknowledgement that, though Livia brightens his house, both of them are relieved when she leaves. In his eighth outing, the inspector may be aging, but he's still at the top of his game.Michele Leber, Arlington, VA

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