Inspector Montalbano #21

A Nest of Vipers - Andrea Camilleri

The 21^st mystery starring Inspector Salvo Montalbano is set in the town of Vigata, Sicily in 2008.  Wealthy businessman Cosimo Barletta is found dead of a shot to the head. He has been ushered from this vale of tears by two culprits. We know this because when cranky Medical Examiner Pasquano did the autopsy, he found that Barletta was killed with a paralyzing poison put in his Sunday morning coffee. Frozen in his kitchen chair, he was then shot from behind, presumably by a second party that didn’t realize Barletta was already with his ancestors.

Montalbano has his two subordinates, Fazio and Augello, investigate Barletta and his background. They discover that the signor was a businessman with sharp elbows and no ethics, not above running a lucrative loan sharking operation that has deprived victims of their businesses, marriages, and sanity. Barletta paid for good times but also lured young girls into affairs with money and presents. He preyed on other girls with pictures of them in compromising positions. Barletta’s son Arturo and daughter Giovanna are a fine pair, because both want to cast aspersions on the other in the dispute over Barletta’s will, which has gone missing.

This is definitely not the strongest blend of mystery, comedy and drama that Camilleri has produced in this long-running series (see The Voice of the Violin or The Potter’s Field). It is easy to figure out who is behind the murders. In his middle fifties, Montalbano is getting slow-witted, but he usually sees through things quite well in the fullness of time, although it was clear to the reader what was going on for at least half of the story.

But reading Camilleri is like settling down into a familiar sofa. The story mixes scenes of slapstick comedy, sharp wit, and a harsh drama of family dysfunction. At work, we meet the usual parade of ladies man Mimi, detail-obsessed Fazio, bumbling Cantarella, and twisted prosecutor Tommaseo. Salvo’s GF Livia shows up from Genoa and Montalbano clashes with her over a mysterious hobo who lives in cave near Salvo’s beach front house.  For foodies, the culinary excursions at Enzo’s trattoria and warm-up meals  by housekeeper Adelina at home on the terrace when the weather is nice add to the usual beautiful atmosphere of Sicily and take some of the heaviness of the story away.