Matt B. (BuffaloSavage) reviewed on 2/8/2023 + 53 more book reviews

The very first of the Inspector Montalbano mysteries is set in Sicily in the early 1990s and follows the investigation of the death of a local big shot, Silvio Luparello. Montalbano suspects that the powers-that-be want to blacken Luparello's reputation and the standing of his political faction by having it look like a cover-up is being conducted. Camilleri's social critique is pitilessly examining Sicilian culture and its exploitation of the pretty by the ugly, of the young by the old, of the vulnerable by the powerful. This first novel of the series set the tone for the 27 Montalbano novels that followed, mixing a good mystery, fine characterization, and social critique.

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