This novel in the New York Times bestselling series has Italy’s favorite detective uncovering corruption and Mafia ties in the world of construction and public spending.
On a gloomy morning in Vigàta, a call from Fazio rouses Inspector Montalbano from a nightmare. A man called Giugiù Nicotra has been found dead in the skeletal workings of a construction site, a place now entombed by a sea of mud from recent days of rain and floods. Shot in the back, he had fled into a water supply system tunnel. The investigation gets off to a slow start, but all the evidence points to the world of construction and public contracts, a world just as slimy and impenetrable as mud.
As he wades through a world in which construction firms and public officials thrive, Montalbano is obsessed by one thought: that by going to die in the tunnel, Nicotra had been trying to communicate something.
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“Camilleri skillfully crafts a complex plot around a simple murder investigation…[Narrator Grover] Gardner provides unique accents to Montalbano’s team and those they interview. His smooth inclusion of Sicilian phrases enhances the sense of place. Although the story is rooted in social commentary and economic malfeasance, its darkness is defused by moments of wit and even buffoonery…As the puzzle unravels, Gardner gracefully shifts Montalbano from bafflement to deduction…The leisurely pace builds to a crescendo as Camilleri lays out his findings and reveals all. Fans of Donna Leon and Louise Penny, take note!”
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Booklist (audio review)