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The Wings of the Sphinx Audiobook
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(3.02) - 841 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Food, love, and murder—Sicilian style—blend together in the gripping eleventh installment of the New York Times bestselling Montalbano mystery series.
Things are not going well for Inspector Salvo Montalbano. His relationship with Livia is once again on the rocks, and, acutely aware of his age, he is beginning to grow weary of the endless violence he encounters. Then a young woman is found dead, her face half shot off, and there is no hint of her identity except a tattoo of a sphinx moth. The tattoo links her to three similarly marked girls, all victims of the underworld sex trade, who have been rescued from the Mafia nightclub circuit by a prominent Catholic charity. The problem is that Montalbano's inquiries elicit an outcry from the Church—and the three other girls are all missing.
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"liked it, but not for the mystery part- really a great character- the italian detective in a small town dealing with other great characters in his town. what do they eat, how do they get from place to place- really well written- light- a good beach read. I could have used a little more plot/twist mystery- but as far as a nice little fun book- liked it- probably more of a 3.5. Love his assistant massacring the names of anyone who called in."
— Chris (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Sublime and darkly humorous…Camilleri balances his hero’s personal and professional challenges perfectly and leaves the reader eager for more.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Happily, Grover Gardner eschews even a hint of an Italian accent in narrating the eleventh installment of this series celebrating the life, loves, and investigations of the charmingly eccentric Sicilian Insp. Salvo Montalbano…Along with his avoidance of stereotypes and unfortunate accents, Gardner does quite well by the characters, from the weary but unstoppable Montalbano to his backup crew of memorable cops and the angry, offended, officious, and, in rare instances, grateful people with whom he has to deal…These are three-dimensional, human creations, and Gardner treats them as such.”
— Publishers Weekly audio review -
“Grover Gardner is the perfect performer for Camilleri’s series, giving a slyly funny reading of Inspector Montalbano and the Sicilian cops he works with.”
— AudioFile -
“Another strong entry in this well-wrought, internationally popular series.”
— Library Journal
Awards
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A 2011 CWA International Dagger Finalist
The Wings of the Sphinx Listener Reviews
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" Good. Love this series, inspector Montablano is such a sweetie. "
— Ruth, 2/20/2014 -
" pick this audio book up on a humble and loved ever minute of it! love the inspector and & officers! "
— brenda, 2/15/2014 -
" Another very good mystery from Andrea CAmilleri centering on Sicily's Inspector Montalbano. The usual great descriptions of food; the usual problems with the authorities, which Montalbano gets around as he usually does; and the usual problems between Montalbano and his girlfriend, Livia, from Genoa. But going back to a beloved setting and great characters is almost like going home. "
— Pat, 2/13/2014 -
" Not as good as his earlier ones, but still good. "
— Tony, 1/22/2014 -
" Another good one in the series of mysteries set in Sicily with Inspector Montalbano. Let's just say they don't run crime investigations in Sicily like the do in the States. Part travelogue, part quirky characters, part foodie recipes...a peek at a different way of life. This one had quite a finale. "
— Jan, 12/11/2013 -
" Think this is the first of this series I've read - enjoyed it. Don't think he's going to be my favourite Italian detective but still worth looking out for more. Did mean to watch the TV version which I think BBC4 had but missed it. "
— Pat, 11/24/2013 -
" I'm glad I didn't give up on Camilleri after a couple of Montalbano books that I thought weren't as good as the first ones. This one was a joy to read. "
— Adriana, 11/24/2013 -
" I like the weaving of the plot, love the main characters, love the food, and enjoy being in Sicily when I read an Inspector Montalbano mystery. I would say that this one is very good, but not great. "
— Dvora, 10/10/2013 -
" Salvo Montalbano faces his life at 56 years of age and the problems with his relationship with Lucia. The mystery is interesting but not as captivating as usual. "
— Elizabeth, 8/24/2013 -
" i think this is the 11th title translated in to english. As always these lite mysteries are great: dialog, the "case", food, mores, and sex. Author seems to care and write about food less and less. not a good turn of event for this reader. "
— Tuck, 6/18/2013 -
" Another good one from Camilleri. "
— Ursula, 6/13/2013 -
" Very much enjoy all the books in this series. Thought the wings of the sphinx was a welcome return to form after some of the last efforts seemed a little weak. "
— James, 5/18/2013 -
" Normally I enjoy Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series, but this latest volume felt very flat. "
— Nancy, 5/12/2013 -
" just love these books. short enough to television without losing plot nuance, well written, no over blown babble, no annoyance, just simple story telling with moments of grit to add bite to the moments of laugh out loud humour. do yourself a favour and read one. "
— Graham, 4/20/2013 -
" Noto cierta desgana y desencanto en Montalbano... "
— Jose, 1/24/2013 -
" Definitely not as good as, say, The Terracotta Dog, but still laugh-out-loud funny in places. Plus, Catarella just gets better. "
— Ruby, 1/18/2013 -
" As the series of stories progresses the lead character gets more and more introspective and grumpy. Old age is frequently mentioned. I guess this is a reflection of how the author feels. "
— Sonia, 5/29/2012 -
" Very simple plot but reasonable. Characterizations and dialog are childish. Not worth spending time on. "
— E, 1/24/2012 -
" I enjoyed wandering around Sicily through the eyes of this disgruntled detective. I thought the translation was done very well, captured Italian without being in Italian. "
— Paige, 10/29/2011 -
" Je l'ai trouvé moins amusant que les autres de la série. "
— Michele, 5/27/2011 -
" Good. Love this series, inspector Montablano is such a sweetie. "
— Ruth, 3/26/2011 -
" pick this audio book up on a humble and loved ever minute of it! love the inspector and & officers! "
— Brenda, 9/4/2010 -
" This story in the Montalbano series is about Russian immigrants falling victim of the underground sex trade. It's a good, intriguing story, and as ever the chief inspector's personal life, his love of food and his love life all play an important role. "
— Robin, 8/27/2010 -
" Montalbano is a fine detective, and I've really come to enjoy these murder mysteries set in Sicily. Perfect summer reading! "
— Nishant, 8/17/2010 -
" Very entertaining - good summer mystery. There is a PBS series about the central character Inspector Montalbano who is the Italian (Sicilian actually) version of Lt. Columbo. It is quite tongue in cheek and so characteristic of Italians and Italian humor. I recommend it as a good diversion book. "
— Andrea, 7/25/2010 -
" Nothing special about this except what's special about all of the Montalbano series: great characters in a great setting. A slice if Sicilian life (and death). Well done. "
— Michael, 7/8/2010 -
" Another good one in the series of mysteries set in Sicily with Inspector Montalbano. Let's just say they don't run crime investigations in Sicily like the do in the States. Part travelogue, part quirky characters, part foodie recipes...a peek at a different way of life. This one had quite a finale. "
— Jan, 7/5/2010
About Andrea Camilleri
Andrea Camilleri (1925–2019) wrote the internationally bestselling Inspector Montalbano mysteries as well as historical novels. His books have been made into television shows in Italy and translated into thirty-two languages. His thirteenth Montalbano novel, The Potter’s Field, won the Crime Writers’ Association International Dagger Award and was longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
About Grover Gardner
Grover Gardner (a.k.a. Tom Parker) is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.