The Paper Moon

An Inspector Montalbano Mystery

By: Andrea Camilleri

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

With their dark sophistication and dry humor, Andrea Camilleri’s classic crime novels continue to win more and more fans in America. The latest installment of the popular mystery series finds the moody Inspector Montalbano further beset by the existential questions that have been plaguing him of late. But he doesn’t have much time to wax philosophical before the gruesome murder of a man—shot at point-blank range in the face with his pants down—commands his attention. Add two evasive, beautiful women as prime suspects, some dirty cocaine, mysterious computer codes, and a series of threatening letters, and things soon get very complicated at the police headquarters in Vigàta.

Solve another mystery with Inspector Montalbano.©2005 Sellerio Editore; Translation 2008 by Stephen Sartarelli (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Humor…leavens the noirish story line, and the solution to the central puzzle is both psychologically plausible and intellectually satisfying. The crisp prose is a pleasure to read, and a last-minute twist a testament to the author's artistry.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“Camilleri is as crafty and charming a writer as his protagonist is an investigator.” ( Washington Post)

“Montalbano is a delightful creation.” ( USA Today)

Very entertaining as usual

I enjoy this series a good deal. The “logic” of the detective was often full of holes, which ultimately gave overall coherence to this tale.

Italian gumshoe

This isn't my favorite series, but it was an okay listen. It is written in an old "gumshoe" style, which is not my preference when I choose a mystery. A little more interesting, however, is that it is Italian. The performance was generally passable, but some accents quite odd: including one character made to sound New York/New Jersey. That was weird and a bit distracting when he had "dialogue". If you like gumshoe, you might like this better than I did. The "mystery" of it was competent.

Everyone lies

Many thanks to Stephen Sartarelli for translating the Inspector Montalbano series into American English, and to Grover Gardner for his excellent audio interpretation (not to mention the pronunciations!) of Camilleri's entertaining mysteries.
An intriguing version of a locked door mystery, complete with red herrings (and also Swedish herrings in different sauces, but that is another matter). Momentary lapses in proper procedure loom large, but are less important than the thread running through other deaths, and the preponderance of lies offered by nearly everyone involved in the case. Of course, it is solved in the end, but not without even more death and deception.
Enjoy this and the others in the series, but be aware that they are addictive!

great book

interesting development of the facts leading to the discovery of the murderer of the brother

A failed attempt to make a murder mystery funny.

I can't decide which was worst: the narrative, the stupid dialog or the inane reading. Don't waste your time on this one.