Book Review: The Patience of the Spider

Reviewed By: Lynn Harnett

The Patience of the Spider     Amazon US TPB Amazon UK PB Amazon UK HC Amazon Canada TPB
Andrea Camilleri
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural
Series: Inspector Montalbano # 8
Penguin paperback, April 2007
Mystery, Italy, Sicily, Police Procedure, Series

The Sicilian Inspector Montalbano is still recovering from the gunshot he sustained in “Rounding the Mark” when he’s called in on a kidnapping case; a pretty university student snatched off her moped on a country path. But it wasn’t her usual route, her abandoned bike is facing in the wrong direction and her family has lost all their money.

The reader may solve this one before the Inspector (who’s still a bit off his game), but no matter. This is a witty, character-driven series and the acerbic Montalbano is going through some changes. The long recuperation has made him a bit more introspective and conscious of his age and his girlfriend Livia’s lengthy sojourn with him has not been entirely smooth. Particularly since it deprives him of the marvelous cooking of his housekeeper (she and Livia don’t get along). Fans will also miss the mouthwatering food this series is known for, but the Sicilian milieu is as transporting as ever.

Lynn Harnett

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Lynn Harnett