The Paper Moon (The Inspector Montalbano Mysteries Book 9)

One of the more intriguing mysteries. Montalbano never disappoints. Smart, funny, moral, and virtuous. Temptation is a carrot not always pursued.

Inspector Montalbano's worrying about getting older and the effects it has on his ability to remember the little things. Of course, that's even as his mind is analyzing everything he has seen and heard and working to unravel the details (not to mentions lies) associated with this latest murder. There's a good mystery, of course with all of Camilleri's wonderful twists and turns, good food, and a great cast of odd ball cops and characters who make the book an enjoyable read. I don't like giving away the plot in a review- who does what to whom and how the real killer is... you get the point. I'll just say that there is a murder, there are several interesting women involved, a few political and mob connections and enough to let you know that Montalbano has his work cut out for him. I have two more to go in the series and I'm taking them slowly. Like Montalbano I'm savoring the dishes one at a time.

The beautiful Elena sinuously moves through the book, tempting all in her site. Even an Inspector. Sicily has its own rhythm as do its inhabitants.

I know most others liked this one . . .and I have been reading them all in order and truly liked the first 8 . . .but this one was boring, over-written, with uninteresting characters and a Who Cares Who Did What plot. Monty takes too many showers and needs to stop driving himself to vwranda ennui. On to August Heat . . .

Camilleri does it again, a fast and fun read, even if you (as I) don't particularly gravitate to crime fiction (Jo Nesbo's Inspector Harry Hole series and Cara Black's Aimee Leduc series as other exceptions). I really like the "Notes" at the end of the book which explain some of the short-hand phrases, people references and difficulty to translate colloquialisms, such as the popular Italian insult, "cornuto."Salvo Montalbano, the over-sexed, over-fed, over-40, over-self-aware, over-self-indulgent, and over-self-pitying inspector/detective who now fears he is growing old and nearing death, is the star sleuth. But his police station mates are crucial in advancing this story, especially Cat, the spot-on consistently ditzy receptionist/office manager who so mis-speaks in a Sicilian slang that even Montalbano has trouble understanding. Cat this time uses his computer "skills" to solve part of the mystery. As usual, Montalbano's gastronomic preferences consume many pages of the story. Surprisingly, Livia, his long-distance lover/mate in Milan, plays no role at all here.Who murdered Angelo is the main question to solve. The two prime suspects are women, both of whom Salvo unprofessionally salivates over, whereupon this time his conscience and often-hidden morality triumph.Dialogue is crisp, sparse and beautifully written. Many writers would profit from imitating Camilleri's ability to write dialogue.I was not enamored with the "letter" that Montalbano writes to himself mid-way through the story, an obvious literary "technique" used by Camilleri to summarize the evidence and status of the story. However, the summary came at a good point, right when the tale seriously bogged down.The absolute best feature of every one of the 9 Inspector Montalbano stories is humor. "The Paper Moon" is especially funny at many points in the story. Kudos to Camilleri for his timing and style of humor. Often, it's of the "laugh out loud" kind. Even the "Author's Note" at the end is funny.The translation is nearly perfect, clear testimony to Stephen Sartarelli's incomparable ability to transfer ordinary and even crude Sicilian Italian into ordinary and even crude American English. Did Sartarelli grow up on the streets of Jersey City?One more thing. True to the genre, this story is unrelievedly populated by over-sexed heterosexuals, who revel in fantasy and actual straight sex. I find this a little boring. Are there no just-as-interesting gay people in Sicily?In its special genre (quirky crime fiction), this book is a 4+. As literature, it's a 1, but who cares since it is so much fun to read!

This review actually applies to all of the Montalbano mysteries. They are, in my opinion, a perfectly balanced product; clear, sparse writing style (kudos to translator Sartarelli), a reasonable length, a fantastically engaging main character with equal parts pith, humor, grit, brusqueness, and humanity...one is reminded of the Chandler quote:"If I wasn't hard, I wouldn't be alive. If I couldn't ever be gentle, I wouldn't deserve to be alive."Add to this a mouth-watering array of Sicilian cuisine, a wonderful supporting cast of quirky characters jincluding many intriguing and beautiful women, lots of local color, and what's not to like??These books are instant classics, and they stand with the best work of Simenon because of their essential humanity.

Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano mystery series is one of life's great pleasures. Wonderful, witty writing. Humanity and terrible inhumanity juxtaposed. Complex characters with meat on their bones and, sometimes, evil (or larceny, lust, hate or greed) in their hearts. "The Paper Moon" has all of these winning qualities plus a terrific, multi-layered and serpentine plot.In "The Paper Moon," The indefatigable Inspector Salvo Montalbano faces a trio of formidable female antagonists while sorting out a murder with erotic trappings, and he doesn't have a solution until the last few pages of the novel. And this, for me, is one of the most enjoyable things about Camilleri's stories--the complexity of their plots rarely gives away the ending before it is actually reached. The setting for the book being Sicily, there is always a whiff of the Mafia in the story's telling, but the author never resorts to the obvious in bringing it to a close.A perennial bonus look at Sicily and Sicilian society is part and parcel of "The Paper Moon" as well.This is one of Camilleri's most enjoyable stories to date. Highly recommended.

What I wrote for 1 book in the series applies to all books.ML

I am worried about Montalbano, with him becoming seriously worried about the onset of old age, worried about the possible onset of Alzheimer's disease (especially when he cannot remember the word Alzheimer), thinking of starting to make notes when interviewing witnesses and suspects, being nice to Mimi (warning him about walking into a political trap and allowing him to take the credit for solving a major crime solved by Montalbano himself), thanking people (including Catarella and Fazio), not having any major bust-ups with Livia and, apparently, being off his food a bit (he only has a handful of blowouts and one of those is based on "foreign" food - Swedish pickled herrings); but, however, there are at least another thirteen books to go, so things cannot be too bad.Amidst it all, Montalbano picks his way down the complex and convoluted trail and gets the job done.Some reviewers point out that this is a bit "same old, same old" but it is a thoroughly enjoyable, light, easy to read same old, from a consummate storyteller and so, for me, it does.This time we are left with two big questions: first, the usual one of whether or not he will ever marry Livia, and second, the new one, of what the Commissioner wants to see Montalbano about.

"...a dreadful script from a B-movie of the erotic-crime genre," is how Mr Camilleri refers to one scene. It is unfair to extrapolate this quote to describe the whole novel but at times it strays awfully close.This is the ninth in the series and some of the running gags are now running out of steam. There are scenes shortly after the discovery of the victim that would embarrass the audience at a Brian Rix farce. For the second novel in a row the plotting is becoming unbelievable; are the Sicilian police so short of cryptologists that the guileless Catarella is the best option?Montalbano as 'lone wolf' is in danger of becoming a parody, as is the one-to-one, tell-all, denouement. The opening musings of the novel focus yet again on whether he is losing his memory, fitness, attractiveness or intelligence. The book had a gratuitously, sexually over-heated, feel that may trouble some readers.

Montalbano getting old ? He's approaching the magic 50 and starting to doubt his capabilities detective wise. Is his memory going, is it all too much. His excessive consumption of pasta and J&B whisky may have something to do with it! The storyline seems to have picked up some of Montalbano's doubts too, as it seems a bit scrappy and the ending is sort of left hanging.

In another excellent episode the wonderful Montalbano continues to worry about getting older while struggling with his propensity to attract dangerous women... Catarella almost has a computer-related breakdown... and Italian government bureaucracy is at its most bureaucratic.This series considers to deliver even though this is number 8: the plot does admittedly rely on Montalbano being surprisingly obtuse (the ‘paper moon’ of the title) but that doesn’t detract at all from the sheer enjoyment of these books.Camilleri’s real strength is in the characterfulness of these books: when crime fiction is awash with the same old tired characters/plots/moods, this series genuinely stands out: the books are sardonic, sometimes almost despairing, never shy away from tragedy and things that generate righteous anger, and yet at the same time they’re warm and full of life and laughter, a difficult balancing act that Camilleri manages with ease. It’s best to start at the beginning of the series and work your way forward – I’m rationing myself so that I don’t run out too fast.

This book centres on two fascinating women - the sister and the mistress of Angelo Pardo, done to death in horrible circumstances right at the beginning. The sister hates the mistress - but why? Montalbano meets both and has to be wary - Michela's eyes and Emilia's easy beauty are seductive. But his job is to discover the killer, and as usual local and national politics and the complex social fabric of Sicily are a strong element - and food too, at Enzo's wonderful trattoria. For all Montalbano's afficianados, this is really the mixture as before, which is how we like it, and it is a lovely read, full of atmosphere and interest, and with an involving plot which keeps you guessing. I don't think it's the best Montalbano mystery (though I'd find it difficult to say exactly why) but it's certainly up to scratch and will while away a few hours very enjoyably indeed.