Enjoy all the Montalbano books. This one is a fairly light, quick read. As always, Salvo gets onto the wrong foot with Livia (I can't decide whether she is long-suffering or unreasonable); having found a house for her friends to rent for a summer holiday, everything goes wrong. The intense August heat, which is ever-present in this book, causes the house to list, producing first various plagues of creatures and then revealing a secret, illegal apartment under the house, in which a body is discovered. Lots of dry humour and digs at certain Sicilian practices on the way. I didn't like the ending very much (so not 4 stars this time). The translator conveys various accents and dialects in a way which I should think is quite difficult to do from one language to another - and I love the notes at the back of these books, which are not intrusive as you are reading the novel but really illuminate some of the references. There's a hint of a cliffhanger over Livia's whereabouts by the end, so on to no. 11 soon! Inspector Montalbano endures the heat of August in Vigata as his girlfriend Livia comes to visit with friends. She asks him to rent a villa by the sea for her friends and he finally finds one to her specifications. Unbeknownst to them, a duplicate apartment is buried beneath the rental with a body inside, killed 6 years earlier. Several amusing "plagues" occur which lead to Montalbano discovering a the body. Montalbano must solve the crime while keeping Livia's friends from discovering they have been sleeping in a villa with a body interred beneath, which leads to several spats with Livia.
What do You think about Ardores De Agosto (2006)?
My library had a display of books for August so I picked this one. I like Inspector Montalbano.
—urangel73
These are fun, easy reads (and I love the descriptions of Cicilian food).
—Lhie
Inspector Montalbano books are always a fun read on a Saturday arvo.
—jam
Very enjoyable. One can sense the heat of Sicily in August
—michal
