Reviews for Excursion to Tindari (Inspector Montalbano Series #5)

The average rating for Excursion to Tindari (Inspector Montalbano Series #5) based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-12-21 00:00:00 Matthew Facherty Rating: 4* of five The Publisher Says: Following the long-running success he has enjoyed on bestseller lists in Europe, Inspector Salvo Montalbano is now winning over American readers and critics alike as "one of the most engaging protagonists in detective fiction" (USA Today). Now, in Excursion to Tindari, Andrea Camilleri's savvy and darkly comic take on Sicilian life leads Montalbano into his most bone-chilling case yet.In two seemingly unrelated crimes, a young Don Juan is found murdered and an elderly couple is reported missing after an excursion to the ancient site of Tindari. As Montalbano works to solve both cases, he stumbles onto Sicily's ghastly "new age" of brutal and anonymous criminality. My Review: Fifth of Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series set in fictional Vigata, Sicily, this outing sees Montalbano and his team dealing with a homicide, a double disappearance, and a bad case of lovin' you for the Inspector and his chief henchman as their respective relationships head into perilous waters. That is as nothing, though, compared to the murder of a too-wealthy twenty-year-old computer whiz who is in so far over his head that teasing out the whys and wherefores of his death leads Montalbano directly to the pinnacle of the Mafia food chain, and the resolution of the double disappearance...actually a double homicide...and the end of particularly vile, despicable, reprehensible, inexcusable business. For good? Probably not. For better, yes. Camilleri doesn't disappoint in this outing for the hapless Mimí Augello, the surprisingly astute Catarella, and the Inspector himself. A web spins around Vigata (modeled after Porto Empedocle, Camilleri's home, which has actually added "Vigata" to its name to capitalize on the tourists following Montalbano around!) that seems at first to mean one thing, then another, then when you're SURE it means ANOTHER thing, *bam* there it is, the real source of all the trouble...and this time it was one I so totally never saw coming that I reeled backwards in shock, just like in the old cartoons. (Never mind that I was comfortably recumbent in the bed, don't be a spoilsport, the image works.) Montalbano's highly imperfect character...too fond of his food yet never gets fat, treats Livia with what can charitably be called a highly trusting light maintenance, is so jealous of Augello's gal-pal in Pavia (like being from Massachusetts to a Texan) that he sets out with malice aforethought to get poor Mimí to forget her by introducing him to a witness in the double disappearance case, who just happens to be tall, blonde, blue-eyed, and a major foodie who has no family outside Vigata...which ploy works like a champ, may I add...grows deeper in this entry, and in some surprising ways. Upstanding yet spiteful, insubordinate yet deftly political, Montalbano makes each twist and every turn just that much more fun to take with Camilleri. These are hugely popular books in the rest of the world, and the TV series is huge in Europe, and they are like all fueled by the same basic engine: Real drama comes from inside complex characters, their different facets all whirling chaotically to create the energy to drive the story. Well, yes. Now will SOMEONE please translate Camilleri's non-Montalbano novel "Noah's Umbrella"?!? I *have* to know what it's about!

Review # 2 was written on 2011-09-08 00:00:00 Christopher Fowles "Excursion to Tindari" is the 5th book in the Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri. And it's every bit as good as the previous four books. It seems that most of the series books that I read have strong, likeable, morally-rewarding men as their main character. Montalbano is no exception to this rule. He may come across as gruff and brusque but this is a wall of deception. And behind this wall is a man who cuts corners and steps outside of the boundaries of the law only when matters are small and lead to a bigger action of justice. Jacket notes: "A young Don Juan is found murdered in front of his apartment building early one morning, and an elderly couple is reported missing after an excursion to the ancient site of Tindari--two seemingly unrelated cases for Inspector Montalbano to solve amid the daily complications of life at Vigáta police headquarters. But when Montalbano discovers that the couple and the murdered young man lived in the same building, his investigation stumbles onto Sicily's brutal "New Mafia", which leads him down a path more evil and far-reaching than any he has been down before." The mystery in this book is one that leads down multiple roads. Twists and turns there may be, but Montalbano finds solutions while lying underneath an old olive tree...quite literally. I like the way Camilleri allows all of his characters to grow and develop a bit more in each book in the series. It only makes me keep coming back for more.