Montalbano's colleagues, chance encounters, Sicilian mores, even the contents of his fridge are described with the wit and gusto that make this narrator the best company in crime fiction today
Guardian
Among the most exquisitely crafted pieces of crime writing available today
Sunday Times
One of fiction's greatest detectives and Camilleri is one of Europe's greatest crime writers
Daily Mail
For sunny views, explosive characters and a snappy plot constructed with great farcical ingenuity, the writer you want is Andrea Camilleri
New York Times
One of fiction's greatest detectives and Camilleri is one of Europe's greatest crime writes . . . utterly gripping
Daily Mirror
The Dance of the Seagull is the fifteenth darkly humorous adventure starring Inspector Montalbano from bestselling author Andrea Camilleri.
Inspector Montalbano is awake at dawn, sitting on his porch, when his attention is caught by a seagull which falls from the sky, performing a strange dance, before lying down to die. Montalbano is perplexed by what he has witnessed and the scene hangs over him like an omen.
About to depart for a holiday with his girlfriend Livia, Montalbano makes a quick trip to the police station to tie up loose ends. But when his dear colleague Fazio is discovered missing – and it transpires that the policeman has been involved in his own secret investigations – Montalbano instead launches a desperate search for his lost friend, as time begins to run out . . .
Navigating a shadowy maze of smuggling, blackmail and the darkest murder, and moving from the docks of Vigàta to its deep, dry wells where the mafia hide their terrible crimes, Inspector Montalbano must have his wits about him to unravel this tangled mystery.
'Among the most exquisitely crafted pieces of crime writing available today . . Simply superb' - Sunday Times
The Dance of the Seagull is followed by the sixteenth Inspector Montalbano novel, The Treasure Hunt.
Andrea Camilleri is one of Italy’s most popular writers. His Inspector Montalbano series has sold over sixty-five million copies worldwide and been translated into thirty-two languages, as well as being adapted for Italian television aired on BBC4.
Camilleri’s iconic police-procedural series transports the reader to the fictional town of Vigàta on the sun-drenched Italian island of Sicily. However, all is not as idyllic on the isle as it looks, with reports of crimes and mysterious occurrences keeping the police department busy.
Inspector Montalbano is at the forefront of any investigation, tackling every case with his astute detective work, fractious manner and reliance on delicious meals eaten in perfect silence. The novels see him uncovering Mafia-led activity, tracking down murderers and drug-rings and stopping inexplicable overnight kidnappings. The series begins with The Shape of Water, in which Montalbano is called to The Pasture, a trash-strewn site favoured by drug dealers, where the body of an engineer has been discovered . . .
'Inspector Montalbano is one of fiction’s greatest detectives and Camilleri is one of Europe’s greatest crime writers.’ Daily Mirror