A Nest of Vipers
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4.3 • 44 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“The novels of Andrea Camilleri breathe out the sense of place, the sense of humor, and the sense of despair that fills the air of Sicily.” —Donna Leon
Montalbano investigates the death of wealthy accountant Barletta in a case involving a string of mistresses and family secrets.
Inspector Montalbano enjoys simple pleasures: delicious food, walks along the water, the occasional smoke—yet these are just the backdrop to his duties as a detective.
His latest case is the killing of the wealthy Cosimo Barletta. Thought to be a widower living out a quiet life by the sea, Cosimo’s sudden death, by gunshot to the neck, opens up his past to scrutiny. What Montalbano uncovers is Cosimo’s trove of salacious photographs, used to extort young women, and a history full of greed and corruption. Montalbano, though resolved to find the killer, muses on where justice lies—in his pursuit of a suspect or with one of Cosimo’s innumerable victims getting the revenge they deserved?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
That prosperous accountant Cosimo Barletta the initial murder victim in bestseller Camilleri's entertaining 21st mystery featuring Sicily's Insp. Salvo Montalbano (after 2016's A Voice in the Night) was both shot and poisoned is only one of the troubling wrinkles in a case that pulls Montalbano in a little deeper than he expected. Revelations of Barletta's ugly techniques for his womanizing, a trove of sleazy photographs of his conquests, a slew of business enemies, and two scheming adult children make for a long list of suspects, but long experience steers Montalbano to an especially upsetting solution in which Barletta is not the only victim. There are deft touches that make the inspector a winning lead, from his argumentative love life and his fixation with good food to his bemused observations on Sicilian speech and culture. Camilleri blends a locked-room mystery with a vivid sense of setting and an appealing cast of supporting characters.)
