The Dance of the Seagull - (Inspector Montalbano Mystery) by Andrea Camilleri (Paperback)

About the Book

With Inspector Montalbano's most recent outings hitting the "New York Times"-bestseller list, Camilleri's darkly refined Italian mysteries have become favorites of American crime novel fans. This latest installment finds Montalbano in search of his missing right-hand man.

Book Synopsis

"You either love Andrea Camilleri or you haven't read him yet. Each novel in this wholly addictive, entirely magical series, set in Sicily and starring a detective unlike any other in crime fiction, blasts the brain like a shot of pure oxygen. Aglow with local color, packed with flint-dry wit, as fresh and clean as Mediterranean seafood -- altogether transporting. Long live Camilleri, and long live Montalbano." A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

With Inspector Montalbano's most recent outings hitting the New York Times bestseller list, Andrea Camilleri's darkly refined Italian mysteries have become favorites of American crime novel fans. This latest installment finds Montalbano in search of his missing right-hand man.

Before leaving for vacation with Livia, Montalbano witnesses a seagull doing an odd dance on the beach outside his home, when the bird suddenly drops dead. Stopping in at his office for a quick check before heading off, he notices that Fazio is nowhere to be found and soon learns that he was last seen on the docks, secretly working on a case. Montalbano sets out to find him and discovers that the seagull's dance of death may provide the key to understanding a macabre world of sadism, extortion, and murder.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Dance of the Seagull

"Montalbano's 15th case features more hilarious bark and some satisfying bite."--Kirkus Reviews

"Fifteen books into his Inspector Salvo Montalbano series, Andrea Camilleri manages both to offer readers the pleasures they've come to expect, and to vary the ingredients and add enough emotional depth to keep the series from growing tired... an increasingly empathetic touch makes the Montalbano books one of the rare long-running crime series that grow stronger with time, and almost certainly the most affecting."--Philadelphia Inquirer

Praise for Andrea Camilleri and the Montalbano Series

"There's a deliciously playful quality to the mysteries Andrea Camilleri writes about a lusty Sicilian police detective named Salvo Montalbano." -The New York Times Book Review

"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

"Hailing from the land of Umberto Eco and La Cosa Nostra, Montalbano can discuss a pointy-headed book like Western Attitudes Towards Death as unflinchingly as he can pore over crime-scene snuff photos. He throws together an extemporaneous lunch...as gracefully as he dodges advances from attractive women."--Los Angeles Times

"In Sicily, where people do things as they please, Inspector Montalbano is a bona fide folk hero." -The New York Times Book Review

"Camilleri as crafty and charming a writer as his protagonist is an investigator." -The Washington Post

"Montalbano is a delightful creation, an honest man on Sicily's mean streets." -USA Today

"Camilleri can do a character's whole backstory in half a paragraph." -The New Yorker

"The books are full of sharp, precise characterizations and with subplots that make Montalbano endearingly human... Like the antipasti that Montalbano contentedly consumes, the stories are light and easily consumed, leaving one eager for the next course."--New York Journal of Books

"This series is distinguished by Camilleri's remarkable feel for tragicomedy, expertly mixing light and dark in the course of producing novels that are both comforting and disturbing." -Booklist

"Sublime and darkly humorous...Camilleri balances his hero's personal and professional challenges perfectly and leaves the reader eager for more." -starred Publishers Weekly

"...the humor and humanity of Montalbano make him an equally winning lead character." -Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Andrea Camilleri is the bestselling author of the popular Inspector Montalbano mystery series, as well as historical novels that take place in nineteenth-century Sicily. His books have been made into Italian television shows and have been translated into seven languages. He lives in Rome.

Stephen Sartarelli is an award-winning translator and the author of three books of poetry.