Treasure Hunt (An Inspector Montalbano Mystery)

... everything gets put together and, one more time (like all of Inspector Montalbano's books) I could not stop reading. It didn't matter that I had to work the next day, that I needed a little sleep. I could not stop reading.

Actually this should be a minus star. None of the Montalbano books have been very good lately. I read them as a diversion,but
this last one was barely readable. It is noticable that the books are scripts and this last one has so many loose ends it's pitiful.

I've enjoyed many of the Montalbano mysteries - not for the puzzle which is usually uncomplicated, but for the flavor of Sicily and the wry humor. This was the first one I will not pass on to my friends. The suspect leading Montalbano on a 'treasure hunt' was all too obvious early in the book and the plot like something you'd expect in a shabby late night TV psychothriller. Many of the interactions have become formulaic and too shallow to sustain interest - the ongoing romantic tension between Montalbano and Livia for instance. But by far the most serious defect in the book (to my taste), is that it breaks with the rest of the series in the stunning degree of sadistic violence. The final pages of the book were revolting, not visions that I want sitting forever in the back of my mind.

If anyone was to ask what books would accompany me to a desert island, the entire Montalbano series to date would be a strong contender. There is something about the quality of Camilleri's writing that there is always some slight nuance or unexpected event that catches you off-guard, revealing to the reader another facet to the character of the remarkable Inspector Montalbano. Indeed, with each new book Camilleri admirably deceives us, as these tales combine in the reader a sense of the comfortably familiar, but equally he delights in intentionally unsettling us by the intervention of some strange, or more usually, hilarious moment that changes the direction of the narrative. So bring on The Treasure Hunt...

From the outset, The Treasure Hunt, combines the dark and light elements that Camilleri is renowned for. A couple of elderly religious extremists begin taking pot-shots from their apartment at innocent passers by, resulting in a sudden case of immolation and a need for Montalbano to go, in the words of sidekick Catarella, all `Brussi Villesi' to gain access to said apartment. Confronted with a huge spread of religious icons and the startling inclusion of a bizarre blow-up-doll, Montalbano once again finds himself caught up in a bizarre investigation, further complicated by the arrival of another blow-up-doll (with the inevitable Italian version of `Carry-On' that this produces) and the wilful inclusion of Montalbano in a strange treasure hunt, reflected by the book's title. Add to this Camilleri's trademark portrayal of the sights, sounds and culinary aspects of Montalbano's home turf, the never ending ups and downs of his relationships with both the luscious Livia and Scandinavian temptress Ingrid, Montalbano's melancholic musings, and the ease and comic touch with which Camilleri immerses us back into the colourful world of his regular troop of characters, and this is once again a book impossible to fault. Another example of the twisted brilliance of Mr Camilleri, and quite simply, una lettura perfetta...

This is the 16th Sicilian mystery featuring Inspector Salvo Montalbano. In the early going in the novel, the Inspector finds himself bored, with nary a crime worthy of his talents, much less a murder; the author calls him a “police inspector with a brilliant past, no matter dull his present.” But it becomes somewhat less boring as the book opens - - an elderly brother and sister, religious fanatics both, open fire on the main square of the village, determined to punish the people of Vigata for their sins. When Camilleri is caught on camera scaling the building, gun in hand, to put an end to the scene, he is hailed as a hero. His own reaction, after searching the apartment, is one of shock, when he discovers rooms filled with crucifixes and shrines and an apparently aged inflatable sex doll. To say that this opening scene has unexpected repercussions later in the novel is an understatement.

Montalbano, now fifty-seven, is a man who is always aware of when he ate his last meal and savors each one; who occasionally has his inner selves arguing, like an angel and a devil perched on each shoulder, and takes to cursing the saints when frustrated. And is an absolutely terrific protagonist. He has two more or less regular women in his life, Ingrid, a former race-car mechanic, described as his “Swedish friend, confidante, and sometimes accomplice,” and Livia, with whom he has a long-distance romance: She lives in Genoa.

Boredom soon is replaced with the worst kind of crime to be solved: The apparent kidnapping of a beautiful 18-year-old girl, with no clues as to the identity of the kidnapper. Montalbano finds himself up against “a criminal mind the likes of which he had never encountered before.”

Not long after the opening scenes, he becomes the recipient of envelopes marked to his personal attention, each containing crudely constructed poems, riddles setting him on the eponymous hunt, soon devolving into a duel between two very sharp minds. Until with the third and fourth missives the seemingly innocuous game becomes suddenly threatening or, as the Inspector puts it, takes a “curious turn.”

The plot is fascinating, the tale told, despite the darkness of the plot, with great good humor and fascinating characters, e.g., the Inspector’s switchboard operator, Catarella, from whose mouth come words like “nickpick (picnic), and “Beckin’ yer parting” (for ‘begging your pardon,” but you figured that out already). This was a very entertaining novel, and is highly recommended.

This was the best Montalbano I have read. The plotting was superior and the gradual darkening of the tone as the treasure hunt becomes more inexplicable and new characters enter, at first seemingly innocently but gradually melding into the horror was marvelous and enticing.

I found the melding of the various characters, the crazy old couple shooting up the square, the decrepit brother, yet another "love" non-interest for Salvo, the restauranteurs and barmen, the concerned parents, the various members of Montalbano's team, the villain, all worked together extremely well. Some readers were turned off by the gradual descent of the tale into horror, but. It felt inevitable and realistic to me.

More than that, for once Montalbano's relationships with Fazio, Augello, Cat and the rest of the team was portrayed very deftly. They did not sound a false note. The translation was good also. I was not put off for once by the attempts to portray a semblance of the regional dialects in English. The rendering of Sicilian attitudes and folkways once again added a terrific element to the tale.

Camilleri is not getting tired. He is getting better. This was an entertaining, well written cleverly plotted mystery with a great mixture of light and dark, humor and horror, and a tale that gathers the various strands of the story inevitably.and entertainingly.

Treasure Hunt (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries) is overall a light, delightful fast read. Characters are well drawn and plot only slightly falters for me inasmuch as I figured out the solution and although a little more clarity about the motivation and thinking of the perpetrator was desired. Generally very well done, and gore level was minimal.

NOT SPOILER BUT WARNING: Have speed dial of a good Sicilian takeout restaurant, or a good Italian mama/chef nearby as you may start to crave some good eats Italiano style as you read Montalbano books!

Character development 5.0 out of 5.0 --- Characters are interesting and distinct

Pacing 5.0 out of 5.0
--doesn't falter for a instant
A
Plot 4.5 out of 5.0
--would have likes a little better understanding of the perp ultimately regarding some of his actions.

Writing and translation style 4.75 out of 5.0

Descriptive 5.0 out 5.0
--Scenes are well described and food scenes had me salivating and looking up recipes.

****4.85 out of 5.0 Star Average*****

Very nice. Way out of my usual action-romance comfort zone, and I am surprised how enjoyable I found this slow, comfortable, small-town mystery story. I really loved the European sensibility of it, and was not surprised to learn that it was translated from Italian.
Two deeply religious, elderly hermits, a brother and sister, suddenly take to shooting at people in the town plaza. What the police find in the couple's cluttered apartment after subduing them is shocking and horrible, but just a pale vision of the awfulness to come.

While the police chief welcomes something to do once things have settled down -and a legitimate excuse to avoid his girlfriend- he's not really impressed with the treasure hunt-style messages that start arriving, complete with bad poetry.
The story moves along slowly, perfectly in time with the sleepy life of a village by the sea. Luscious Italian food is described as lovingly as is the scenery and the chief's appreciation of both is an additional character in the plot.

A good, cozy read, perfect for a cool autumn weekend in front of the fire.

So disgusting and disturbing...Wish I could forget what I read. I grabbed this one off the library shelf and read it. YUCK!!! I should have returned it after the first couple chapters. They were weird and disturbing enough, but the end was horrible and I wish I had never read it. Too bad. I definitely won’t be reading anymore of these books.

These books always seemed to have a feeling of real life in Italy, but not this one. Criminals are just not like the one in this book and the dreadful crime was just like something out of a horror movie. Nothing that I wanted to read.

The weakest in what has been a wonderful journey with Salvo Montalbano. Formulaic, trite and repetitive. Takes snippets from what we know and places them not so neatly so that it appears to tell a story but does nothing to advance our glimpses into the life of Montalbano. I was particularly upset that he had to eat the same dish two days in a row. That is not the person who escaped to an island for a month and ate to get himself well!

I was very disappointed in this book. I have enjoyed all the prior Inspector Montalbano books, but this one was more like a book by James Patterson. The gory very detailed descriptions of the murdered victim's mutilated body turned my stomach and I felt cheated and upset when I finished the book. I won't buy more Inspector Montalbano books if the future ones are this gruesome and gory.

Not what I expected from a Montalbano mystery at all. It had very little of the usual lighthearted Italian charm - but read like a dark Swedish mystery with way too many gory, sadistic and perverted descriptions. A chilling and disappointing read.

"The Treasure Hunt" was not what I was expecting, but I liked it. It was funny, confounding, scary, and heartbreaking. I enjoyed the inclusion of several of my favorite characters. I listened to the audio version first (a pleasure, as always), then read the book. I always reread Camilleri's books at least once for the more relaxed experience. His books stand up to rereading so very well.