The Potter's Field (The Inspector Montalbano Mysteries Book 13)

There are two problems I have with this one. One is just a little niggle: Dr. Lattes now has the nickname of "Lattes e mieles" instead of his former nickname of "Caffe-Lattes," and no explanation for this change is given. (I have tried looking up "lattes e mieles" on the internet but can't find an explanation for what it means.) But that's minor. The real problem I have concerns the hit-and-run attempt. At the very beginning of the book, a concerned citizen comes to Montalbano to report what he thought was a hit-and-run attempt. He saw the driver try to run a pedestrian woman off the road, then the driver leaned out of the window and yelled something at the woman, and drove off. The concerned citizen drove the woman back to her neighborhood, but she wouldn't talk to him about the attempt at the hit-and-run.Later in the story, when we find out who the hit-and-run driver was, it makes no sense! Through Montalbano's reasoning we are led to believe (which is true) that the driver and the woman have something going on, but I can't in any way figure out why this driver would have done such a thing, at that stage of the game. It's as if Camilleri only included the attempted hit-and-run to set the readers up for the reveal. This bothered me on my initial read, and also on my next 2 rereads. When you know in advance who did it, and read the early part with that in mind, it just does not make sense.Otherwise this convoluted story is interesting, and Camilleri has masterfully written it so that Montalbano and Fazio bring the investigation to a successful conclusion without disclosing all the facts to everyone. I liked how that was done.

Another witty and entertaining ramble with Inspector Salvo Montalbano through the criminal peccadilloes and charms of Sicily. "The Potter's Field" provides a clever mystery plot, terrific characters and a continuing insightful look at Sicilian culture and society, which only nominally resembles its Italian counterparts (according to author Andrea Camilleri, at least).In "The Potter's Field", Inspector Montalbano faces a murder case that begins with the discovery of a chopped up body in a bag; a mini-rebellion and malaise at his police station; and the daily personal struggles with the human aging process. The strongest part of this fine crime novel is, as always with author Camilleri, the interplay of the wonderfully colorful characters. There are times when you can imagine Fellini orchestrating this rich mix. The procedural element of the story is relatively transparent, but Montalbano's deductions and moves toward solving the central crime of the book are not, and therefore the book's conclusion(s)--to the reader's pleasure--is invisible until the last few pages.This book has it all--an intelligent and engrossing plot, great characters and entertaining cultural notes (Montalbano is a gourmand whose many encounters with Sicilian cuisine are recorded by the author in minute detail). Highly recommended.

After plowing through a densely plotted nail-biter whodunit in the 400+ page range, it was a real treat to revisit the great Inspector Salvo Montalbano, who can be counted on to provide a Sicilian detective story with a sense of humor, a cast of interesting characters and a clever, well crafted and believable plot that can be read in a day.In this one, Montalbano and his cohort find themselves knee deep in the mud in a field where a bagful of carved up human remains that are well nigh unidentifiable--fingertips gone, face battered beyond recognition, etc.--has just been found. In other words, it seems to have all the marks of a Mafia hit. And yet, for reasons he can't explain, Montalbano senses there's more to it than that. Luckily, he'll happen upon a clue to that conundrum in a book written a few years back by Andrea Camilleri that he'd never gotten around to reading. (You can find out which one in the Notes at the back of the book.) In the course of all this, one of his detectives goes off the rails and a gorgeous woman who can't seem to keep her hands off any man, including Montalbano, comes into the picture, along with a dying don, a butcher, a monarchist landlady and a dental bridge from South America. Meanwhile, after nearly drowning, a depressed Montalbano concludes that "Mature, elderly, of a certain age, no longer young, getting on in years: [are] all ways to soften but not change an essential fact--that he was getting unavoidably, irremediably old."Well, maybe so, but those little gray cells of his are still in fine form. Women still find him sexy. And this case is one of his best.

this is #13 (2008 italy; 2011 english translation) in andrea camilleri's wonderful series featuring inspector montalbano set in vigata, sicily, near montelusa but far enough away to let him be his own boss for the most part -- not counting bureaucratic bluster and suffocating layers of official tedium that he ruminates upon endlessly while avoiding with ingenuity. here there is death, investigation, the shadow of mafiosi and official italian corruption that feature in camilleri's fictions as well as wit, charm, humor and the interplay of a familiar cast of characters. "the potter's field" also affords the snatches of history, geography language and sociology that dot montalbano's little kingdom so attractively. (tony hillerman's fictive navajo revelations come to mind as a comparison.) do yourself a favor and start with #1 in the series, "the shape of water" (1994 italy; 2002 english translation). camilleri references previous stories frequently and it's a reader's grace note to follow character development and place-setting along with the writer. you'll eventually arrive here and beyond (there are currently 16 in english). if you're just in the mood for delight, this is another of your 16 choices.

A return to form by Mr Camilleri after one or two below-par predecessors in the series.Three inter-linked stories are well-constructed. One thread shakes Montalbano's usual sang-froid by involving one of his trusted team. He can tolerate anything except betrayal. There is more sexual frisson from yet another of the most beautiful women in Vigata - just how many are there in this series!For the first time, Montalbano confesses his fears about aging to his team. Whilst he still displays the skills of a 'master puppeteer' in solving the case, he also worries that he is no longer providing the same dynamic leadership of his youth...'a fish always starts rotting from the head'.Many of the usual running jokes and themes recur which allows a new reader to experience this as a satisfying stand-alone introduction to our hero. You can enjoy his endless appetite, flirtations with the Mafia and conflicts with authority. However, his long-distance affair with Livia is wearing thin. Frankly, Livia has rated little more than a few pages in several of the most recent boks in the series; maybe time to write her out?

Camilleri's beautifully crafted stories about Inspector Montalbano are a joy to read. I have yet to read one which I consider poor, but some are definitely more enjoyable than others. In my opinion 'The Potter's Field' is one of his best. Montalbano not only has a complicated case to unravel (the reasons behind the death of an unidentified man, whose dismembered body has been cut into 30 different pieces) but he is also struggling to understand why his deputy, Mimi, is behaving in a strange, hostile manner. As he gradually understands the case he realises he must think carefully how to both bring it to a satisfactory conclusion and leave his relationship with Mimi intact.'The Potter's Field' is pitch perfect - even Montalbano's relationship with his long-suffering girlfriend Livia seems to be going well for a change (he visits her twice during the course of the investigation). If you've not previously read any of these stories, it's not essential that you read them in order, so why not give this one a try?

This is the thirteenth in Camilleri's Montalbano series. It's also the best. Not because the plot is notably better than the others but because Camilleri has ramped up his use of scathing dry humour. A notable example is Montalbano's rant at the Commissioner when be utters a statement crafted almost entirely from the titles of Dostoyevsky novels. 'Had the Commissioner noticed? Of course not! The man was ignorant as a goat'.It's clear that during the writing of this book, Camilleri's mood alternated between productive days (when he moves the plot forward) and witty days when he focuses on crafting sharp dialogue and dry one-liners. At times (particularly the first few pages of Chapter 5), the narrative is painfully funny and I was tempted to award a spiteful single star because I'd been laughing so much that it was beginning to hurt.Camilleri brings a warts-and-all Sicily to vibrant, colourful and fragrant life in much the same way that James Lee Burke achieves for southern Louisiana. It's therefore a source of dismay that, unlike Burke, Camilleri chooses to adopt largely fictitious place names. This deprives the reader the opportunity of enjoying a memorable week retracing Montalbano's footsteps. The Author's concluding note contains the depressing phrase 'As is obvious, the names of .... streets, hotels etc are entirely fictitious and make no reference to reality'. What a shame.But read the book anyway. It's a treat.

I'd been getting a little disappointed with the series, mainly because there were too many similarities between the books, not just the Montalbano's predictable relationship with Livia, but the parade of stock characters to provide the local colour and contrast with the almost obligatory string of predatory females, often from 'outside'. But The Potter's Field (interesting but irrelevant coincidence that there is a detective novel of the same name for Ellis Peter's clerical sleuth Cadfael) showed Camilleri at his best, and I couldn't put this book down in my anxiety to find out how Montalbano would sort out a very messy situation to the satisfaction of all concerned other than the murderer. Yes, the usual ingredients for which I read Montalbano were all in place, but what makes this book is the unexpected complication of the investigation by - let's say 'a friend' to avoid spoiling the story - and Montalbano's determination to save the skin of someone he feels has betrayed him, without that person ever knowing that he had - to use his own image - been pulling strings. It is the long-standing human relationships that make this book, the best of which is that between Fazio and Montalbano. I love Fazio's behaviour when Montalbano takes him to interview Dolores. I still think the Polizia have made a serious mistake in not promoting Fazio, who is not just sharp but utterly honest and on whom Montalbano can rely without any hesitation.One delightful little self-referential joke on the part of the author is to have Montalbano reading a book by...Andrea Camilleri.One gripe I have about the series in general is the number of times things are explained, which the reader knows from previous books, such as Tommaseo's lecherous touching of women witnesses, the mutual dislike between Arqua and Monstalbano or the fact that Dr Lattes is called Café Lattes because of his cloying manner. Tricky this, because not everyone starts with the first book in the series. In this respect that book is better than this because we meet a lot of new characters involved in the upholding of the law,most of them from outside Vigata.For me, this book is up there with Rounding the Mark.

A convincing portrayal of Montalbano in physical and emotional decline but still able to act decisively to solve a crime and save a colleagues’ career and marriage. The first half is the strongest as the second tends to get bogged down in the unnecessarily convoluted plot. To be enjoyed for Cammilleri’s quirky style and evocative portrayal of Montalbano.