I discovered Andrea Camilleri and his Inspector Montalbano at a reading group last year and I have been trying to read all his novels in sequence. I was getting through them (and enjoying them thoroughly) until the middle of 'The Snack Thief' when I abruptly hit a wall and couldn't finish it. I tried twice after that but I always got stuck at the same point. I generally read three books simultaneously - one is kept in the loo, one at my bedside and one in my work bag to read on my commute to and from work. This one was my bedside read and I seemed to fall asleep everytime I thought about picking it up! Two days ago I put it in my work bag and hey presto - I devoured it ..  Read the complete review

Inspector Montalbano is once again trying to juggle his love life with his job....and his job is winning hands down. A respected businessman is found stabbed to death in the lift of his apartment block. Investigation into his private life reveals that he may not have been quite so respectable after all...his wife certainly suspects that he was having an affair with a Tunisian cleaner called Karima. But Karima has disappeared, apparently having fleed for her life, leaving behind her small son, Francois, who is forced to steal schoolchildren's snacks for food. Montalbano takes the child into his home as the investigation hots up, throwing international drug smuggling and ..  Read the complete review