Publishers Weekly
★ 07/26/2021
In an amusing metafictional twist, Camilleri (1925–2019) plays a part in his elegiac 28th and final mystery featuring Sicilian police inspector Salvo Montalbano (after The Cook of the Halcyon). Just shy of five o’clock in the morning, Montalbano’s phone rings. The caller identifies himself as Riccardino and says, “We’re all here already, outside the Bar Aurora, and you’re the only one missing!” Peeved at being disturbed, Montalbano tells the stranger he’ll be right there, hangs up, and goes back to bed. A second call comes an hour later—from his police colleagues, who ask him to come to the Bar Aurora to investigate the murder of Riccardo Lopresti. Montalbano feels “strangely certain—with a certainty as absolute as it was inexplicable—that the poor bastard who was shot was the same person who had called him on the phone before dawn by dialing a wrong number.” As motives begin to multiply, Montalbano’s investigation is muddled by phone calls from “the Author” spouting far-fetched suggestions on how to proceed. Incisive wit colors this insightful and intriguing farewell. The sad, poetic ending is perfect. (Sept.)
Library Journal
07/30/2021
Andrea Camilleri (1925–2019) was a prolific and often profound writer of mysteries. His stunning "Inspector Montalbano" series now spans 28 titles; many of his works were adapted for television and film. In this final series installment (after The Cook of the Halcyon), a man is shot in front of his friends as they gather for an early-morning walk. Inspector Montalbano begins the novel feeling the weight of his age and his work as a police detective. He begins to unravel the case built on half-truth witness statements, a shady henchman, and a department that wants results. But this isn't your typical murder mystery. As in real life, this novel becomes metafiction. Montalbano is well known, and his fame and success as a detective has spurred television shows and novels. While he works the case, he fights with his commander at the police station, the public who demand answers, and even an author who is writing about the inspector's latest caper. VERDICT Camilleri's series finale busts out of the traditional mystery genre to give fans an inspiring, thoughtful, and humorous farewell to a beloved character.—Ron Samul, New London, CT
DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
Grover Gardner creates a wonderful narration for the final episode of Andrea Camilieri’s bestselling Inspector Montalbano series. In a metafictional twist, the novel plunges Montalbano and author Camilieri into the heart of the its action. In the morning’s wee hours, an irritated Montalbano answers a wrong number call from someone called Riccardino. Soon, he gets another call about a murder. The victim is the earlier caller. Gardner deftly slips between “the author” whose books have made Montalbano a famous TV detective and Montalbano himself. Gardner gives the assortment of familiar minor characters identifiable voices and personalities. Written when Camilieri was in his 80s but held back until after his death at 95, this is a deliciously convoluted mystery, which Gardner laces with gravitas and humor. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
