Reviews

The Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri

liberrydude's review

4.0

Another quick and enjoyable read set in Sicily. Montalbano wakes up to a dead horse on the beach next to his house. Then it vanishes. It's like the dreams he has been having and his dreams soon come to life. Two horses are reported missing and one of these horses is owned by a beautiful woman who quickly connects with the enigmatic Montalbano. Meanwhile Salvo's house is being burglarized not once but twice to his macho police embarassment. Is this related to the horse or to a Mafia killing in which he is to testify? Lots of humor in his day to day dealings with his subordinates as well as his interactions with the women in his life. As usual he seems to savor a good meal more than the companionship of women, who throw themselves at him.

jbaltsar's review against another edition

2.0

Ich habe jetzt 8 Bände dieser Reihe in direkter Folge gelesen und zum ersten Mal musste ich mich zum Ende hin durchkämpfen. Bisher hatten mich die Bücher über den mit seinem Alter hadernden Commissario gut unterhalten, die Plots waren interessant, die Settings stimmungsvoll, es waren immer wieder lebensweise Beobachtungen zu Gesellschaft, Politik und der conditio humana im Allgemeinen zu finden; und auch die längeren kulinarische Betrachtungen, was Montalbano gerade mal wieder zu Mittag isst, haben mich eher neidisch gemacht, als gelangweilt.

Hier aber stimmte zum erstenmal die Mischung nicht mehr. Der Plot: I couldn't care less! Ein aus obskuren Gründen totgeschlagenes Pferd. War's die Mafia, oder doch nicht, oder doch? Schon vergessen. Wieder eine bombshell von jüngerer Frau, die Montalbano (wortwörtlich) zum Sabbern bringt. Auch die Beschreibungen werden etwas stereotyp: festes Fleisch und endlos lange Beine, und zum gemeinsamen Abendbrot drei Flaschen Wein und zwei Flaschen Whiskey (!). Das ist eine Art von Altherren-Literatur, die ich nicht verdammen will, die aber auf die Dauer etwas schal wird. Man muss bedenken, Camilleri war 82, als er dieses Buch schrieb, da bleiben vielleicht nur Wunschträume und Erinnerungen (kleine Randbemerkung: eine ähnliche thematische Entwicklung gab es, wenn ich mich richtig erinnere, bei Asimovs späten Foundation-Büchern und Herberts späten Dune-Bänden, das wäre doch mal ein spannendes Thema für eine vergleichende Literatur-Arbeit).

Nun ja, ich verlasse Montalbano jetzt erstmal, werde aber sicher nochmal vorbeischauen.

lara_m02's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

4.0

always an entertaining and delightful read 💚

timmens59's review

3.0

Back to form with this one but still not sure about the ending. The book opens with a horrific scene; quite graphic. We are reunited with Ingrid and are introduced to one of her friends who is a victim of a crime and who is attracted to our favorite detective. The Livia thing continues. Why? I have no idea this point, but Ingrid's friend causes even more complications for Salvo's personal life. In this case, Salvo becomes a big part of the story not just in the investigation, but because he is also a crime victim. Interesting spin on things. I like Fazio, who seems to have taken over a bit for Mimi's appearances. And Cat gives us comic relief. I sure wish I could see the television series.

jumbopenguin's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The mystery aspect was intriguing how the case is solved and the argument and understanding of the situation develops but I didn't enjoy the morally questionable behaviour of the main character.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual content

cheryl6of8's review

3.0

A series I very much enjoy with characters I have grown attached to. The mystery in this case revolves around a dead horse outside Montalbano's home, allegedly stolen from a beautiful woman who is visiting in town and takes a shine to Montalbano. In the course of the investigation, the body of the horse disappears before it can be collected, Montalbano's home is broken into, a man is killed, and Montalbano's love life becomes more complicated. And he eats a lot of great Sicilian food -- but that goes without saying.

chronicreader96's review against another edition

4.0

I really enjoyed this installment in the Inspector Montalbano series. The storyline centering around the death of a horse tugged at my heart strings.
I love the usual characters and descriptions of food/Italian scenery that enters all of the books in the series. I struggled to put this book down, and often found it on my mind.
I haven’t before considered how excellent the translations of these books are, but Stephen Sartarelli does such an incredible job.

yarima13's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

sanlex's review against another edition

challenging funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

tommyro's review

4.0

Each of Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano is thoroughly delightful and enjoyable. He has not missed yet. In fact, they get better. I look forward to the next. May he write forever.