The Snack Thief (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries) by Andrea Camilleri - "Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells

In the third book in Andrea Camilleris Inspector Montalbano series, the urbane and perceptive Sicilian detective exposes a vipers nest of government corruption and international intrigue in a compelling new case. When an elderly man is stabbed to death in an elevator and a crewman on an Italian fishing trawler is machine-gunned by a Tunisian patrol boat off Sicilys coast, only Montalbano suspects the link between the two incidents. His investigation leads to the beautiful Karima, an impoverished housecleaner and sometime prostitute, whose young son steals other schoolchildrens midmorning snacks. But Karima disappears, and the young snack thiefs life-as well as Montalbanos-is on the line . . .

"Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells
If not from my love's breath?" William Shakespeare, Sonnet 99

Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series just keeps getting better and better. It seems, in retrospect, that the first two volumes released in English, The Shape of Water and The Terra Cotta Dog went a long way toward fleshing out the character of Inspector Montalbano, his colleagues on the Vigata, Sicily police force, his significant other Livia, and his delight in a plate of good food. In "The Snack Thief:" we see these characters now fully-drawn and the reader can now almost sense how Montalbano will react to any given situation. This is not to suggest the story lines or the characters are predictable but, rather, to suggest that anyone who dips their toes into these books will find themselves enmeshed in the characters to a degree seen in other well-written series of this sort.

As in The Terra Cotta Dog, Montalbano is faced with two parallel story lines. A Tunisian fisherman working on a Sicilian trawler is shot during an encounter with a Tunisian naval patrol vessel. At the same time an older man is found murdered in the elevator of his apartment. The fishing incident does not appear to be much out of the ordinary and Montalbano readily agrees to let the local harbor police do the leg-work. He is intrigued by the elevator murder, all the more so as his investigation reveals that the old man was involved in some sort of affair with a young Tunisian cleaning woman who regularly cleaned the man's office. The woman flees Vigata, leaving her young son, the snack thief of the title, behind. As the story lines progress there is some indication that there is much more to each case than meets the eye and, in fact, there may be some connection between the two murders.

Although this story is particularly plot-driven, perhaps more so than his earlier stories, The Snack Thief is most enjoyable for the portrayal of the many characters and the local flavor of the (fictional) town of Vigata. Montalbano grows on you, as does Livia. The ending of the book was particularly noteworthy in this regard.

Although the story is self-contained I recommend that the prospective reader begin with the earlier books in the series. I think that would enhance the reader's enjoyment of this book. I do not often recommend an entire series but I've now read three and I've enjoyed each one. L. Fleisig.

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