Rounding the Mark (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries)

"Camilleri's gripping seventh Inspector Montalbano mystery successfully integrates serious political themes with a hero reminiscent of Colin Dexter's beloved Inspector Morse...Despite Camilleri's hard look at modern-day slavery and child abuse, he maintains Montalbano's gallows humor, making this far from a run-of-the-mill police procedural."

"Having narrated several of the Inspector Montalbano mysteries, Grover Gardner is thoroughly comfortable in the persona of the feisty middle-aged Sicilian detective. Here Montalbano considers retiring, goes for a relaxing swim, and comes face-to-face with a corpse. He's also dealing with possible child trafficking in his jurisdiction. Though his Italian is impeccable, Gardner elects to define the characters through their personalities rather than give them Sicilian accents. He's particularly adept at bringing out Montalbano's humorous side as well as his frustration with the pervasive corruption he sees. Add a strong-willed mistress and an office full of independent fellow police, and you have a fast-moving and affecting audio story."

Unlike other authors who dramatize both the ugly racism and unfathomable evil that too often accompany an immigrant's journey, Camilleri masterfully mixes tragedy and comedy by showing us Montalbano's laughably human foibles and excesses, from his continuing hunger for a good meal and his bumbling efforts to sustain a romantic relationship through his compassionate if often misguided attempts to deal with his subordinates. Ordinary life goes on, even in the face of extraordinary horror.

A worthy addition to a smart, entertaining series.

The earthy and urbane Sicilian detective Inspector Montalbano casts his spell on more and more fans with each new mystery from Andrea Camilleri.

While swimming along the Sicilian shore, Inspector Montalbano discovers a corpse. His pursuit of the cause of death intersects with the inquiry into a hit-and-run accident that claimed the life of a young boy who may have been victimized by human traffickers. The buying and selling of immigrant children, for slave labor, sex, and as a source of illegal organ transplants, is part of the evil underside of the opening of Europe's borders. That, combined with frustration with his department's repressive handling of security for the G8 summit in Genoa and the corruption among his superiors and the politicians behind them, makes setting anything right seem like an exercise in futility. Montalbano alternates between despair and steely resolve, and when he realizes that he may have inadvertently aided the boy's victimizers, his internal turmoil intensifies.