A Nest of Vipers (An Inspector Montalbano Mystery) Paperback – August 1, 2017

Cosimo Barletta was a viciously self-serving businessman, a difficult father, a nasty womanizer and a loan shark who gloried in ruining people. Half the town had good reason to murder him. Bizarrely, he is twice-murdered on the same morning -- by poison and then, when already dead, by a gunshot to the head. Inspector Montalbano and his team hardly know where to start on this case.Besides offering an absorbing police investigation. this book has great fun with all the usual characters. Tommaseo, the sex-obsessed prosecutor falls ill with excitement over all the unsavory carnal activity in this case. The foul-tempered coroner Dr. Pasquano gets especially rude and insulting if he's lost at poker the night before. Catarella continues to garble every message he gives Montelbano at the office. The inspector's long-distance girlfriend Livia always suspects Montalbano of lying to her (and he usually is). The inspector's two detectives exhibit their usual foibles.I never tire of Camilleri's gags, which have a consistent flavor, yet feel fresh every time. Happily, there are plenty of hilarious bits in this book. I also enjoyed the inspector's moments of pleasure in the Sicilian sunshine and sea air -- and his glutinous appetite for good food (and his horror over squishy pasta). His ecstasy over his housekeeper's pasta 'ncasciata was so moving, I googled the recipe. And then there's Montalbano's attack of loneliness, his kindness to a vagrant, and his ultimate compassion for the killer to add poignancy to the narrative.Camilleri again proves himself to be a master of comedy and tragedy combined in A Nest of Vipers. The translation seemed good to me. I could feel the Sicilian sea breeze, and the quirkiness of Montalbano's turbulent stream of consciousness came through vividly.

Another solid entry to the montalbano series. As has been the case with everyone I enjoyed reading it. It’s middle of the road montalbano which means it’s still and excellent read.

I picked up the Detective Montalbano TV series, by chance, and became hooked on this wonderful character. played by superb actor Luca Zingaretti, and a fantastic cast of characters. This very intriguing story. A Nest of Vipers, made me want to purchase the book, the first one actually, as I wanted to check how closely the the TV production followed the book. I was pleasantly surprised to find that yes, both go hand in hand, as Andrea Camilleri, the author and creator of Det. Montalbano also contributes to the TV script.Camilleri, in this story touches on a very disturbing and unusually unspoken crime (I won't reveal any of the plot) that even a seasoned, and street savvy detective as Montalbano, finds revolting, yet in his usually keen analysis looks for a human motive to give it closure. It is a very entertaining story, well written and easy to read, dark and amusing. It can be picked up on its own, but I would recommend, those who have never read or seen this wonderful series, to start reading the first stories in order to get an insight into the relationship of all the wonderful recurring characters throughout the series. I'm planning to purchase other Montalbano books. Andrea Camilleri has created a fantastic world with Sicily as its backdrop, where the Mafia, the Church and corrupt politicians are behind the crimes, and an intuitive, funny and heart driven Detective Montalbano is out to face them. A very good read!

When an older man is found shot dead in his kitchen, at first Chief Inspector Montalbano thinks it’s a fairly straightforward murder. But closer examination leads to the conclusion that the man was poisoned to death and then shot, indicating not one but *two* intended murderers, and when Montalbano probes into the man’s life, he begins to think there could be hundreds of potential suspects, so venal and downright evil the man had been…. It’s always a treat to get a new Montalbano novel, this one being from 2013 but translated to English in 2017 by the great Stephen Sartarelli; this is, I think, the 21st novel in the series, and it is full of the author’s trademark humour, love of food and, yes, beautiful women all over the place. My only quibble has to do with format; I bought the Kindle edition and the notes provided by Mr. Sartarelli at the end of the book are sometimes hard to access, first because the format doesn’t let the reader know there *is* a note about a given phrase or sentence, and second because one has to check the *next* note in order to know to look it up when one reaches that moment in the story. Otherwise, recommended as ever!

Any of the stories by Andrea Camilleri are a pleasure to read. Full of insights of life in a small town in Sicily, but mostly full of humor. Montalbano is an old curmudgeon, but a very likeable old curmudgeon. He delivers his own sense of justice by sidestepping the trappings of politics and corruption. An enjoyable read.

"A Nest of Vipers" is a let down after so many of the other Camilleri books. There was just something about the victim's daughter that made me realize all wasn't right. If the reader is careful, the clues are there for the reader to easily pick out and see. By halfway in the book I realized what was going on, and I lost interest in continuing on. The old idea of "it takes two to tango" here is certainly correct----the theme is as old as time itself, and always excuses are made for "that sort of behavior." Here, we have lots of red herrings and potential perpetrators of the crime, but the light doesn't shine for the good Inspector until the very end. Montalbano's long-time girlfriend Livia and the cave-dwelling homeless man are used here to throw readers off the scent, but those who are perceptive and careful in their reading habits will find the clues do add up----long before the ending.

Tudo de Andrea Camilerri é ótimo.

I've been a fan of Camilleri for at least a hundred years. He never fails to charm…never fails to deliver insights into humanity…never fails to untangle a mystery without blowing up the town or shooting everyone in sight. Over the years I've come to know Montalbano and his crew. The devastating betrayal of killer cops in America has tarnished thousands of serving men and women whop want to keep us safe…and I admit that the tarnish has soured me. In Montalbano I see a cop I could sit and share a drink with…and that extends, obviously to Camilleri. I recently attended the memorial for a friend who also loved Camilleri…taught himself Italian so that he could read the books in that language. That in itself is a tribute I applauded.

Loved it really good read

A man is found shot dead by his son. It seems that the victim is a loan shark, a hard business man and changes his young lovers every few months after having taken compromising photos of them and using them against them later. So the list of suspects is pretty long.there is no need for me to go into details of the plot or how Montalbano uncovers a simply awful family at odds with each other, the Nest of Vipers of the title, as if you are fans of Camilleri's work you will know and love them.I read these books for total sheer enjoyment for meeting the wonderful Catarella again, Fazio who seems to do most of the ground work in the station, Mimi Augello who though married still has an eye for the ladies and seems to get away with doing the minimum. I love love love them and settled down to read this with a cup of coffee and a Do not Disturb Sign on my door and I did not move until I had finished it. A total joy from start to end, witty, amusing, funny and, at the end when the solution is shown, rather disturbing and sad.Loved every word

In Montalbanos 21. Fall (die Bände mit den Kurzgeschichten nicht mit eingerechnet) geht es um den Mord an einem älteren Unternehmer. Schon bald stellen Montalbano und seine Mitstreiter Fazio und Mimi fest, dass der Ermordete eine Vielzahl amouröser Abenteuer hatte, bei denen er seine Geliebten auf übelste Art und Weise behandelte. Darüber hinaus hat er als Geldhai mit Wucherzinsen viele seiner Kunden in den Ruin oder sogar Selbstmord getrieben. Daher mangelt es nicht an Verdächtigen mit den allerbesten Mordmotiven.Natürlich kommt auch in diesem Fall Montalbanos Privatleben nicht zu kurz. Anders als zuletzt streitet Montalbanos langjährige Freundin Livia mit ihm nicht nur aus der Distanz am Telefon mit ihm, sondern besucht ihn diesmal auch wieder persönlich. Und auch der stets lüsterne Staatsanwalt Tommaseo und der Montalbano in inniger Feindschaft verbundene Gerichtsmediziner Pasquano kommen nicht zu kurz.Wie bereits in den letzten Bänden ist Andrea Camilleri nach einigen leichten Durchhängern auch diesmal wieder eine sehr gute Balance aus spannendem Krimi und Privatleben des schrulligen und gleichzeitig sympathischen Ermittlers Montalbano gelungen, bei dem auch die kulinarischen Ausflüge wieder ihren festen Platz haben. Die Lösung des falls ist raffiniert, erschütternd, aber zugleich auch sehr plausibel. Die Reihe um Montalbano ist in der Folge die einzige, der ich seit bisher 21 Fällen die Treue halte und mich schon auf Nummer 22 freue!