A Nest of Vipers

A Nest of Vipers – Another Montalbano Classic

Time spent with a Montalbano mystery is always a journey of pleasure, pain and comfort. Pleasure because the stories are so well written, the characters outstanding, the pain, being the actual crime, and the pleasure the comedy and food. Seeing his

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constant worries about aging and his relationship with Livia, and his relationship with food which is better than that with his colleagues.

Montalbano is called out to murder of a man killed in his own kitchen on a Sunday morning, having been found by his son. Little does he know he is opening a Pandora’s Box on dysfunctional families and this family happen to be the poster family on dysfunctional.

Livia also on a visit has ‘adopted’ a local tramp, that Montalbano has assisted, and she gives away clothing to him. She also makes regular visits to him and worries about him when he comes down with the flu. She even tells Montalbano to visit him, when she has gone home to make sure he is well. Montalbano eventually has an interesting conversation with the tramp, as he has decided to move on, that opens Montalbano’s eyes.

All the usual characters appear in this thriller along with Mimi’s constant wanderings with other women, Fazio’s diligence and Caterella stamping around. With plenty of visits to Enzo’s, and the descriptions of the food always makes my mouth water.

Once again, this Montalbano has been brilliantly translated into English, and the translator, Stephen Sartarelli needs congratulating on his fine work.

The only thing, when you finish one Montalbano you just hope there is another on the horizon.

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Why is Catarella allowed to have any part in the operation of the station? He'd be an encumbrance even if moved to toilet-cleaning duties. Why does Montalbano never seem to have any means of communicating with the rest of the force on him? It's not that he can't get a signal since he's never shown

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to try! Why does he appear to operate outside the rest of the force in his own time and to his inclinations? He's more like a private eye than a policeman. Catarella is almost certainly a “raccomandato”, i.e., someone who got his job thanks to connections rather than going through a rigorous interview and testing process (in Portuguese would be harder to translate; I don’t there’s a noun for that; for the action, yes; it’s called “meter uma cunha”, meaning literally “to pull strings for somebody”). It happens an awful lot. But Catarella does crack computer codes, week in week out, so he's good at something!

The Catarella thing is very much a reflection of the spirit of Montalbano’s books... He's there because he's loved, not because he's good. I remember one of Camilleri’s novels where a lawyer, I think he was called Leone, complained to Montalbano about Catarella's telephone manners and Montalbano got annoyed and defended him. It's about the laxness of process and the human interconnectedness; it's about peasantry rather than urbanism. Catarella is one of the running themes that leavens what might be a depressing view of Mediterranean corruption and violence. Irritating he might have been, but he has by now become a welcome feature.

I myself find the chauvinistic attitude towards women a bit cringing but then again, it does reflect Italian society. I know, by the way, I am not Italian. I’m Portuguese, but the Mediterranean culture is still there. There is also a whole sphere lost in translation. The characters that speak only in dialect and the socioeconomic layer hidden to the English-speaking public. Also, many jokes are translated as they can but often, are totally changed as they are untranslatable. It's such a good representation of the idyllic dissonance of Italy (and the Mediterranean culture in general).

I really enjoy Montalbano, especially in the Summer. Once upon a time I had a German teacher who also spoke Italian and she kept telling me that much of the humour and charm is in the use of Sicilian dialect; which of course is lost on me (I can pick up lots of Italian, but Sicilian? No way! It’s another ball game). She suggested that we only catch the slapstick or obvious comedic sketches and that there was a much richer seam of humour and intrigue that had been lost in translation. To command only three languages, Portuguese, English and German, is really a pain in the proverbial place (I know; it sounds like boasting, but it really isn’t…)

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I turn to these books partly for the plot, but mostly for the unapologetically grumpy Montalbano, the food porn, the supporting characters and the locations.

In terms of plot, A NEST OF VIPERS undoubtedly isn't the strongest Montalbano book in the series. There was nothing particularly mysterious

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about the identity of the murderer, the reason for the murder and really, sometimes a victim is almost too deserving for there to be much in the way of interest in the investigation. There is, fortunately in this series, always much to distract the reader. Whether it's the food, the locations, Montalbano's ongoing odd relationship with Livia or his eccentric cast of colleagues, including the wonderful Cat, there are reasons to spend time with these books over and above the mystery elements.

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In any mystery, you want to try to beat the detective to the solution. If the author plays fair with the reader, you can pull this off sometimes. In this book, however, I beat the detective by half the length of the novel.

So why would I recommend [A Nest of Vipers], by Andrea Camilleri? Because the

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book provides a sense of place (Sicily) and a sense of the life of a small Sicilian town. Loving Italy as I do, the scenes of Italian life and countryside, the descriptions of the meals, etc. all hooked me on the story. In essence, small town Sicily became a character in the novel for me.

As for Inspector Montalbano himself, he has a unique approach to investigating a murder. His subordinates do much of the work, so he is free to have lunch, fight with his lover, and interview witnesses. In the end, he draws the facts together to reach the solution.

For those looking for a fairly light read and a short but fun mental trip to Sicily, I recommend the book.

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After reading 20 earlier installments in the series, I did not think that Camilleri could surprise me, but surprise me he did. Not with the characters. They remain the loyal, unwavering, unique personalities that are a big part of the reason I continue to enjoy the Inspector Montalbano books. That,

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and the interesting mind games that Montalbano plays on some of the suspects (not always by the book, if you know what I mean). No, the surprise was in the unveiling of the crime(s) this go around. As the clues are uncovered, and disturbing layers to the case are revealed, I kept saying in my head, “No, it cannot be that… say it isn’t that”. Every now and then Camilleri takes readers, like me, outside of our comfort zone, making me squirm uncomfortably. He sure did this time! Some readers may be tiring of the “bickering” relationship between Salvo and Livia, but I can see where Camilleri uses that relationship as a foil for some of Montalbano’s frustrations.

Another wonderful installment in an entertaining series.

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Oh my: Such a twisted tale, love, hate, sex, obsession, blackmail, loan sharking, & perversion.

Montalbano is called to investigate the murder of a fiend... The man's son, claiming to have found his father shot in the back of the head while drinking his morning coffee; problem is a definite lack of

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blood & brain matter. In the remnants the man's coffee cup is something more than sugar, suggesting that he was poisoned first. There are long blond hairs found in the corpse's bed...

The man's daughter & son had reason to want their father dead, they were his heirs, but the old lecher had finally fallen in love and had plans to change the will in favor of his new lover, he was murdered before he could do so.

I figured out the murderers..... Wow, what an intense story!

I marked this down 1 Star; Livia, as always is a haranguing bitch, continually provoking arguments. She is the one character I loath & as she took such a large part in this book I found myself distracted.

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In a series that has run as long as Andrea Camilleri's has, not every installment is going to be a barnburner. That is the case with A Nest of Vipers. In his Author's Note, Camilleri admits that the plot of this book is very similar to that of The Paper Moon, the difference being that he became

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stronger in writing about a certain topic in A Nest of Vipers. I could tell you what that topic is, but it would give away too much of the story. Personally, I think it's one that doesn't need multiple covers due in part to the fact that it can be too easily deduced.

Speaking of deduction, Salvo Montalbano is never at his best when confronted with beautiful young women. One after another, he is brought face to face with drop-dead gorgeous young things as he tries to work his way through all the dead man's mistresses. They are prime suspects after all. Also, in previous reviews I've made it very clear that I don't like Montalbano's longtime girlfriend, Livia. She can't cook. She's vindictive. She hates Montalbano's housekeeper. And--worst of all in my book-- she lives to pick fights with the inspector. But... if you are one of the many who believe fighting adds spice to any romance, this relationship will be right in your wheelhouse.

For me, the saving grace of A Nest of Vipers is its humor. From the gold standard dialogue of Catarella to the coroner whose aspiration in life is to perform Montalbano's autopsy to the inspector's finding a new home for his mountains of paperwork, there are plenty of smiles, chuckles, and outright laughs to be found.

If only there hadn't been an overload of estrogen. Poor Montalbano has so much trouble dealing with it.

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Quintessential Camilleri, complete with romantic squabbles and great food. The only minor complaint: I guessed the murderer almost immediately. But then, I knew what these books are like, and Montalbano doesn't.