Better and better...

I've been working my way through Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series. I found the first one The Shape of Water very hard to get into, although I did enjoy it. I had a similar problem with The Terracotta Dog although it was worth perservering with as it was a good story.

However the third in the series The Snack Thief is a complete delight from start to finish. Endearing, funny, a very good mystery in which the world of the Sicilian police mixes with the murky worlds of terrorism and the secret service, this is a wonderful novel. There's rather more background to Montalbano himself, and his relationship with the lovely Livia, along with some more details about his family. As always with Camilleri, there is a real sense of place, with the backdrop of Sicily almost being an extra character in the book. And, also, as usual, plenty of mouthwatering culinary detail. It's also quite unusual in that one of the major characters is a North African terrorist - first published in Italy in 1996, it was written some years before the events of 911. But it's such an enjoyable read, I can't wait to read the next one...