August Heat

An Inspector Montalbano Mystery

By: Stephen Sartarelli - translator, Andrea Camilleri

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's Summary

When a colleague extends his summer vacation, Inspector Salvo Montalbano is forced to stay in Vigàta and endure the August heat. Montalbano’s long-suffering girlfriend, Livia, joins him with a friend - husband and young son in tow - to keep her company during these dog days of summer. But when the boy suddenly disappears into a narrow shaft hidden under the family’s beach rental, Montalbano uncovers something terribly sinister.

As the inspector spends the summer trying to solve this perplexing case, Livia refuses to answer his calls - and Montalbano is left to take a plunge that will affect the rest of his life.

Fans of the Sicilian inspector as well as listeners new to this increasingly popular series will enjoy following the melancholy but unflinchingly moral Montalbano as he undertakes one of the most shocking investigations of his career.

Solve another mystery with Inspector Montalbano.

©2006 Andrea Camilleri; Translation 2009 by Stephen Sartarelli (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

“The joys of August Heat arise less from the central plot than from its margins: Montalbano’s never-flagging fondness for food, his ruminations on aging, and his commentaries on Italian society.” ( The Washington Post)

“Camilleri’s tenth mystery to feature [Inspector] Montalbano (after 2008’s Paper Moon) cleverly balances a compelling story line with engaging characters.” ( Publishers Weekly)

There's No Fool Like An Old Fool!

These Inspector Montalbano mysteries are what I call travel quality; short enough to finish on a long ride or while waiting in an airport; engaging characters with a story that does not require intense concentration. It was sometimes LOL funny; I imagine it is even more entertaining in Italian. My biggest disappointment was with the ending. Past a certain point, it was out of character for Montalbano.

I enjoy listening to Grover Gardner's narration-good accents, clear enunciation, distinct characterizations.

This is the 10th in a series of 20 mysteries that, looking at reader reviews elsewhere, vary quite a bit in quality. This is only my third but is considered one of the best, which is why took advantage of a sale to buy it. To date, it appears that only the first 15 have been translated into English. The series has been made into a very popular Italian TV show. Separately, it has been scripted and performed in English, now in its second season on BBC Four, I think.

Check out the wikipedia article about the author. Now 87, he published the first of this popular series when he was 69. He's no fool.

Something different in detective fiction

I enjoyed this, my first, Montalbano mystery. Apparently there are more than a dozen stories in Italian, some translated to English, and an Italian TV show based on this interesting detective. The narrator of this audiobook is skilled with various voices and accents appropriate to the characters. The story is unusual, but not improbable. I found Montalbano likeable, a real person who's good at what he does with a few little quirks here and there. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to my next Montalbano audiobook.

FYI: Some profanity that some may find offensive and a graphic description of the sexual assault/murder.

Uncomfortable subjects

Sicily, law-enforcement, relationship-issues, family-dynamics, friendship, murder, murder-investigation
Read 2 times. Last read November 1, 2020.
I don't think that one needs to have read prior books in the series to be able to understand Montalbano. Part of the book is about his middle age crisis including a disagreement with his girlfriend and that is what sets up his discovery of the body in the trunk in a hidden part of a vacation rental. More anomalies turn up and all is complicated by the unbearable August temperatures. This is not his best, but maybe I just feel that way because of the subject.
Stephen Sartarelli is the master of Montalbano translations, and Grover Gardner in the voice of Montalbano and the other characters.

Montalbano is human after all!!!

Very well done. Surprising ending. All the lovable characters are here, each the way we want them to be. If I were Montalbano, I would do many of the same things even though they went against my grain.

Engrossing

It sure gets hot in Sicily in August. Which helps a young woman outsmart the usually canny inspector.