• The Smell of the Night

  • An Inspector Montalbano Mystery
  • By: Andrea Camilleri
  • Narrated by: Grover Gardner
  • Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (282 ratings)

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The Smell of the Night  By  cover art

The Smell of the Night

By: Andrea Camilleri
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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Publisher's summary

The Smell of the Night, the sixth mystery in the international best-selling series featuring Inspector Montalbano, brings the shady shenanigans of late twentieth-century international finance to small-town Sicily.

A "financial wizard" entrusted with the savings of nearly half the retirees of Vigata mysteriously disappears with the money and a young man who worked for him. In a rather atypical case for Montalbano, the inspector finds himself initially shut out of the investigation by the ever hostile commissioner Bonetti-Alderighi, and forced to work from the shadows.

Translated by Stephen Sartarelli.

Solve another mystery with Inspector Montalbano.
©2001 Sellerio editore via Siracusa 50 Palermo, translation 2005 Stephen Sartarelli (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"An intricate plot and a large cast of memorable characters help lift the sixth Inspector Montalbano mystery." (Publishers Weekly)
"Camilleri's hero may be more vulnerable now, but the series is richer than ever, less smooth but with more bite, less Sangiovese and more Barolo." (Booklist)

What listeners say about The Smell of the Night

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another great book showing some personal struggles

In spite of Montalbano having personal and professional challenges he still relies on his quirky group at his station who watch his back and follow his orders. He follows every lead to solve a case of a missing financial heister who takes a lot of money from the province. He even follows the lead to a dedicated secretary who believes her boss is returning at any time. He shows some great compassion in this book. Andrea Camilleri once again pulls you into the story and the lives of the people. Of course if you are a listener as I am (I assume you are) then you know just how important a good narrator is. GROVER GARDNER IS THE BEST and he brings these books to life. I already purchased the next book "Rounding the Mark".

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5 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Very enjoyable!

I really enjoyed this book. The narrator was good and the story carried me briskly along, with sympathetic characters, and enough twists to keep me interested. I had been reading a lot of heavy texts recently and needed a palate cleanser. This was had just the right amount of humor and wit. I will definitely pursue the series further.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Among the Best Montalbanos Yet

Though in his Author’s Note at the end Camilleri describes this story as “a rather anomalous case, sort of a divertissement”, I found it one of the best in a series that consistently satisfies. The same deft mixture of the serious and the humorous, memorable characters, salty language, and loving descriptions of Italian seafood. Camilleri even needles his critics in a gentle, self-deprecating way.

If you’re intrigued, start at the beginning of this series. For it really is a series, with continuous relationships and storylines that would be inexplicable, six books in, without the background of the previous five stories.

As always, Grover Gardner is a pleasure to listen to.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Camilleri always delights

I will always come back to this series as I’m hooked on the characters. Inspector Montalbano Mysteries were first introduced to me by my Italian teacher, but long after I gave up on learning Italian I still enjoy these stories with their surprise endings!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Best Yet

I've read two other Montalbano novels and one collection of short stories, and this was easily the best. Well-narrated as usual by Grover Gardner, this novel's set of crimes fits in particularly well with the subplots, which involve, as Montalbano notes, the realization that his solitary, self-sufficiency is increasingly becoming a weakness rather than a strength.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great

One of the most unusual and best Montalbano books.
Waited a long time to be able to hear it....and so glad I have finally been able to.

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  • Overall
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great book

very nice plot, you can not guess what happen
I need to keep reading the next book

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great stories Great narration great listening

Author created a wonderfully human character in Montobano.

SO SO glad I found him. And so many more to go!

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