The Terra-Cotta Dog

An Inspector Montalbano Mystery

By: Andrea Camilleri

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Montalbano's latest case begins with a mysterious tête à tête with a Mafioso, some inexplicably abandoned loot from a supermarket heist, and some dying words that lead him to an illegal arms cache in a mountain cave. There the inspector finds two young lovers, dead for 50 years and still embracing, watched over by a life-sized terra-cotta dog. Montalbano's passion to solve this old crime takes him on a journey through Sicily's past and into a family's dark heart amidst the horrors of World War II bombardment.

Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano has garnered millions of fans worldwide with his sardonic take on Sicilian life. With sly wit and a keen understanding of human nature, Montalbano is a detective whose earthiness, compassion, and imagination make him totally irresistible.

Translated by Stephen Sartarelli.

Solve another mystery with Inspector Montalbano.

©1996 Sellerio editore via Siracusa 50 Palermo, translation copyright 2002 Stephen Sartarelli (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"In Sicily, where people do things as they please, Inspector Montalbano is a bona fide folk hero." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Montalbano's deadpan drollery and sharp observations refresh as much for their honesty as their wit. All he wants is a quiet corner and an uninterrupted afternoon." (Kirkus Reviews)
"A deep evocation of the Sicilian temperament, with all its complex darkness and ambiguity, is embodied in Inspector Salvo Montalbano. Camilleri writes in Sicilian dialect, and his translator has expertly captured the rhythms and nuances of that tongue in English." (Booklist)

An imperfect hero

Sicily, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, mafia, historical-novel, language, friendship

Montalbano is the chief detective in his police district and is certainly not perfect. He has a lot of friends of varying ages and not all of them are on the force. He also has problems with his long time and long distance relationship and this does factor into the story. An old friend puts him in touch with an old mafioso who has things that he needs Montalbano's help with. Things go wrong when too many departments get involved but information is shared that there is a large cache of illegal weapons hidden in a cave. The whole tale is convoluted and very interesting.
Grover Gardner seems to have a good handle on how to present each character and all the mischief.

Wonderful

Like two stories in one. I love this series. I think the translation is wonderful.

Love these stories!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Probably so - the story and the characters are fun (though a bit tough to keep track of) and I thought the reader could have done a better job of distinguishing when there was a change of scene or speaker

Any additional comments?

A fun listen - and it's not that long so you can forgive some of the transitions that work better in print than when read.

It just gets better

Another engaging story from Camilleri. This one is better than his first, and not as good as his next. Again, I was distressed that it ended so soon, but that inevitably brought to my mind a wonderful Whoopi Goldberg routine from her early stand-up days.
When a creepy old man tried to woo her into a tumble by promising that old men can last a long time, she paused for a long Whoopi moment.

To paraphrase her question to the audience:
Now why... would I want to read a baaaaaaaaad book... for a LONG TIME?!?

And indeed, I'd rather spend a short time with a book as wonderful as this than a long time with some of the mountainous drivel I've mis-chosen lately.
Highly recommended.

AUDIO: The same competent and well-fitting narrator, thank goodness.

Exceptional performance and plot line

One of the better stories performed by Grover Gardner. His rendition of the Italian language is one of the best by a non-Italian

The Terra Cotta Dog

This is the second book in this series. This book holds your attention. It's a good mystery with a good storyline. I will continue with the series. There's a lot of books in this series. I like series with a lot of books where you can get more vested in the characters. I recommend giving this a try. Grover Gardner does a great job narrating this book. He does the whole series. If my review is any help will you please click on the helpful link below. Thank you.

Better than I thought at first

This is my first Montalbano book, after many recommendations from friends. I'm a huge fan of Grover Gardner's narration, so, while the dialog seems a bit silly and overly dramatic in places, the voice is excellent. The rhythm and style of the dialog are unlike most English-language mysteries, which I have to think is due to the book having been written in Italian and then translated.

The attitudes toward Ingrid's rape by her F-i-l are shocking, but at least Montalbano has an effective solution. And Montalbano isn't fighting active obstruction by his superior officers, as Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti has to do in that series.

I can't give this 4 stars, but it is 3+; I think I'll listen further.

Excellent story & narratio

Enjoyed the story . Plot had many twists. Keeps one guessing. Voice changes helped. Good read.

Total entertainment

I am hooked on this series, flaws notwithstanding. A little bit of shark-jumping in this one, and the poor women of Sicily, Egad! But I enjoyed it greatly even so.

Quite Fun!

The author improved significantly from Book #1 to Book #2! While the characters, setting & narration were enjoyable in both books, the mystery was much more intriguing, complicated & fun in The Terra-Cotta Dog!