The Brewer of Preston

Praise for Andrea Camilleri and the Montalbano Series:

  Camilleri s Inspector Montalbano mysteries might sell like hotcakes in Europe, but these world-weary crime stories were unknown here until the oversight was corrected (in Stephen Sartarelli s salty translation) by the welcome publication of The Shape of Water This savagely funny police procedural prove[s] that sardonic laughter is a sound that translates ever so smoothly into English. The New York Times Book Review
 
  Hailing from the land of Umberto Eco and La Cosa Nostra, Montalbano can discuss a pointy-headed book like Western Attitudes Toward Death as unflinchingly as he can pore over crime-scene snuff photos. He throws together an extemporaneous lunch of shrimp with lemon and oil as gracefully as he dodges advances from attractive women. Los Angeles Times
 
[Camilleri s mysteries] offer quirky characters, crisp dialogue, bright storytelling and Salvo Montalbano, one of the most engaging protagonists in detective fiction Montalbano is a delightful creation, an honest man on Siciliy s mean streets. USA Today
 
Camilleri is as crafty and charming a writer as his protagonist is an investigator. The Washington Post Book World 
 
Like Mike Hammer or Sam Spade, Montalbano is the kind of guy who can t stay out of trouble Still, deftly and lovingly translated by Stephen Sartarelli, Camilleri makes it abundantly clear that under the gruff, sardonic exterior our inspector has a heart of gold, and that any outburst, fumbles, or threats are made only in the name of pursuing truth. The Nation
 
Camilleri can do a character s whole backstory in half a paragraph. The New Yorker 
 
Wit and delicacy and the fast-cut timing of farce play across the surface but what keeps it from frothing into mere intellectual charm is the persistent, often sexually bemused Montalbano, moving with ease along zigzags created for him, teasing out threads of discrepancy that unravel the whole. Houston Chronicle
 
Sublime and darkly humorous Camilleri balances his hero s personal and professional challenges perfectly and leaves the reader eager for more. Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
In Sicily, where people do things as they please, Inspector Salvo Montalbano is a bona fide folk hero. The New York Times Book Review 
 
The books are full of sharp, precise characterizations and with subplots that make Montalbano endearingly human Like the antipasti that Montalbano contentedly consumes, the stories are light and easily consumed, leaving one eager for the next course. New York Journal of Books 
 
The reading of these little gems is fast and fun every step of the way. The New York Sun