The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri

When Silvio Luparello, a respected local politician is found dead in his car from a heart attack with his trousers down at a local dogging site, Inspector Montalbano is given just 48 hours to investigate the case and hush up any scandal for the sake of his family and the party. On the face of it this is just a sad and sordid tragedy, but as our hero starts pulling at the various threads he suspects that there is more here than meets the eye.

He starts by interviewing the two garbage collectors who discovered the body, finding out that one of them had discovered a distinctive and valuable gold necklace near the scene. They also remember calling Luparello’s personal attorney and political crony Rizzo to ask what should be done and finding him curiously unbothered by death of his friend and the potential fallout. Other things about the case just don’t seem to add up - who was the tall, blonde woman seen leaving the scene and being picked up by a convenient passing car? Why is Rizzo now supporting Luparello’s chief party rival? Why would an apparently cautious married man suddenly decide to risk everything for a sexual liaison in a public place instead of his secluded beach house where he would usually conduct his affairs in private? Are the clues at the scene just too convenient?

‘And Luparello’s case is one of those where things were set up to appear simple.’ ‘When in fact they are complicated?’ ‘Very complicated.’

This novel is set in the fictional Sicilian town of Vigata and the author Camilleri does an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere of small town corruption and decay, with run down factories, prostitution, warring mafia gangs and political croneyism. Inspector Montalbano is the archetypal dogged detective, digging into a case that other people would rather be closed quickly. He calls on friends, fellow officers and friendly officials as the need arises before explaining the denouement twice - the official story, and the sadder and more tragic truth of the matter that Montalbano keeps out of the public record.

‘So you gave yourself a promotion, eh?’ asked Livia after a long silence. ‘From inspector to god – a fourth-rate god, but still a god.’

I enjoyed this, especially the sardonic humour of the inspector himself, as he deals with a very human tragedy.