An Inspector Montalbano Mystery by Andrea Camilleri
A village on the southern coastline of Sicily similar to the fictional location of the Montalbano novels |
He later discovers that the financial adviser’s young colleague is also
missing and that he is the nephew of a man who is building a house on the site
of his favourite olive tree.
The weather doesn’t help the Inspector’s mood, or the pressure of having
telephone arguments with his long-distance lover, Livia.
Matters come to a head when Montalbano tastes ‘burning pirciati’, a pasta dish,
at a restaurant that he has never tried before.
The pirciati ‘smelled like heaven on earth’, but he had to drink a litre
of 'dense red wine' in order to be able to consume them.
Afterwards, he sees a notice in the restaurant offering a reward to
anyone with information on the financial adviser he is investigating.
When Montalbano discovers the man has cheated the woman who has just cooked his
amazing meal out of 30 million lire, he pledges to get revenge for her.
But as he drives home under the influence of a litre of 'dense red wine' he finds his favourite olive tree has been felled so that a modern bungalow can
be built on the site. And that’s when Montalbano flies into a complete rage…
The Scent of the Night is both funny and poignant and full of Sicilian
flavour, served up in vintage Camilleri style.