Montalbano’s investigation focuses more on academic research than witness questioning, but ends with perpetrators very much alive and dangerous. The skeletons of two young lovers, long-forgotten, are discovered near the terra-cotta dog, a symbol of sleep from the Koran. In a neighboring cave lies a 60-year-old murder mystery that becomes a surprising obsession and gives the book its title. Ultimately, Tano’s enemies kill him, but the escapade leads Montalbano on a twisty hunt from a supermarket picked cleaned of merchandise to a cave where this booty is found, along with a cache of illegal arms. Their staged arrest of Tano flirts with hilarious disaster. Montalbano’s force resembles the Keystone Kops. His superior investigative gifts are at odds with his slacker style, the latter a huge frustration to ambitious protégé Mimi and demanding mistress Livia and the windy police Commissioner, who tries to thrust an unwanted promotion on elusive Montalbano. Montalbano is dubious, but doesn’t look this gift horse in the mouth. Facing a health crisis, Tano wants Montalbano to stage a fake raid that will land him safely in custody (and in hospital), for a rejuvenating stay without a loss of face. 454), rumpled Sicilian police inspector Salvo Montalbano receives an unusual offer from crime kingpin Gaetano “The Greek” Bennici (known as Tano), facilitated by Montalbano’s childhood friend Gege Gulotta, now a petty criminal and quite the weasel. In the second installment of the popular Italian series ( The Shape of Water, p.
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