The Safety Net

Another wonderful performance by Grover Gardner adds energy and excitement to Commissario Montalbano's latest adventure. A Swedish TV series is shooting in the town of Vig�ta, and the director is looking for vintage photos. While searching for shots of local color, Ernesto Sabatello discovers something puzzling: His late father filmed the same wall on the same day every year from 1958 to 1963. Montalbano becomes intrigued and pursues the meaning behind the enigmatic films. Gardner's Italian accents come and go, but his understanding of the characters' personalities is spot-on in every scene. After a middle school classroom is menaced by armed men, Montalbano is drawn into a second mystery. Gardner's able narration brings out Montalbano's droll sense of humor, dedicated work ethic, and humanity. S.J.H. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

January 6, 2020
Bestseller Camilleri’s 25th outing for Insp. Salvo Montalbano (after 2019’s The Other End of the Line) offers a rich, nuanced mix of plot elements. Besides looking into a mysterious but nonfatal terror attack on a school, Montalbano has an unsought but unshakable obsession with a strange series of home movies belonging to a local resident with a tragic family history. The films show nothing but the same piece of a crumbling wall, each year from 1958 to 1963. He must also deal with a Swedish TV production that’s taken over his Sicilian town of Vigàta and made everything look as it did in the 1950s. The rhythms and layers of the aging detective’s thoughts, routines, and speech are droll and subtle, and fans will be attuned to Montalbano’s attempt to reckon with a serious past mistake. As the cases conclude, with none of the resolutions showing up on official records, readers will feel a pang of loss that this may be one of the last visits they’ll have from an old, wise friend. Camilleri died in 2019, having completed several books for posthumous publication. Agent: Carmen Prestia, Alferjeprestia (Italy).