The Pyramid of Mud (An Inspector Montalbano Mystery Book 22)

This is #22 in the series, so Insp. Montalbano is an old friend to faithful readers -- clever, creative, cranky, dyspeptic, a man of appetities, and above all the forceful navigator through another intricate investigation. Of necessity (though unfortunately) a good deal of what so delights in Montalbano's side excursions (the topography, the foods, his long-distance love affair, the airy nest of his apartment, its housekeeper and her petty-errant son, the inspector's tough-love relationship with subordinates, associates, and superiors) are at best suggestive sketches here, so a strong recommendation is made to read the series in its published order. Each goes down smooth, a bon-bon, so this is not a lifetime sentence -- but I wonder if a new reader can come away with the affection a lifer holds for this wonderful character.

Inspector Montelbano’s voracious appetite (or loss of appetite) comes into play again and again in this novel, as he untangles the tricky criminal activity behind several murders. Spaghetti in squid ink, for example, gives him the fighting spirit he needs to face the prosecutor with an iffy request.Montelbano’s fear of aging takes new forms in this novel. He’s getting a bit deaf, and his memory is showing some slippage. On top of that, his long-distance girlfriend Livia is losing her edge. She’s stopped bickering on the phone. Montalbano is so saddened by this that it almost interferes with his appetite for pursuing criminals.Fortunately the inspector’s brain recovers its elasticity at a critical point, and The Pyramid of Mud proceeds as a lively police procedural. It’s raining heavily most of the time, and a pyramid of mud at an idle construction site becomes a symbol for payoffs, scams, secret slush funds, phony reimbursements and every other form of corruption in Italy.Montelbano’s emotional outbursts, and his interactions with his subordinates are as entertaining as ever. The reader can expect to choke with laughter several times, but perhaps not as often as in previous books. This book is heavily concentrated on the misdeeds of the Mafia, which injects a somewhat serious mood.Fans of Inspector Montalbano will be glad to get Pyramid of Mud. We can’t expect many more books from the 92-year-old Camilleri.

I anxiously await and pre-order anything written by Andrea Camilleri but this was not my favorite Montalbano book.I found the story confusing with so many characters that I had a hard time following all of them and, as another reviewer said, it simply felt like the screen play for a TV show - flat.The things I did like, thus the four star rating, were the characters that I have come to know and love; the humanness of Montalbano who is worrying about his aging and the changes that come with it; the wonderful descriptions of food throughout the book and the Italian temperament so important and endearing.Although this wasn't my favorite Camilleri book, I will, of course, buy the next one published.

I did not expect much beforehand of this book, because I had seen already the RAI TV episode with Luca Zingaretti as the Inspector, and did not like it much.So the book was something of a pleasant surprise: sharply written, with several intriguing balls kept up in the air to be, at the end, gathered one by one by the most capable "Comissario" and then put away in a very satisfying way -- or satisfactory enough for me.Camilleri, in one interview some years ago, said that he was writing -- or had already written by then -- the final novel in the series ("Ricardino"), to be published eventually, having decided to do that as insurance "before the Alzheimer's gets me", or words to that effect. Well, after a quarter century writing the Montalbano novels, plus a number of for TV-only scripts and prequels and spinoffs of the main series of books, not to mention some unrelated historical novels, and already in his late 80's when he wrote this one, it is clear that he was then, and from later interviews is also clear that he still is, remarkably sharp and in great writing shape. And still smoking like there is no tomorrow.

Inspector Montalbano is on the prowl again, breaking rules and crockery as he goes about the thankless task of hunting down Sicilian mobsters. A man is found dead of a gunshot wound in a tunnel at a construction site. Like most such sites that pepper Camilleri's stories, this project no longer has a purpose except to fulfill a contract issued years before by local bureaucrats. In the victim's nearby house, there are a missing wife and uncle and, soon, a hidden room that is now empty.There are the usual red herrings thrown out to throw the Inspector off the trail and an assortment of Mafia hoodlums. And it's all told with Camilleri's wry cynicism and hilarious pratfalls.There are some holes in the story, though, which may attest to the age of the writer -- e.g., how does Montalbano drive to the station when the Sicilian answer to Mrs. Malaprop, Catarello, has his keys? Well, he gets there, somehow. Forget how. Just rejoice that he made it so that the story can unfold.

It's been a while since Montalbano was in a full-frontal confrontation with the mafia, but "The Pyramid of Mud" takes him there, and clearly he enjoys the game. The story opens with the murder of an accountant for a construction company. Construction more less automatically means mafia involvement--and so it is in this case, with the gradual reveal of a massive case of cleverly orchestrated corruption and theft by some of Sicily's biggest crooks.While somewhat preoccupied with personal problems (aging, girlfriend Livia's depression) and fatigue in dealing with the repetitive nature of police work, fighting the bureaucracy and witnessing human failings, Montalbano gradually works up enthusiasm for this case while doing some prioritizing of his life. He is definitely up to the game. A very good read.

I finished reading this new Montalbano in two days – which must say something for the book. It’s not the best of the series, but there is certainly enough in it to give enjoyment to fans of the Sicilian detective.Overall, I’m a great fan of Andrea Camilleri’s Montalbano crime stories, but not an uncritical one. A few have disappointed me.There has been an enjoyable formula for most of the books: Montalbano’s quirky personality; the interplay between him and his team; lots of humour; and the occasional critical social comment from Camilleri’s left-leaning perspective. (In the TV version we also get the beautiful Sicilian scenery.) “The Pyramid of Mud” again follows this pleasing pattern.The books that have disappointed me have done so for one or more of the following reasons:Firstly, a couple of the books irritated me when Camilleri brought in premonition-type paranormal episodes.Secondly, Camilleri sometimes breaks from his usual light approach and brings in something which is too dark for my enjoyment, such as a distastefully grim scene in “The Treasure Hunt” or the themes involving incest or child abuse which have cropped up in a couple of stories.And thirdly, in one or two recent books there has been a feeling that Camilleri was to some extent “going through the motions”.Thankfully, the first two of these do not apply to this book. Once or twice I did get the feeling that the third one might apply to it, but only to the extent that I’ve given it four stars instead of five.The plot is just about OK, although there are at times so many names being thrown around that it is a little difficult to keep track. But in any case, as usual for these stories, the plot is not the main pleasure. It’s just fun to follow Montalbano around while he works on the case, to see the working of his mind, and to enjoy his often amusing interactions with the other characters.Incidentally, we also get a mention of a topical environmental problem: plastic and other waste being washed up from the sea onto the beach outside Montalbano’s house.Phil Webster.

Not the best Montalbano whose mood echoes the weather- storms, torretial rain and lots of mud. I found the plot quite confusing as it deals with abandoned construction sites, the usual villains and the Mafia.The caste of characters at the police station leaven the gloom especially the antics of our favourite buffoon.Livia also is depressed which worries our hero who is also concerned about growing old.Rather a sudden denouement ends what for me a raher disappointing read.

I’m never happier reading police procedurals than when the investigator is Inspector Montalbano and the author is Andrea Camilleri.Amazingly, this is number 22 in this wonderful series that resonates with Italian life and Sicilian culture, it’s language and food drips from every page.The Pyramid of Mud is a complex novel about an unexplained murder and the unravelling of a building contractors corruption in obtaining state commissions to construct lucrative government projects.A pyramid of mud is seen as an illustration of the financial and political duplicity that seems to be beyond the reach of the law.That Montalbano is quite on his A game makes it a drawn out case which allows the reader the chance to absorb the investigation and speculate. Salvo’s mind is not so focused because he is concerned about Livia who has been overwhelmed by grief.This makes for an interesting dialogue between the pair during their regular telephone conversations. It sums up much of what we see in previous novels about a love between them that is never fully declared but clearly sustains them.As usual some of the witnesses and characters we meet during the course of their enquiries bring humour and wonder plain talking.For me as much as I love these stories this one dragged at times and lacked some impetus. I love those comic moments when Montalbano feels age is creeping up on him; those doubts about his faculties and prowess. “Did the phone just ring?”The ending is also clever but without it I fear the book would be as yet unfinished. You can count on the inspector pushing boundaries and it is good to feel the criminals acknowledge a fair cop. In every sense since the cast of police officers here are hard working and in their chief they have a person both TV audiences and readers have taken to their hearts.

I've enjoyed every one of the previous books, but this one marks a watershed. I think Camilleri has been too clever with this one. I'm sure it is clear to him, but I did not really understand anything by the last page. I didn't understand who killed Nicotra, or how, or why. I didn't understand what the driving force of the events was: whether it was the contract fixing, or the distrust between the Cuffaros and the Sinagras, or the private machinations of Rosales. I didn't understand why Nicotra's death became necessary, or to whom; why he preferred to die in a drain instead of seeking help, or why it led to the unravelling of the nefarious schemes of so many otherwise very competent and savvy professional criminals, requiring the resulting clumsy concealments.I've been able to follow with enjoyment the convoluted plots of all the other Montalbano novels: I sincerely hope the author won't feel the need to be quite so cleverly obscure ever again.

As is the case with so many of the Montalbano mysteries, the devil is in the detail and although Montalbano himself may have the facts clear in his head; as a reader, you may have to scan back through several chapters to fully understand the complexities. I know I did.Many of the Montalbano novels feature the mafia but do so in an oblique manner. When their involvement is outlined, there are many subtleties involved and although they may have blood on their hands, they are rarely portrayed as being cold hearted killers.I wasn’t overly convinced by the story. Even allowing for the fact that what you are given initially is essentially a smokescreen, I found certain elements just too far fetched. I enjoyed the references to Italy’s deeply compromised local government building regulations and the real life elements such as the cap on cash payments were slickly incorporated into the storyline. More than anything else, it was still a pleasure to catch up with Montalbano and his team again.