3.5* for the book

I listened to the Grover Gardner audiobook, while periodically glancing at the Kindle edition's notes. Gardner is a marvellous narrator so I would give the audiobook edition a boost to 4*.

This entry in the series had a bit less about Montalbano's food (which was a shame as I love that part). He is struggling with aging & as he is about my age I can sympathize with that. However, I thought that the mystery part was not one of Camilleri's better efforts. Not bad but not as engrossing or puzzling as in some of the previous books. ( )

We have so much fun listening to this Montalbano series. Grover Gardner is an excellent narrator. This is a good mystery with lots of laughs. We love seeing favorite characters again. We are ready anytime for the cookbook. The food description is always so delicious. ( )

Montalbano is like a kid in a candy store when surrounded by beautiful women and the title makes it obvious that he has fallen in love again. Livia makes her regal appearance in this episode, although for the life of me I can't think of why either of them keep up this long distance relationship. There has been a rash of burglaries at seaside cottages where, among items stolen, keys to the main residence are taken too, allowing a second robbery. Camilleri's plots are a bonus, the fabulous characters alone can carry the book - to say nothing of the food. ( )

Una serie de robos ejecutados de forma extremadamente ingeniosa y audaz se extienden de la noche a la mañana entre los habitantes más adinerados de Vigàta. Los cacos logran desvalijar simultáneamente la residencia principal y la de veraneo, y, en pocos días, enormes sumas en efectivo, joyas y valiosísimas obras de arte pasan de las manos de sus dueños a las de estos expertos delincuentes que, en apariencia, lo tienen todo calculado. Con la llegada de una enigmática misiva anónima en la que el cerebro de la organización reta a Salvo Montalbano a jugar una suerte de partida de ajedrez, el caso se convierte rápidamente en un desafío para nuestro comisario. Pero lo que de verdad complica las cosas es la aparición en escena de Angelica Cosulich, una de las víctimas de los robos. La belleza fulgurante de esta joven treintañera de sonrisa luminosa trastorna profundamente a Salvo, pues es la viva imagen de la Angélica del Orlando furioso, el ideal femenino que protagonizó las fantasías adolescentes del comisario. Como Orlando, Montalbano deberá luchar simultáneamente en distintos flancos: por un lado, confuso y obstinado, contra los achaques de la edad —se está acercando a los sesenta—, y por otro, contra la atracción de una mujer a la que es incapaz de resistirse. Con las hilarantes aportaciones de Catarella y las dosis de genial improvisación con las que el comisario elude los intentos disciplinarios de sus superiores, La sonrisa de Angelica es una de las aventuras más emocionantes y divertidas de la serie.

The 17th novel featuring Chief Inspector Salvo Montalbano is a disappointment on two levels: first, it is about a series of clever robberies, where vacationing Vigatan's are knocked out by gas and their primary homes robbed, but not a murder; and second, Salvo is again falling in love with a much younger woman, this time a robbery victim, the extremely beautiful, blonde Angelica Cosulich. I hope #18 is better. ( )