The Shape of Water
Commissario Montalbano • Book 1
by Andrea Camilleri, Stephen Sartarelli
Narrated by Grover Gardner
Why Listen to This Audiobook?
A dead bigwig found at Sicily's local vice district should be a closed case — Montalbano's stubborn refusal to believe that is the whole charm.
- Great if you want: atmospheric Mediterranean crime with dry, unhurried wit
- Listening experience: brisk and wry — finishes in one sitting, lingers longer
- Narration: Gardner's measured cool matches Montalbano's world-weary authority perfectly
- Skip if: you expect a twisty thriller; this is mood-first, plot-second
About This Audiobook
Inspector Salvo Montalbano of the Sicilian town of Vigàta is called to a dumping ground where the body of a respected local engineer has been found in circumstances the coroner rules natural causes. But Montalbano's instincts won't let the case close, and his investigation winds through the corrupt underworld of local politics, the Mafia, and the elaborate social theater of Sicilian life. Andrea Camilleri's first Montalbano novel establishes all the series signatures: the food, the atmosphere, the gallows humor, and the detective's particular mixture of integrity and pragmatism.
Grover Gardner's narration gives Montalbano the Mediterranean warmth and intelligence the character demands. His rendering of Camilleri's Sicilian social world is assured, finding the comedy in the corruption without diminishing the human cost. At just over four hours, The Shape of Water is a pleasantly compact introduction to one of crime fiction's most enduring and beloved characters.
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