This book contains a slight spoiler for the previous book in the series – ''Rounding the Mark'' – insomuch as you will know what happened to Montalbano at the end of that book. Whilst all the books can be read as stand-alone novels there's an added dimension if you read them in the order in which they were written as you'll benefit from seeing the character of Montalbano – and his relationships – develop. Start with [[The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri|The Shape of Water]] and move on from there. None of the books are lengthy reads and it wouldn't take long to read all the nine books currently published in translation.
{{amazontext|amazon=0330442244}} {{waterstonestextamazonUStext|waterstonesamazon=60432390143112031}} [[Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano Books in Chronological Order]]