The Potter’s Field

The Inspector Montalbano Mysteries, Book 13

By: Andrea Camilleri

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Witty and entertaining, the Montalbano novels by Andrea Camilleri—a master of the Italian detective story—have become favorites of mystery fans everywhere.

In this latest installment, an unidentified corpse is found near Vigàta, a town known for its soil rich with potter’s clay. Meanwhile, a woman reports the disappearance of her husband, a Colombian man with Sicilian origins who turns out to be related to a local mobster.

Then Inspector Montalbano remembers the story from the Bible—Judas’ betrayal, the act of remorse, and the 30 pieces of silver for the potter’s field, where those of unknown or foreign origin are to be buried—and slowly, through myriad betrayals, finds his way to the solution to the crime.

Solve another mystery with Inspector Montalbano.©2008 Sellerio Editore. Translation 2011 by Stephen Sartarelli (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Clever…As usual, Montalbano wants to wrap up [the] cases quickly so he can get back to his real work—sleeping, eating, drinking, and dealing with his longdistance girlfriend, Livia.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Do you love or hate Inspector Montalbano?

Either you love Inspector Montalbano, or you are fed up with his travails, which don't change much from one book to the next. I'm somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, so it was with some hesitation that I picked this up, but I was delighted to find it to be one of Camilleri's best mysteries as well as one of most amusing in the series. One must pay close attention to the characters, for the story is full of twists and turns. Yes, Montalbano is growing old, a fact he never allows you to forget, but for me, he is not stale. Camilleri, who will turn 90 this year, is still going strong!

Grover Gardner, as usual, presents an excellent narration.

Augello is in the soup

procedural, law-enforcement, Sicily, inspector Montalbano, humor
Read 2 times. Last read November 3, 2020.

Only Camilleri could come up with such a convoluted murder plot and resolution.! The whole department is stressed, even in their personal lives, and doing the legwork on this one only adds to their woes. But Montalbano susses it all out and uses the solution to bring things back on track for the team. Another great read from the master!
Stephen Sartarelli is the master of Montalbano translations, and Grover Gardner in the voice of Montalbano and the other characters.

Andrea Camilleri and Grover a winning combination

I love listening to these books so much I listen to each one several times. the story is about Inspector Montalbano are so interesting, funny and charming. Grover gardener is the perfect Voice for Inspector Montalbano.

Montalbano - The Shrewd Prankster!

This was my first Inspector Montalbano book and it was a delight. The characters are great and Montalbano is very humorous but also shrewd.

Grover Gardner is quickly becoming my favorite narrator. I love any book he does.

This particular book won the Crime Writer Association's International Dagger Award for 2012 and it was well deserved. The story is rich and layered and fun to follow along with the investigation as it progresses.

Andrea Camilleri and Grove Garden Are Outstanding

It's wonderful to see that Andrea Camilleri keeps Salvo Montalbano, Mimi, Fazio, Catarella and the rest of the of the loyal team of the Vigata police force interesting, and still solving murders. Chief Inspector Montalbano is at it again, this time with his trusted investigator Fazio. Mimi is acting up, lying to his wife and causing tension in the office. An unusual dead body is found in a plastic bag in a very muddy field on a very rainy day. Right away Mimi is insisting that Montalbano should allow him to have complete control of the investigation. In the meantime, Livia is questioning Montalbano why he has Mimi out so much on stake outs. Miami's wife is crying on Livia's shoulder, and Livia wants answered, and so does Montalbano, because he doesn't have Mimi out on stakes outs at night. See what true friendship is all about in this book. Enjoy.