The Bitter and the Sweet

I like Italian mysteries for the same reasons I enjoy Italian coffee: they’re dark, hot, and bitter. That’s why Crimini, a new short-story collection from that brilliant band of European crime specialists at Bitter Lemon Press, is such a pleasure. Edited by Giancarlo De Cataldo (who also contributes a strong tale here about a Christmas Eve kidnapping that goes bad), and translated by Andrew Brown, these nine stories are eye-openers into a world that the casual visitor rarely gets to see.

My favorite story is “A Series of Misunderstandings,” by Andrea Camilleri, about whom I’ve written glowingly in recent months. Camilleri is probably the best mystery novelist you’ve never heard of since Donna Leon, who had a kind word for him on the cover of Excursion to Tindari (2005). His books, about a Sicilian police detective called Salvo Montalbano, are bestsellers in Europe and the basis of a popular Italian TV series. They are published as paperback originals in the States by Penguin, which makes a serious effort with its artistic and evocative cover paintings. Also of great importance in bringing Camilleri’s work to Americans is award-winning translator and poet Stephen Sartarelli.

Camilleri’s story in Crimini isn’t about Inspector Montalbano, but deals instead with Bruno, a smart, sexy, and friendly telephone repairman who has a fling with one of his customers. A dumb joke by Bruno results in her being killed by some very nasty gangsters, who think she knows something she shouldn’t. It’s a tender tale, totally Italian and completely absorbing.

For more from Camilleri, check out his new Montalbano book, The Paper Moon, which is due out in April.