'Mr Cipolla, you have two roads before you: on the one hand, thirty years for premeditated murder, and on the other, a few short years for manslaughter and illegal posses­sion of a handgun. The decision is yours. I repeat: what else did Sidoti throw into the sea?'

From the title story, 'Death at Sea', in which an alleged manslaughter upon a fishing trawler leads Inspector Montalbano to uncover an even more sinister crime, Andrea Camilleri takes his readers through eight cunning cases from the Vigàtan police files.

The mysteries include an arson attack on a hotel that places the distraught owner as the chief suspect; the intriguing case of a woman who disappeared with a million lire in her handbag; and a threat on Montalbano's own life, as an anonymous motorcyclist takes a shot at the detective.

Featuring plots adapted for BBC4's Inspector Montalbano series, this collection of short stories is the perfect introduction to one of Europe's greatest crime writers.

'Among the most exquisitely crafted pieces of crime writing available today . . . simply superb' Sunday Times