Inspector Montalbano - Collection One

Bald, bandy,grumpy,compassionate, caring and gorgeous brown eyes. He annoys his superiors and often does not follow the correct proceedures but the end always justifies the means. He inspires loyalty in his team. It is dated as there is not 1 women on his team and the women characters tend to be very voluptuous and attractive and sometimes tempt him to go astray from his long term girl friend - I know this as I have now watched every available episode and the 4 that I am reviewing are from the 1st series. The Sicilian setting with sun, sand,sea and his appetite for good food provide a good background to his personal life that we glimpse from time to time. The crimes that he solves and the Sicilian interiors often with grand furniture are a change from British and American crime series. I enjoy reading the subtitles and hearing the dialogue as I love hearing Italian and learning a word or two and I am really drawn into the stories that always have humour in them.

I love this series - beautiful scenery, good stories and a great cast of characters, and the dry wit and compassion of Montalbano himself. The stories are film length too, which gives time to develop the story lines. Hadn't heard of Luca Zingaretti before, but he seems to be a very famous actor in Italy and the deserving recipient of a few Best Actor awards. Please don't let the sub-titles put you off.

This is like an Italian Inspector Morse. Slow paced, but engaging and entertaining. Montalbano often strikes out on his own and is several steps ahead of his mottley crew. It is often funny and doesnt take itself too seriously. The scenery is great too. Enjoy!