While driving to the harbour Montalbano comes across a traffic jam caused by a landslip; at the front of the queue he finds a woman who was going to the harbour to meet her aunt who had just arrived. Soon afterwards they get a report from the harbour saying the boat had arrived and it had found a body adrift in a dinghy not far off the harbour. Strangely the owner doesn't seem to know about a visit by her niece. There is no indication who the dead man is but Montalbano has suspicions about the boat; largely due to the mysterious niece. As the boat is in the harbour they liaise with the local authorities; mostly Lt. Laura Belladonna; an attractive woman who Montalbano soon befriends. The boat's crew seem a little rough; one of them gets arrested by the Carabinieri for relieving himself on their car then a couple of days later the same man gives Fazio a black eye! As the case continues Mimi is ordered to get close to the boat's owner and Montalbano gets reprimanded and briefly taken off the case by his boss.
This was another fun episode with an enjoyable mystery; I suspect many viewers will be able to figure out what the boat is up to before it is revealed but that isn't problem. As usual there is a fair amount to laugh at, including a surreal opening where Montalbano turns up to work to find everybody in dress uniforms because a senior officer has died that officer is none other than Montalbano normally I'm not a fan of dream sequences but this one I liked as it was just so strange. The regular cast put in fine performances as usual as did the guests; I particularly liked Isabella Ragonese's performance as Laura; I was rather hoping Montalbano might have ended up with her but is wasn't to be. The ending features some nice action scenes aboard a speeding motorboat that ends with a surprisingly sad moment.
This was another fun episode with an enjoyable mystery; I suspect many viewers will be able to figure out what the boat is up to before it is revealed but that isn't problem. As usual there is a fair amount to laugh at, including a surreal opening where Montalbano turns up to work to find everybody in dress uniforms because a senior officer has died that officer is none other than Montalbano normally I'm not a fan of dream sequences but this one I liked as it was just so strange. The regular cast put in fine performances as usual as did the guests; I particularly liked Isabella Ragonese's performance as Laura; I was rather hoping Montalbano might have ended up with her but is wasn't to be. The ending features some nice action scenes aboard a speeding motorboat that ends with a surprisingly sad moment.
