A man is shot dead on the threshold of his palazzo, leaving behind racy letters, sex tapes and a novel about robots on his hard drive.

An elderly couple from the same block go missing the same day and were last seen behaving oddly on a coach trip to Tindari.

Inspector Montalbano begins investigating the two seemingly unrelated cases, but discovers they are both linked to a plot involving Sicilian mobsters.

Could these events be connected? Salvo Montalbano admits, “I underestimated this case right from the start,” and what seemed a crime of passion leads to something far seedier.

It’s not all grim, though.

Bungling lackey Catarella is still comically challenged by doorways, and as usual there’s plenty for senior Italian actors to chew on: playing hilarious, time-wasting witnesses from the Tindari coach and a nonagenarian Mafia don, the closest this series has come to Godfather territory.

Also Ingrid, the flighty Swede who was exonerated two episodes ago, again makes a play for Salvo. She’s about to become a semi-regular.