The Wings of the Sphinx

Things are not going well for Inspector Salvo Montalbano. His relationship with Livia is once again on the rocks andamp;mdash;acutely aware of his ageamp;mdash;he is beginning to grow weary of the endless violence he encounters. Then a young woman is found dead, her face half shot off and only a tattoo of a sphinx moth giving any hint of her identity. The tattoo links her to three similarly marked girlsamp;mdash;all victims of the underworld sex tradeamp;mdash;who have been rescued from the Mafia night-club circuit by a prominent Catholic charity. The problem is, Montalbano's inquiries elicit an outcry from the Church and the three other girls are all missing.