1. Even before the grisly discovery that triggers Montalbano's investigation, Camilleri presents a multitude of details that establish the character of the town of Vigàta and the general mood of the novel. Which details do you find most effective, and why?

2. We first see Inspector Montalbano as he awakens from a vivid erotic dream. Given the brutal everyday realities that Montalbano confronts on the job, what is the significance of the fact that we first glimpse him as a fantasist and a dreamer?

3. Like many fictional detectives, Montalbano works with informants who are active criminals. One of these, Gegè Gullotta, is a pimp who manages underage girls, some not yet in their teens. Making matters still more complex is the fact that Montalbano and Gullotta have been buddies since they were boys, and they still regard each other as friends. In using Gullotta as an informant and failing to arrest him, is Montalbano only doing what is necessary to do his job, is he giving a friend a break, or is he making himself an accomplice to crime?

4. Early in The Shape of Water, Montalbano states with pride that he is an honest man. By the end of the novel, he isn't so sure. The metaphor in the novel's title is also a commentary on the nature of truth: just as water assumes the shape of its container, so, too, can facts be made to fit almost any theory, provided the theorist is clever enough. In what other ways does The Shape of Water comment on the nature of truth and honesty?

5. A continual counterpoint to Montalbano's investigation is its coverage by the news media. How do news reports reveal and relate to the political culture of the province, and do they subserve the hypocrisy of that culture?

6. The novels of Andrea Camilleri have been compared to the hard-boiled detective stories of Raymond Chandler. If you have read some of Chandler's work, what similarities or differences do you observe? You might consider such points of comparison as the two authors' use of humor, their concept of gender roles, and their attitudes toward violence.

7. Some of the sharpest insights in the novel come, not from Montalbano, but from Secretary Luparello's widow. Ingrid Sjostrom also proves to be an unexpectedly strong character. What characteristics in women does Camilleri depict as admirable?

8. Late in the novel, Montalbano's lover, Livia, says that he has promoted himself from inspector to a fourth-rate god. What precisely does she mean? Throughout the novel, has Montalbano performed his professional duties, or has his conduct been somehow self-aggrandizing?