The Track of Sand

The Track of Sand  
Author(s) Andrea Camilleri
Original title 'Le ali della sfinge
Translator Stephen Sartarelli
Country Italy, Sicily
Language Italian/Sicilian
Series Inspector Salvo Montalbano, #11
Genre(s) Crime, Mystery novel
Publisher Penguin Books/Sellerio Editore
Publication date 2008 (orig.) & 2010 (Eng. trans. )
Media type Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
ISBN ISBN 0143117939 (Eng. trans.)
OCLC Number 427757200
Preceded by The Wings of the Sphinx

The Track of Sand (orig. Italian La pista di sabbia) is a 2008 novel by Andrea Camilleri, translated into English in 2010 by Stephen Sartarelli. It is the twelfth novel in the internationally popular Inspector Montalbano series.

The Sicilian inspector looks out his window and sees the carcass of a horse on the beach. The animal, he discovers, has been bludgeoned to death. As he turns his back to phone in the crime, the horse vanishes, leaving a track in the sand. Was the horse slaughtered for its meat by illegal immigrants? Is someone trying to send a message to the owner? Or is the Mafia edging its way into the racing industry? The repeated vandalizing of Montalbano's home and a Mafia thug's murder complicate the investigation.