The Recurring Cast
Imagined crossover · Mediterranean

What if Guido Brunetti met Salvo Montalbano?

Italy’s two favourite commissari. Two humane, food-loving Italian police officers with a cynical view of the bureaucracy above them.

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Artwork: Guido Brunetti meets Salvo Montalbano

The pair

Guido BrunettiCommissario of the Venice policeBy Donna Leon · Guido Brunetti · first in Death at La Fenice
Salvo MontalbanoPolice inspector in Vigàta, SicilyBy Andrea Camilleri · Inspector Montalbano · first in The Shape of Water
Chemistry8/10
Friction4/10
Would you read this crossover?

Where and when

Venice and Sicily
The 1990s to the 2010s

The story

How they might meet
A Sicilian businessman is found dead in a Venetian canal, and Montalbano is sent north to help, to his deep dismay.
Why they would work
Two humane, food-loving Italian police officers with a cynical view of the bureaucracy above them.
What each brings
Brunetti has a classical education and the formidable Signorina Elettra. Montalbano has a gift for improvisation and an ear for a lie.
Where they would clash
Montalbano would hate the cold, the fog and the food. Brunetti would wonder why Montalbano never fills in a form.

Strengths compared

Guido Brunetti Salvo Montalbano

DeductionMuscleRule-bendingWitHeartResourcesGuido Brunetti: Deduction 8 out of 10Guido Brunetti: Muscle 3 out of 10Guido Brunetti: Rule-bending 6 out of 10Guido Brunetti: Wit 7 out of 10Guido Brunetti: Heart 8 out of 10Guido Brunetti: Resources 8 out of 10Salvo Montalbano: Deduction 8 out of 10Salvo Montalbano: Muscle 4 out of 10Salvo Montalbano: Rule-bending 8 out of 10Salvo Montalbano: Wit 9 out of 10Salvo Montalbano: Heart 8 out of 10Salvo Montalbano: Resources 6 out of 10

Our own ratings out of 10, for fun.

On the page together

In print together 1994–2020Guido Brunetti · 1992–2024Salvo Montalbano · 1994–2020200020102020

The years in which each character's books were published.

Read your way in

Start with each character's first appearance.

More crossovers like this

← Erlendur Sveinsson and Harry HoleAll crossoversAurelio Zen and Salvo Montalbano →

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