Camilleri, Author of Montalbano Detective Series, Dies at 93

Author Andrea Camilleri, creator of the best-selling Commissario Montalbano series died in a Rome hospital on July 17. He was 93.

Italian author Andrea Camilleri makes his point during a demonstration against the Vatican's influence on the ongoing right-to-die debate, in Rome on Feb. 21, 2009. Alessandra Tarantino/File Photo via AP

ROME—Author Andrea Camilleri, creator of the best-selling Commissario Montalbano series about a likable, though oft-brooding small-town Sicilian police chief who mixed humanity with pragmatism to solve crimes, died in a Rome hospital Wednesday. He was 93.

Italy’s RAI state TV, which produced wildly popular TV versions of his detective stories, interrupted its programming to announce his death and comment on his works.