(CNN) Andrea Camilleri, the bestselling Italian author of the Inspector Montalbano crime series, has died in Rome at the age of 93.

The writer had been in a critical condition in Rome's Santo Spirito hospital since suffering a cardiac arrest last month.

"The ever-critical conditions of these days have worsened in the last hours, compromising his vital functions," the hospital said in a statement to CNN. "To respect the will of the Master and his family, the funeral will be private. It will be announced where to bring a last tribute."

Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series has been translated into 32 languages and reached international television audiences in an adaptation by Italian broadcaster RAI.

Born in Porto Empedocle, Sicily in 1925, Camilleri spent most of his working life as a director and screenwriter at RAI. His crime-writing career didn't take off until he was 70.

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