Donna Leon
Death at La Fenice (1992)
Guido Brunetti is vice-commissario of police in the Venice, and a good detective as well. When a world famous maestro is found dead in his dressing room, from what seems to be cyanide poisoning, Guido is immediately pressured to find the killer, lest Venice receive bad press.
Although I guessed the killer about halfway through, it didn’t take away any of my enjoyment from the story, because I’d still not figured out they why.
Guido is a very good detective who is also compassionate–something that you don’t always find in fictional police detectives. I enjoyed watching Guido’s impressions of different individuals change as he spent more time interviewing them. The other thing I liked was his relationship with his family and his wife’s family. Relationships that initially seemed cliched quickly turned into something more complex, as we see Guido’s opinion of those around him changing–and learn of their impressions of him.
Donna Leon does a very good job of building not just the mystery, but also the characters and the story. No one is quite as expected, and the story wandered in place I didn’t expect, but seemed reasonable after we went there.
About the only thing that struck me as strange was the attitude towards homosexuals held by certain characters in the story. I am not sure if this was due to the fact that the book was set more than 15 years ago, or because the attitudes in Italy are different from those in the US (I’d actually be very interested in learning which it was–but not curious enough that I’m going to do work and look it up.) And let me make it clear it was not the main characters that held these attitudes, but those attitudes did not seem to be seen as unusual, which was unusual for me.
I also loved the details about Venice, and how the city plays such a prominent part in the story. It’s another city I’ve love to visit, but I fear that by the time I ever get around to all the travel I’d like to do, the feel of so many cities will be gone.
If you like mysteries set in cities not your own, then I highly recommend Death at La Fenice. Good detective, good city, good story.
Rating: 8/10
Death in a Strange Country (1993)
The second Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery (how I managed to read the third book instead of the second in two different series within a week is beyond me) finds Guido awakened to come down to a canal as a body was found in the water. The stab wound that is discovered rules out an accident, and as it becomes quickly apparent that the man was not an Italian but was instead an American, things become even more confusing–and dangerous.
The more time I spend reading about Commissario Guido Brunetti, the more I like him. He’s a straight man in a very crooked world–a man who sees the big things as they should be, rather than as they are. He doesn’t try to right every wrong–he knows the futility in that–but tries to right the big wrongs, the murders and deaths it is his job to solve.
But what I like most is that we see Guido not just at work, but at home, talking to and thinking about his wife. Worrying about his children. Thinking about food and money and the things that we all consider every day. But most importantly, we see him enjoying the world around him. He stops to enjoy the beauty of Venice, of the everyday world around him.
It is the complexities that make him such an interesting character. The complexities of the murders and crime around him are a bonus.
And the mysteries are good. Like the characters, they are complex, and there are not always eat solutions or answers. (As much as I love mysteries and the resolution of story arcs, sometimes the resolution is that the problem is not and cannot be solved, and that there can be no neat and tidy ending. It is this not knowing how things are going to turn out that I like so much about these mysteries.
You should easily be able to read this book without having read the first. Although each story builds Guido’s character, you should be able to appreciate the mystery and enjoy it for its strengths even without having read the previous book. But it seems to me that the more we learn about Guido through this series, the better the series will get.
Rating: 8/10
Dressed for Death (1994)
The third Commiario Guido Brunetti mystery, Dressed for Death starts with the body of what is assumed to be a prostitute found behind a slaughterhouse in Marghera. The case falls to the Mestre police department, however due to a series of unfortunate events, they have no detectives, so Brunetti is sent to investigate, despite the fact that he was supposed to leave for vacation.
As with Death at La Fenice, there was so much I liked about this story. I like Brunetti and how he deals with people. I find Venice fascinating–so much corruption, taken at face value. And I really enjoy the mysteries. Then putting all three of those things together, we got a thoroughly enjoyable story.
What I think I like best about Brunetti is that even his home life is fascinating. His wife and kids are real and complex people (even if we don’t see much of his kids in this story) and his own background is as complex as the mysteries in which he becomes entangled.
I have no idea if the Venice presented her reflects Venice as it actually is (or was as this book was written in 1994) but real or no it’s a fascinating place. Not a world I think I would be comfortable moving in myself, but a fascinating place to visit.
The other thing I particularly like is the complexity of the mystery, and law enforcement. In such a complex city, solving a murder is complex was well, especially when politics and money are involved.
If you have not read the first Commissario Brunetti you should easily be able to read this without having read Death at La Fenice. Although we learn more about Brunetti’s character here, this story is not dependent upon the previous. But as the first mystery was good, you’ll probably want to find and enjoy that one as well.
Rating: 7/10
Death and Judgment (1995)
In two seemingly unrelated incidents, a truck goes off a cliff, killing the driver and his unexpected cargo of lumber and women. And months later, in Venice, Commissario Guido Brunetti is given the investigation of the murder of a prominent local loyal, whose unblemished record is enough cause for suspicion in thoroughly corrupt Venice.
As with the previous mysteries, we follow not just Guido’s investigation of the murder, but to his home where he discusses (against all regulations) his cases with his beloved wife. And this time, his daughter Chiara, however tangentially.
There are so many things that make these mysteries so good. First and foremost is Guido’s (and thus the author’s) open-eyed love of Venice. Despite the faults and corruption that run through the core, Guido still loves the city, and considers it in loving detail, especially when he must go elsewhere in pursuit of a case.
As with the previous stories, we continue to see the corruption in the city, and how that corruption has infiltrated every corner of the city, and of Italy. We see that the laws and rules are so arcane and confusing that it is impossible for anyone not to break laws during the course of a regular week. It also leads to and interesting discussion upon legality versus morality, and where Guido’s job falls in this spectrum.
As with the previous book, you should easily be able to pick up Death and Judgment without having read the previous books in the series, but as with most series, the books build upon each other, so it’s always more fulfilling to read a series, watching the characters develop over the course of the series.
Rating: 8/10
Acqua Alta (1996)
In Acqua Alta we return to two of the characters that Guido met in the first mystery, Death at La Fenice. Brett Lynch is beaten in the doorway of her own apartment. When Guido discovers what has happened he goes to her hospital where he again meets Flavia Pitrelli, with whom he did not have the most cordial relationship several years before. First they must discover why Brett was beaten. Then, when other deaths follow, they must discover how those deaths are related to the assault against Brett.
Guido’s humanity shines through in this story just as strongly as it does in the previous stories. What isn’t as strong, however, is the mystery. Unlike previous book, I was pretty sure that Brett and Flavia were going to survive–it would have been unnecessarily cruel to bring them back just to kill one of them off, and we got to know few other characters, so there was little sense of loss related to the deaths.
Additionally, the scenes with Guido at home with his family seemed almost tacked on, as opposed to these vignettes as they appear in other stories. He still loves his family, but the familial interludes seemed to me to lack the depth of earlier episodes.
We also left Guido’s POV several times to return to Brett. Although this allowed us to follow her part of the story when Guido was absent, it also made her danger less immediate. To her know thoughts as the story passed seemed to say that she would survive to the end of the story to share those thoughts, so her danger, although immediate and severe, as not deadly.
The other off note was that although we began the story with Brett, and returned to her POV several times throughout the story, she is somehow abandoned at th end of the story. Flavia mentions Brett several times, but the shift from knowing what Brett was thinking and feeling to hearing about her third hand was distinctly unsatisfying.
Don’t get me wrong, this was a very good book. I just felt the ending wasn’t nearly as strong as previous books.
Rating: 7/10
Quietly in Their Sleep (1997)
This was a rather strange story in comparison to the previous books. Brunetti is given only a vague idea that there might be something untoward happening in a nursing home–a home that is run by the same man as the home in which Brunetti’s mother resides. It is this personal interest that draws Brunetti into trying to determine if something untoward has happened or not.
What he ends up discovering is far more–and far worse–than he expected.
As with Death and Judgment there are entanglements with Brunetti’s home life that complicate matters. And to be honest, it was this complication that I felt was the weakest part of the book. The parallels of his case and the issue at home seemed a little too pat and things fell into place a little too neatly. Donna Leon almost makes up for it with the parallel resolution of the two cases.
It is also interesting to see how Brunetti is readily willing to accept extra-ordinary means–means that are outside the bounds of the law–when it is useful to him, even as he privately rails again similar powers being used against him.
Essentially, we were setting Brunetti change and learn to use whatever means he has at hand to fight for what he believes to be right, even if those means are outside the normal legal bounds and channels.
And that is what saves this book.
If you have not read a Commissario Guido Brunetti, you should be easily able to begin the series here. However, as the strongest part of this book is seeing how much Brunetti has changed since we first met him in Death at La Fenice, I would recommend starting at the beginning and then reading your way to this book.
Rating: 7/10
A Noble Radiance (1998)
The Commissario Guido Brunetti series continues with A Noble Radiance. A body is discovered in a field that has lain fallow for several years, and from the ring found with the body, it is likely that the body is that of a young man who had been kidnapped two years previously. Because the kidnapping was in Venice, the case is reopened, and Brunetti ends up with the case.
I am really enjoying this series. I like Brunetti, his attitude, and his sense of justice. I also like that although the criminal may be known, that does not mean that justice is always served. I also really like Paola. Sometimes spouses and significant others seemed to appear in mysteries only the further flesh out the main character. But Paola is a strong character, and to be honest, one I wouldn’t mind reading about myself even though I’m not sure how exciting a book about an English literature professor in Italy would be. But the point is I’d like to spend time with Paola, the say way I enjoy spending time with Burnetti.
Even with a history of complex cases, this one took so many strange twists and turns I was never quite sure where it was going, until everything suddenly fell perfectly into place. I picked up hints and pieces that Brunetti seemed to be ignoring, but I didn’t know what to do with them any more than he did.
Like the previous books in the series, you should be able to begin reading anywhere. This book mentions previous cases, but these is nothing mentioned that would ruin earlier books, and should be too confusing for someone starting the series at this point.
Rating: 7/10
Fatal Remedies (1999)
I started Fatal Remedies immediately after I finished A Noble Radiance, wasn’t sure about the direction the story was taking, and then picked it up again today, as I have a whole stack of Guido Brunetti books waiting to be read.
What I was unsure about was how things were going to turn out between Guido and Paola. As his marriage is one of the centers of his world, any threat to the stability made me unhappy. However, that concern rapidly disappeared as the situation turned deadly.
As always, Donna Leon is good at pointing out the inadequacies of the legal system, and how easy it would be for a good man to begin to work outside the system, as so many other police in the system did. So I very much enjoyed Guido (mostly) sticking to his principles, and for once meeting a lawyer who was much the same as him.
But the book also probes more deeply into the question of what action is moral when immoral actions seem to be allowed by the legal system. No answers are provided, but in the corruption of Guido’s Venice, it is as always an interesting question to consider.
As with all the books so far in the series, you should easily be able to read Fatal Remedies even if you have read no other books in the series. However, I will note that Paola’s actions and beliefs–and Brunetti’s reactions to them–may seem strange to someone who has not been reading the series.
Rating: 8/10
Commissario Guido Brunetti: Death at La Fenice (1992), Death in a Strange Country (1993), Dressed for Death (1994), Death and Judgment (1995), Acqua Alta (1996), Quietly in Their Sleep (1997), A Noble Radiance (1998), Fatal Remedies (1999)
