Through a Glass, Darkly

Through a Glass, Darkly (2006) Donna Leon

I’ve been trying to slowly read–to savor–Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti books. However, being home sick I’ve read through several in the past couple days, and having finished Through a Glass, Darkly have only one published paperback left. (There are a couple of books that were not republished in the US, so I haven’t been able to read them either, but I wasn’t counting them.)

Vianello comes to Brunetti to ask for assistance in getting a friend out of trouble. Vianello’s friend is also an environmentalist, and was arrested at a protest. This seemingly unremarkable incident leads Burnetti to discover that things are not necessarily so clear at the glass factories in Murano, and a tangled series of events leads Brunetti to an even more tangled investigation.

As usual, I find it fascinating how the Brunetti’s case are–and are not–resolved. Even when Brunetti learns who the perpetrator is, true justice within the legal system does not always come with the revelation. Even more interesting are the facts and ideas that push Patta to encourage or discourage Brunetti for looking into various cases.

Brunetti continues to lean on Signora Elettra and Vianello, and continues to battle with Patta over what should be done regarding any particular case. What I find interesting is that Brunetti’s relationship with Patta is far more hostile here than it has been in the past. Either because Brunetti has grown tired of playing Patta’s games, or because Patta has realized that Brunetti has been playing with him. Rgardless, there was a higher level of hostility here that I was used to seeing.

Aside from that, the story was complex, and wandered around a bit before getting to the point, which I thought was interesting, although a bit of a red herring that seemed to fail–at least in my case. And as usual, Brunetti spent a lot of time eating–or forgetting to eat. Which as I’m home sick was frustrating to read, as I’d love to eat some of the dishes described within the covers, rather than chicken noodle soup.

As with the other books in this series, you should be able to read Through a Glass, Darkly, without having read any previous Brunetti books.
Rating: 7/10

• Browse the archives:
  
• A Fistful of Sky » »
• « « B.P.R.D. Vol 3: Plague of Frogs