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plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
3.0
The political corruption and public moral depravity faced by Commissario Guido Brunetti as he attempts to do his job of maintaining law and order in his beloved city of Venice are utterly disheartening and demoralizing. Even just reading about them is disheartening and demoralizing. The depths to which human beings eagerly sink in order to gratify their desires or to enrich themselves is, quite simply, horrifying.
At one time in the not too distant past, I could have read these stories with more dispassion and objectivity. But today a society's descent into moral turpitude where the rich and powerful are able to befoul the water, air, and soil and to use defenseless fellow human beings in whatever way they choose just hits a bit close to home. Consequently, although I am as charmed as ever by Guido and his family, I found this fourth book in the series difficult reading.
The plot revolves around human trafficking. A group of powerful and influential men in Italy are bringing in women from poor countries - mostly Slavic women from eastern European countries - to be used as prostitutes or in pornographic films, including snuff films where the women are brutalized and killed, that are distributed in Europe and America. Typically, the women are promised jobs or love and marriage and a better life to entice them, but once they get to the country, their passports are taken and they are forced to do their "owners'" bidding.
All of this, however, is revealed incrementally. We begin with a truck filled with lumber and, as it happens, eight smuggled women, slipping on a snow and ice clogged highway and sliding off the road into a ravine. The driver and all the women are killed. This happens north of Venice and Commissario Brunetti is not involved in the investigation. He is only tangentially aware of it and the entire story soon slips out of the headlines and is essentially forgotten.
Sometime later, in Venice, a rich and powerful businessman is shot and killed in a train and Brunetti is assigned to the case.
A little later, another businessman dies from carbon monoxide poisoning in his closed garage. The initial autopsy findings show a large dose of barbiturates that would have caused him to be unconscious; then mysteriously, the autopsy findings are altered to support a finding of suicide.
Brunetti is still puzzling over his initial case when yet another businessman is killed; this one the brother-in-law of the first who had served as accountant for that man's business. He is shot three times just as the man on the train was. Brunetti suspects that all three deaths are related and begins to probe their lives to try to find a connection and a reason why someone might have wanted the three dead.
Brunetti encounters obstacles at every turn, but he has developed his own circle of trusted confidantes, fellow policemen, and persons in positions of power who owe him favors and are willing to find and pass along information to him. He doggedly pursues his investigation, calling on those he trusts for assistance. Obviously, Brunetti has learned to operate in the toxic swill of Venetian politics and survive.
This may be the most pessimistic yet of Donna Leon's Brunetti novels and it is certainly the most graphically violent. Leon lives in Venice and one intuits that she has extensive knowledge of the inner workings of the city and what makes it run. One can only hope for the sake of the Venetians that she is exaggerating for dramatic effect.
At one time in the not too distant past, I could have read these stories with more dispassion and objectivity. But today a society's descent into moral turpitude where the rich and powerful are able to befoul the water, air, and soil and to use defenseless fellow human beings in whatever way they choose just hits a bit close to home. Consequently, although I am as charmed as ever by Guido and his family, I found this fourth book in the series difficult reading.
The plot revolves around human trafficking. A group of powerful and influential men in Italy are bringing in women from poor countries - mostly Slavic women from eastern European countries - to be used as prostitutes or in pornographic films, including snuff films where the women are brutalized and killed, that are distributed in Europe and America. Typically, the women are promised jobs or love and marriage and a better life to entice them, but once they get to the country, their passports are taken and they are forced to do their "owners'" bidding.
All of this, however, is revealed incrementally. We begin with a truck filled with lumber and, as it happens, eight smuggled women, slipping on a snow and ice clogged highway and sliding off the road into a ravine. The driver and all the women are killed. This happens north of Venice and Commissario Brunetti is not involved in the investigation. He is only tangentially aware of it and the entire story soon slips out of the headlines and is essentially forgotten.
Sometime later, in Venice, a rich and powerful businessman is shot and killed in a train and Brunetti is assigned to the case.
A little later, another businessman dies from carbon monoxide poisoning in his closed garage. The initial autopsy findings show a large dose of barbiturates that would have caused him to be unconscious; then mysteriously, the autopsy findings are altered to support a finding of suicide.
Brunetti is still puzzling over his initial case when yet another businessman is killed; this one the brother-in-law of the first who had served as accountant for that man's business. He is shot three times just as the man on the train was. Brunetti suspects that all three deaths are related and begins to probe their lives to try to find a connection and a reason why someone might have wanted the three dead.
Brunetti encounters obstacles at every turn, but he has developed his own circle of trusted confidantes, fellow policemen, and persons in positions of power who owe him favors and are willing to find and pass along information to him. He doggedly pursues his investigation, calling on those he trusts for assistance. Obviously, Brunetti has learned to operate in the toxic swill of Venetian politics and survive.
This may be the most pessimistic yet of Donna Leon's Brunetti novels and it is certainly the most graphically violent. Leon lives in Venice and one intuits that she has extensive knowledge of the inner workings of the city and what makes it run. One can only hope for the sake of the Venetians that she is exaggerating for dramatic effect.
mrolla20's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
tctimlin's review against another edition
4.0
Maybe my favorite of all the Guido Brunetti series I have read to date
bookshelf_al's review against another edition
4.0
All of Leon's Brunetti mysteries are very good. He is a thoughtful yet imperfect polieman who tries to make a difference among all the corruption and greed in the government and police force. This book had dark themes but as Brunetti investigates this dark, terrifying corner of the criminal world, the reader knows she is in good hands and that Brunetti will find a way to come out on the other side.
judenoseinabook's review against another edition
4.0
Thought provoking novel that made me angry about the way women are treated as objects, or worse still, meat. Written in 1995, 24 years later it is still an issue, maybe more so!
The character of Brunetti is sympathetic and thoughtful and his family life refreshingly normal.
The character of Brunetti is sympathetic and thoughtful and his family life refreshingly normal.
fallchicken's review against another edition
3.0
3.5? Rating only low because I found this one a rather nasty story, more than the usual tales of Venetian corruption, but touching the worst aspects of human character. Brunetti's daughter is exposed to some pretty horrible ugliness.
Well written, as usual, with some nice meals (fettucine with truffles, anyone?).
Well written, as usual, with some nice meals (fettucine with truffles, anyone?).
benju159's review against another edition
4.0
A heavy but good read.
A number of prominent businessmen are found dead with no connecting thread until an additional death and a revelation about a corrupt business.
Commissario Brunetti reminds me a lot of my old favourite Maigret. Venice isn't the location I'd generally think of for a murder mystery, but it's background of political corruption really lends itself to the story. Will definitely keep an eye out for more (especially since it's been harder and harder to find more Maigret books :( )
A number of prominent businessmen are found dead with no connecting thread until an additional death and a revelation about a corrupt business.
Commissario Brunetti reminds me a lot of my old favourite Maigret. Venice isn't the location I'd generally think of for a murder mystery, but it's background of political corruption really lends itself to the story. Will definitely keep an eye out for more (especially since it's been harder and harder to find more Maigret books :( )
crazeedi73's review against another edition
4.0
these books are very good, not necessarily a clean wrap to a crime. very real life endings I'm sure
snowdrowsey's review against another edition
1.0
This book was a hard read for me. At first it dealt with just a man getting killed on a train and then went into the seedy underworld of sex trafficking. The exploitation of women was hard for me to read about. Also, seeing Guido being angry and losing his temper this early in the series bothered me and the book being rather dark in its subject matter this early on in the series was also difficult for me.
astuenkel's review against another edition
3.0
I'm going to take a break from this author for now. The books are good but the last couple haven't been the traditional dead body who done it type. They are more about bigger crimes against humanity that one guy can't solve. Too deep for me right now.