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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I love mysteries set in exotic places. Life in Venice must be like dealing with our hundred year floods on a daily basis. How exhausting.
I had read this book before (it started dawning on me partway through), but it's the first in the Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series by Donna Leon, and I wanted to get reacquainted with the dottore, as he's referred to, before tackling further stories.
The story itself is fine: a world-renowned German conductor, possibly with a shady (i.e., Nazi) past, is killed during a performance of La Traviata—cyanide. Commissario Brunetti starts tracking down possible culprits—the new, younger wife; the diva soprano, or perhaps her lesbian lover; an impresario, whom the conductor promised a favor but then did not deliver on . . . Eventually he figures it out. It's a slow process (several Goodreads critics complained that it was far too slow), but I didn't mind: for me, the beauty of the book lay in the character of Brunetti, along with the police he was surrounded by (his interactions with his superior, tellingly from Sicily, are a hoot). And in La Serenissima—the city of Venice—herself. When it comes to mysteries, the plots are often of secondary concern for me. (Though they'd better end believably! This one did—believably enough, and with just the right amount of foreshadowings thrown in, one realizes in hindsight.)
There are some lovely descriptions of Venice, as seen through the eyes of a native: the utilitarian businesses that residents rely on, and how they were being pushed out by gaudy tourist shops; the nearby island of Giudecca, which "lived in strange isolation from the rest of the city"; a morning shrouded in thick fog; the cemetery island with its daily visits by women intent on beautifying graves with bundles of flowers.
And Brunetti is smart and wry, attentive and thoughtful.
Overall, I found this a very enjoyable read.
The story itself is fine: a world-renowned German conductor, possibly with a shady (i.e., Nazi) past, is killed during a performance of La Traviata—cyanide. Commissario Brunetti starts tracking down possible culprits—the new, younger wife; the diva soprano, or perhaps her lesbian lover; an impresario, whom the conductor promised a favor but then did not deliver on . . . Eventually he figures it out. It's a slow process (several Goodreads critics complained that it was far too slow), but I didn't mind: for me, the beauty of the book lay in the character of Brunetti, along with the police he was surrounded by (his interactions with his superior, tellingly from Sicily, are a hoot). And in La Serenissima—the city of Venice—herself. When it comes to mysteries, the plots are often of secondary concern for me. (Though they'd better end believably! This one did—believably enough, and with just the right amount of foreshadowings thrown in, one realizes in hindsight.)
There are some lovely descriptions of Venice, as seen through the eyes of a native: the utilitarian businesses that residents rely on, and how they were being pushed out by gaudy tourist shops; the nearby island of Giudecca, which "lived in strange isolation from the rest of the city"; a morning shrouded in thick fog; the cemetery island with its daily visits by women intent on beautifying graves with bundles of flowers.
And Brunetti is smart and wry, attentive and thoughtful.
Overall, I found this a very enjoyable read.
Loved the setting, which is a character. I want to read the rest of this series.
Guido Brunetti must uncover who killed the famous composer Signore Wellauer. Overall, pretty standard mystery novel.
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
This was a well written and paced mystery with memorable characters, but I think I enjoyed it the most because it brought back all of the fond memories of a year ago when me and my mom and my sisters spent several nights in Venice. The places were all quite familiar.
3.5 stars. Started slow and then I fell into the rhythm of Leon’s writing style, and the setting and story carried me along. Looking forward to the next Brunetti story.
This was my first Commissario Brunetti novel and it was truly a delight. It was quick, it was good food for the mystery loving soul. I love a 'cozy mystery' and this was right up my alley. Recommend for fans of Christie and Penny. I'm always thrilled to find a new series to dive into.
In the end, an OK mystery. Certainly interesting to see how things work in an Italian police department. But very exposition heavy and there's a plot-hole right at the very end