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grdnrgrl's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a big Donna Leon fan, and I've read all but a handful of her Commissario Brunetti series, but this book was very, very boring. The research and back and forth between the correspondents who were working on the research was tedious and unnecessarily complicated. There was very little action in the book, and even the things that make the Brunetti books the most charming - descriptions of food and of Venice - were mostly missing and dull when they were included. Instead, it seemed the Leon wanted to engage readers in conversations about music and religion, but these mostly amounted to lectures or monologues. The "action" that was touted on the book summary took place in about three pages and was not significant when it did occur. I did like the three "main" female characters, but found the other characters cartoonishly nondescript. I'm glad Leon's considering expanding into stand-alone books or new series, but I hope she does a better job with her next attempt, if there is one.
deborama's review against another edition
3.0
Very satisfying mystery story. Reminded me just a teensy bit of The Daughter of Time, because in both, the only murder was several hundred years ago, and in both, the protagonist began to identify with their historical research subject.
nonna7's review against another edition
4.0
Donna Leon is best known for her Inspector Brunetti series. However, she has apparently always been a serious student of music. In this novel we are treated to an interesting mystery about the inheritance left by an obscure Baroque musician. His papers are contained in two trunks which are being fought over by two cousins, both of whom are trying to lay claim to whatever "treasure" is in the trunks. They have employed an attorney who hires Caterina, a young Italian woman who is a professor of musicology at Manchester University. She misses being in her beloved Venice, and when she learns that a little known foundation is looking for a researcher, she jumps at the chance to return home. This is not a standard mystery with murder and some romance. It is a little on the dry side with lots of historical detail. The nerd in me really enjoyed this one even though it was challenging in spots. According to a book review by the UK Independent, the composer in the book referred to as Steffani, is based on a little known Italian composer Agostino Steffano whom Leon apparently has researched extensively. This is not light reading, but I enjoyed it a lot. The ending is especially delicious and ironic.
nocto's review
3.0
I'm surprised by how miserable a lot of the comments and reviews about this book are. I suspect a lot of that stems from the fact that it's not a Brunetti book - I think it's the only non-series book that Donna Leon has written but I may be wrong about that. I enjoyed it - Leon has stuck with Venice but moved to an entirely different kind of mystery with a female musicologist researching some chests of paperwork belonging to a seventeenth century composer. It's a quiet sort of a plot for the most part but I found it all interesting and was surprised to search and find that the composer at the centre of the story wasn't a fictional creation. The book certainly has a few shortcomings, the end of the story was tied up very quickly without explaining all the details. I think that may have worked better than a long drawn out conclusion though, I could imagine the holes in the plot being closed up rather than having them tediously explained to me and my perhaps not being happy with the explanations. I liked the characters and am kind of disappointed that there's probably not another series starting here. I would quite have liked a family saga about Caterina and her sisters!
kristianamr's review
3.0
Leon continues to bring Venice alive but this stand alone mystery is disappointing in comparison to the Brunetti series and incredibly predictable.
tctimlin's review against another edition
3.0
Not an Inspector Brunetti novel, but entertaining enough. I actually liked the way the book kept threatening to be a scary mystery - but never does. I thought the ending was clever and funny.
stacyroth's review against another edition
3.0
I won this book as a FirstRead.
The Jewels of Paradise has an interesting premise, but I felt like the story dragged along for most of the book before speeding up at the end for a hasty conclusion.
I did enjoy the correspondence between Caterina and Cristina; their obvious love for each other and banter were my favorite parts of the book. I also enjoyed the parts of the story with the crazy Romanian.
The Jewels of Paradise has an interesting premise, but I felt like the story dragged along for most of the book before speeding up at the end for a hasty conclusion.
I did enjoy the correspondence between Caterina and Cristina; their obvious love for each other and banter were my favorite parts of the book. I also enjoyed the parts of the story with the crazy Romanian.
carodonahue's review against another edition
3.0
More like 3.5. Up to the middle, I would give it 4, but the ending was quite abrupt and felt a bit like I wash shoved out of a car without it stopping the last 15 pages. Still, the ability to make going through papers and archives interesting, compelling even, was really impressive. And Venice is in very good hands in Leon’s hands. In the end, it felt a bit more like a novella than a full novel, and I would have liked some of the threads around the central story to play out longer as well.