A review by romonko
Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This is the second book in the Commissario Brunetti series.  Brunetti seems to have bitten off more than he can chew with his latest case.  A young man is found floating near the edge of one of Venice's canals. On inspection, Brunetti determines that the young man is a soldier from the American base.  As he investigates it quickly becomes apparent that there is a lot more to this crime than what appears to be a simple robbery gone wrong.  But after numerous trips to the base and after being told by his unctuous boss to leave it alone, he feels more compelled than ever to try to solve the murder, but before he can do that another death occurs on the base.  Guido finds out that some very high profile people from Sicily (wink, wink) are trying to keep him from investigating as well.  I enjoyed the story and I enjoyed Brunetti, although he does appear to plod along on his own trajectory quite a bit during the course of the two books that I have read.  But he is such a likeable and unflappable man,  and dogged and single-minded in his approach that I can't help but cheer him on.  Right up until the end it seems like the bad guys have won in this one, but one of the Venetian citizens puts an abrupt stop to that.  Although the resolution is not clean and final, Brunetti decides to let it go as it appears that most of the bad guys involved have paid for their sins--to a point.  This is an enjoyable series with great characters and with enough red herrings and blind alleys to keep the reader guessing.