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A review by skyring
A Venetian Reckoning by Donna Leon
4.0
A very different police procedural! This detective has a family!
Enjoyed this immensely. I realised that it was something special when the hero devoted a few spare minutes to working out how to spell Czechoslovakia, a task he has to have several goes at.
Investigation in Venice proceeds along different procedural lines to Edinburgh or Los Angeles, I find. Cheerful corruption, official sanction - indeed participation in - of the greatest crimes, limited resources and inventive solutions.
A truck comes to an icy end and the cargo turns out to be more than just splintered lumber. Three businessmen die suspiciously. A political rally collapses. A vaporetto is hijacked. There are odd goings-on at the telephone company. It's all part of Guido Brunetti's working day.
Like Edinburgh and Los Angeles, the city of Venice is a character in this detective novel every bit as much as the detective given the job of tying it all together. Or dissuaded from pursuing certain lines of inquiry, which is another aspect to Italian law enforcement. Pull up a guidebook to Venice and follow along on the map. Look at the photographs. Check the prices in lire. 50 000 for a quick one! Yikes.
The book, the plot, the crime and the detection was deliciously done. But towards the end, there was a very sour taste in my mouth. Perhaps I've read enough thrillers that murder is no longer quite so shocking. But some crimes are worse.
The setting, the characters, the social background, the sheer difference is what makes this tale so appealing. I'm definitely going to track down more by Donna Leon!
Enjoyed this immensely. I realised that it was something special when the hero devoted a few spare minutes to working out how to spell Czechoslovakia, a task he has to have several goes at.
Investigation in Venice proceeds along different procedural lines to Edinburgh or Los Angeles, I find. Cheerful corruption, official sanction - indeed participation in - of the greatest crimes, limited resources and inventive solutions.
A truck comes to an icy end and the cargo turns out to be more than just splintered lumber. Three businessmen die suspiciously. A political rally collapses. A vaporetto is hijacked. There are odd goings-on at the telephone company. It's all part of Guido Brunetti's working day.
Like Edinburgh and Los Angeles, the city of Venice is a character in this detective novel every bit as much as the detective given the job of tying it all together. Or dissuaded from pursuing certain lines of inquiry, which is another aspect to Italian law enforcement. Pull up a guidebook to Venice and follow along on the map. Look at the photographs. Check the prices in lire. 50 000 for a quick one! Yikes.
The book, the plot, the crime and the detection was deliciously done. But towards the end, there was a very sour taste in my mouth. Perhaps I've read enough thrillers that murder is no longer quite so shocking. But some crimes are worse.
The setting, the characters, the social background, the sheer difference is what makes this tale so appealing. I'm definitely going to track down more by Donna Leon!