A review by nonna7
Death and Judgment by Donna Leon

4.0

I was nearly finished this book when I came to a scene that was so familiar that I wondered if I had actually read the book before and just forgot it. However, it turns out that I had seen this on the German made Brunetti series and realized how close that series really is to the books. This book, written in 1995, reflect the author's realistic embrace of Venice and Italy. Her books detail the famous corruption that goes to the highest reaches of government and industry. However, in my opinion, the idea that Italy and other Mediterranean countries are especially corrupt is naive. This book talks about snuff movies and the sex trade, both of which are epidemic and, in my opinion, would be found in some surprising places right here in the USA. The book opens with a truck accident that results in bodies of women found on the side of the mountain where the truck tumbled down. The bill of lading in the truck stated there was lumber which there was. There also were women. When an important Venetian citizen is murdered, Brunetti is assigned to investigate & is cautioned by his slimy superior, Patta, not to make too many waves while he is doing it. then a business associate of the murdered man, an accountant from nearby Padua, is also murdered. Brunetti's daughter convinces her father to pay her to learn some things about the daughter of the murdered man which results in the daughter giving her a tape which turns out to be a horrific snuff film. That's when Brunetti realizes that there is far more to this case than he realized. Once again, there are no happy endings, but that's probably much more realistic.