Summary: It might be the 31st book in the series but it's another absolute cracker and I read long into the night to finish it.

The cultivated Commissario, seeking the truth behind this strange imbroglio, reads the heart all the way back to Greek tragedy’s bitter truths. Donna Leon has always been good at character depiction and rounded description, but there’s a difference between that and a lot of superfluous verbiage; here there is far too much of the latter, I think. Brunetti allows old loyalty to draw him into an “unofficial” investigation, which slowly - very slowly - begins to uncover possible malfeasance.

It is clear that this is a warning against Brunetti looking into the situation that was brought to his attention. Six chapters and 50 pages and the first situation is not set up what with everyone pausing to look out the window with their fingers to their throats! Una de las personas que favorecieron a sus padres aparece entre la niebla de la memoria adolescente. You are well read in philosophy and the classics, are devoted to your beautiful wife, Paola--the daughter of a count and a professor of English literature with an emphasis on Henry James--and your teenaged children, Raffi and Chiara. Brunetti tells Paola that police are taught that “witnesses are unreliable, people repeat distorted versions of what they’ve seen or heard, and evidence is always open to question” (p.

Regarding the symptoms of dementia, which may go on for a long time before a diagnosis is reached: "In his mother's case the symptoms had been snaking around in their lives for years before either he or his brother Sergio took notice of them. The timeless Brunetti household is an oasis from any turmoil of the outside world, where Brunetti can curl up with his favourite classical Roman or Greek literature and consult Paola for her opinion on his current case. Brunetti] is a superb police detective—calm, deliberate, and insightful as he investigates with a reflective thoroughness.There is often the vague sense of wrong doing, not necessarily of a life threatening nature but rather of a threat to society. Even as an entry in such an idiosyncratic (and appealing) series, this case is one of the most personal our protagonist – a thoughtful, compassionate man – has faced. Brunetti ultimately realizes that because Elisabetta’s request was “clothed in the trappings of old friendship” (p. Not at all, but when you’ve read the whole series, it’s just not on the same level as some of the early titles.

While the Brunetti books, with their abundance of local color and gastronomic treats, appeal to the fans of the traditional mystery, Leon has something darker and deeper in mind. Le Guin and Val McDermid, the Brunetti Mysteries have won numerous awards around the world and been translated into thirty-five languages. Weather and tides and looting by “baby gangs” require a bit of real police work, but then the vandalism of Flora’s veterinary clinic on Murano, which might be linked to their enquiries, gives their work official standing.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. His inner monologue is often engaging, and his philosophical musings, for example about the similarities between pickpockets and those claiming pandemic handouts, are insightful. Brunetti is approached for a favor by Elisabetta Foscarini, a woman he knows casually, but her mother was good to Brunetti’s mother, so he feels obliged to at least look into the matter privately, and not as official police business. La novela que hace número 31 en la saga Brunetti mantiene el alto nivel de las últimas entregas, en este caso nos muestra la debilidad de Brunetti por los personajes que poblaron su desfavorecida infancia, hijo de una familia pobre pero digna.