Review: Beastly Things by Donna Leon

Author: Donna Leon
Publisher-Format: Grove Atlantic e-galley
Year of publication: 2012 (April)
Subject: crime, meat processing
Setting: Venice Italy
Series: Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries
Genre: mystery - police procedural
Source:  Net Galley (e-file from publisher)
Recommended? for mystery fans, lovers of Venice, and devoteès of the series


The latest Brunetti adventure. Donna Leon has been subtly (maybe not so subtly) leading up to the subject matter of this one for awhile: the safety of the beef being marketed, and the treatment of the cattle being slaughtered.  As we listened in to dinner conversations in the Brunetti household in previous episodes, we have become very aware of Chiara and Raffi's vegan leanings, and their outrage over practices in the industry, we've watched Paola and Guido roll their eyes over questions of what food is safe to eat, and whether the kids are over-reacting. We've agonized with Brunetti over the increasing pollution in the sacred canals of his city.   In Beastly Things, the latest in the series, Commissario Brunetti is called on to solve the murder of a well-loved veterinarian who was working part-time as a meat inspector at a local beef processing plant.  Leon manages to give us just enough gruesome detail to make the abattoir venue real, without gagging us with gore.

The plot is singularly uninspiring however, and I found myself asking "Is that all there is?"  Leon seems to be running out of gas.  The story is formulaic, the main characters certainly aren't advancing.  Brunetti, in spite of his horror at what he sees in the beef packing plant, goes right out and eats meat again.  In fact, he and Paola seem almost not to want to discuss the subject--sort of if we don't talk about it, we won't have to deal with it. We continue to watch Brunetti wrestle with his conscience over Signorina Eletra's ongoing tip-toeing around the law to find information by sometimes shady means, but other than that, we see little of the other characters in the Questora-- no LT Scarpa, only a brief appearance by Patta,  no in-laws, and very little even of the family.  Those of us who are fans of this series have come to look forward to the family dinners, and the husband and wife give and take over politics- both academic and office.  Obviously Brunetti, with Vianello's help,  is going to solve the mystery, but the story is one that seems carved out of cardboard, lacking in the charisma we expect from Guido Brunetti, and singularly uninspiring.

If you haven't read this series, I'd sure start with one of the earlier ones, and let's hope if Leon is going to take on other burning issues in Venice, they are woven into stories more in the mode we have come to expect.  A real disappointment.

Review : Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon

Author: Donna Leon
Publisher/Format: Atlantic Monthly Press (April 4, 2011) 266 pages
Characters: Brunetti, Vianello, Signorina Elletra
Subject: violence toward women
Setting: Venice
Series: Commissario Brunetti series
Genre: police procedural mystery
Source: E-galley from publisher, Grove Press via Net Galley

Commissario Guido Brunetti is probably my all-time favorite policeman.

• He lives in Venice.
• He's still madly in love with his wife of over 20 years.
• His wife is a gorgeous, rich, educated, independent college professor who fixes him incredible homemade lunches everyday.
• He doesn't drive a car - he walks or takes the vaporetto (the Venetian water equivalent of a bus!)
• He has two typical teenage children he has trouble understanding.
• He hates modernity, cardboard sandwiches, and crowds.
• He reads Cicero, Tacitus and the Greeks in their original languages.
• He knows his way around the fine wine world, and often leaves the office to mull over problems at the corner bar.
• He has a jerk for a boss, and a megalomaniac working for him.
• He knows when to turn a blind eye to irregularities in process.
• He has a law degree but chooses to be a policeman.
• He often leaves his gun locked in his closet at home.
• He often forgets to carry his telefonino.
• He takes his wife flowers - often.
• He has a compassionate, caring, and intelligent manner towards those he works with-including victims, witnesses and even some accused.
• He's not afraid to trust his gut instincts.

I mean really, what's not to like?  


In this latest (#20) of her police procedural mystery series, Donna Leon leads us gradually along as Brunetti is faced with trying to decide whether the unexpected death of a old lady ruled death by heart attack, was actually helped along by some outside violence.  As he slowly works his way through the stories of those involved, we are again taken into the darker sides of life in the fabled city, into the culture of wife beating, political corruption, police indifference, and officials 'looking the other way' as money, information, and goods are exchanged for favors.  Brunetti's incredible ability to be quiet and listen allows each participant in the event to tell his or her story and give us clues as to what really happened.  The ending is vintage Brunetti and will not disappoint.

This one is Leon at her best, it is Brunetti at his most human and his most vulnerable, and it is definitely Signorina Elletra's star performance to date. For those of you who are fans of this series, you have a treat in store.  For those of you who have not had a chance to sample, these are so well-written that each can stand alone, so what are you waiting for?

Review: More Guido Brunetti--Doctored Evidence

Doctored Evidence
Author: Donna Leon
Publisher/Format: BBC Audiobooks America, audio 7 hr, 45 min
Narrator: David Colacci
Characters: Guido Brunetti, Lorenzo Vianello, Signorina Elettra
Subject: Corruption in government, murder, blackmail
Setting: Venice
Series: A Commissario Brunetti Mystery (#13)
Genre: Mystery: Police procedural
Source: public library audio download

This is definitely one of my favorites in this series by Donna Leon.  The complexity of the characters and their motivations continues to unfold as Leon carries on the saga of Commissario Guido Brunetti, his wife Paola, his children (marching smartly toward young adult maturity), and his comrades at the questura (police headquarters): Ispectore Lorenzo Vianello and Signorina Elletra.  She adds in a very true to life ongoing tug-of-war with others on the staff - his boss, Vice-Questore Guiseppe Patta, and the stuffed shirt everyone loves to hate, Lieutenant Scarpa.

In this episode, an old woman, not well liked by anyone, is found brutally murdered, and her illegal alien house worker has disappeared.  Brunetti is on a well deserved vacation, and does not discover until he returns that as usual, Scarpa has taken the easy way out, has not done his homework, and  has declared the case closed. When a new witness appears to contradict Scarpa's conclusions, Brunetti feels compelled to reopen and take over the case.   In the meantime, Vianello is dealing with an elderly relative who seems to have come under the spell of a TV evangelist cum rip-off artist.

Leon always adds into the mix wonderful discussions of current vs classic mores, police corruption, crime solving techniques and wonderful presentations of Italian food and drink. The story is especially enjoyable as an audio narrated by the incomparable David Colacci who captures the Italian inflections and intonations so well. I have yet to discover what's not to like about this series.  I certainly recommend them to anyone who loves Venice, Italian food, good mysteries and strong characters, both male and female.

A pair of Brunetti's

 A Noble Radiance

Author: Donna Leon
Format: audio -approx 7 hours 256 page equivalent
Narrator:Anna Fields
Characters: Guido Brunetti, his wife Paola, Count
Subject: corruption, social classes,
Setting: Venice
Series: Commissario Brunetti
Genre: mystery - cold case police procedural
Source: public library audio download

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Fatal Remedies

Author: Donna Leon
Format: audio - 15.7 hrs,  320 page equivalent
Narrator:Anna Fields
Characters: Guido Brunetti, his wife Paola,
Subject: women roles, spousal loyalty, 
Setting: Venice
Series: Commissario Brunetti
Genre: mystery-police procedural
Source: public library

It's no secret I'm a great fan of Donna Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti police series. One of the reasons is the character of Guido's wife Paola, and their relationship. Watching these two characters grow as the series gets better and better is as enjoyable as solving the well-crafted mysteries, or luxuriating in Leon's descriptions of everydaylife in Venice and the food.

In A Noble Radiance, Guido finds himself investigating a semi-cold case of kidnapping/murder when a body is discovered in a field, and identified as being the missing son of a Venetian noble. Leon has been gradually developing the ideological angst that Brunetti must endure when facing the social and class structure of the ancient city. This one is a bit shorter than previous ones in the series, but every bit as good.

In both of these Paola plays increasingly important roles. Especially in Fatal Remedies Guido finds himself between the rock and the proverbial hard place-- his beloved, fiery tempered, and morally impregnable Paola has been arrested for throwing a rock through the window of a travel agency well-known for arranging 'sex tours' for Italian men to travel to far off countries where young girls are forced into prostitution. Paola wants it stopped, and Guido is about to lose his job when he doesn't stop her!

These two just get better and better.  I'm hoping to catch up on the rest of the series throughout the coming year.  If you haven't read any of them, treat yourself to one (any one will do) in the next few weeks.  A perfect de-stresser for the upcoming holidays.

Review: A Favorite Series

If you've visited here with Tutu before, you know that I LOVE a good mystery series. I'm always looking for new ones, while trying to keep up with my favorites. Because so many of these are also available in audio (my favorite format), I find them easy to 'read' while I'm going about my increasingly busy days. I also find them relaxing in the evening, when I don't want to concentrate on a heavier book. This past week, while I was swimming, sewing, and traveling to an out of town library workshop, the audios were a godsend. I continued on with one of my favorites.

Acqua Alta

Alternate Title: Death in High Water
Author: Donna Leon
Format: 8 hrs, 30 min; 288 page equivalent;
Characters: Guido Brunetti
Subject: stolen art objects; murder
Setting: Venice
Series: Commissario Brunetti (#5)
Genre: Police procedural
Source: Public library

I've been reading or listening to various books in this series for almost two years now.  I decided to go back and read them in order to watch Leon's progress as a writer, and Brunetti's development as a character.  These stories don't disappoint even at the beginning.  (I've yet to get to the very first one).  Brunetti and his wife Paola (a college English professor) are urbane, educated, sophisticated and have inherited wealth. Their enjoyment of literature, good wine, travel, and opera adds a degree of sophistication one doesn't always find in the ordinary gumshoe series.  At the same time, Brunetti has to deal with an pompous 'if it's not my idea it won't work' boss who wants to know everything, take credit for everything good and who disavows anything that goes wrong;  two teen-aged off-spring (who needs to say more?)  and the Italian criminal justice system, which does not always work the way the ethical Brunetti would like it too. Guido is too much the practical Italian though to let little things like disregard for the law get in his way.

This episode concerns a ring of antiques dealers/museum curators who are not happy when their theft of precious art objects and substitution of fakes is discovered by an American professor.  The subsequent crime spree that follows as they try to rid themselves of witnesses and evidence is set against the background of the "Acqua Alta"--a periodic Venetian weather phenomenon that occurs when the rains and winds combine with high tides to produce floods of various heights, making getting around the city difficult if not impossible.

As she tells the story, Leon weaves into the plot the antipathy of Venetians for southern Italians, the homophobia of Italian males towards two of the women in the story, and every parent's fears of discovering a teenager who may be engaging in unhealthy/illegal activity.  Nothing more to say---I don't want to spoil it.

If you've always wanted to visit Venice, if you love sophisticated protagonists and a good mystery, this is a must read series for you.