I did finish the book, with a little skimming, but I found it a disappointent. It’s not bad, but it’s not that great either, I’m afraid. Leon] has never become perfunctory, never failed to give us vivid portraits of people and of Venice, never lost her fine, disillusioned indignation.” —Ursula K. LeGuin, The New York Times

There’s no denying that Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries_ Are well written in a manner that eliminates the extraneous without becoming showily stoic.” —Charles Taylor, Bloomberg In Donna Leon’s sure hands, the crime novel becomes an instrument for exploring social justice and universal truths about human behavior while beautifully telling a compelling story.” —Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen Bookstore, Scottsdale, ArizonaCommissario Brunetti’s investigations place Donna Leon very high in the hierarchy of crime writing.” — Le Figaro (Paris) At one stage I just thought that some of the writing was a little poor compared to the other books in the series.

March is one of my favorite months because that is usually when Donna Leon’s latest Commissario Guido Brunetti book is published. I was fortunate enough to read an #ARC of 2023’s book. This is the thirty second installment of this series and I have read all of them. Obviously, I am a huge fan. Leon captures so well the the pulse and rhythm of Venice. Not the Venice that the hoards of day trippers experience, but the real city of the Venetians who reside there. It is a joy to read such a literate writer whose books touch on philosophy, classical literature, political science, history, justice. Each visit with Guido is different. Sometimes it’s about the shop owners or residents or elderly or theft of art or government or political or navy

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What a joy to read such a literate writer; and I think this may be her best. Yes, this is her 31st, and I have looked forward to and read all of them.

This was a comfortable return to Brunetti World with all of its regular touchstones. The outside world has moved on and there are references to a post-pandemic situation where some are reluctant to wear masks or are forgetful about it. Wife Paola is still teaching at the university and kids Chiara and Raffi are still in school (after 30 years!!). 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. It is a cozy world which is only occasionally interrupted by the criminal or ethical problems of those outside it. The story begins when Alvise is detained at a gay rights demonstration in Treviso for resisting arrest. It gives Paola a good laugh that Guido has never realized after years of working with him that Alvise is gay.I’ve been following Brunetti for over twenty years (this is book number 31) and whenever I sit down with the latest episode I feel that I’m reacquainting myself with a group of old friends: Guido, his wife Paola and their children and also Brunetti’s colleagues at the Questura. The crime itself – if you can actually identify one – is often inconsequential to my enjoyment of these books, what I most enjoy is the verbal jousting that takes place between the various players and the frequent tangential musings on art, food, literature and history, or simply on the overt bureaucracy that is an inescapable component of life in this country. If this makes the books sound somewhat muddled or confused then I can only assure you that they don’t read this way. The good news is that she ages him – so there is a sense of realness about her characters, which makes him and others believable. One day, Elisabetta Foscarini, an old friend of Brunetti’s mother, shows up at the Questura seeking his assistance. Her son-in-law, Enrico Fenzo, is an accountant, and she is alarmed over his concern that their family might be involved in some very shady financial dealings --- specifically a charity established by Elisabetta’s husband that might not be completely legitimate. Donna Leon’s I latest Brunetti novel was a Christmas gift I gave to myself. Although not to be published until March, I received a copy from NetGalley early. I was saving it until closer to the publication date, but on a particularly bleak day leading up to Christmas. I just had to read it.