Give Unto Others (A Commissario Brunetti Mystery)

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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. Once again, Commissario Guido Brunetti is willing to bend police rules for an acquaintance, even though Elisabetta Foscarini, the woman who asks the favour, is not really a friend. 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. As Brunetti considers how information travels around Venice, he realizes that “long before computer chips could collect someone’s personal data, their neighbors did” (p.

I gave up trying to work out what was going to happen very early in the book - I was content just to be in the story - but the ending still took me completely by surprise. Leon gives us a glimpse into Brunneti's past, his memories of events and people that are not what they appear to be, and which his brother is to throw a far different perspective on. And at times it’s clear to see how the issue(s) being addressed might easily be transferrable to another place and another time, but at other times it feels that the problem really is specific to this place and its unique environment. 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.I am very much drawn to the strong moral compass that governs Commissiaro Brunetti but also throughly enjoy time with his family and the description of the delicious meals they enjoy.

As is the case with most of the other 30 Brunetti novels that precede it , Give unto Others is a largely character- and milieu-driven novel.and there is a certain Netflix conversation with a colleague that cleverly disguises the real subject of their discussion from unwanted listeners. No author has delved into Venetian society quite like Leon, whose insider’s view shows how crime seeps throughout the city, touching all strata of society. What they ultimately uncover presents them with a dilemma, which is then taken out of their hands by others. I’m always sad to reach the conclusion to one of these books as it means I’ll have to wait a further twelve months for the next one.

So, she thinks he's involved in something bad, but she still considers him a good person who could not be involved with anything dishonest? He is about to tell his friend that he can find no reason for preoccupation when her daughter's place of work is vandalised, forcing Brunetti to turn his attention - still 'private' - to Elisabetta's own family.As usual the circuitous way around the rules and the food and Guido's attitude towards the good and evil he sees is a great balance to our lives now in the US. It isn't against the law for husbands to be a little short with their wives and he wonders if he can justify spending police time for the benefit of someone he wouldn't even have described as a friend. I think it would have been much more interesting to read about Venice during the pandemic, as it would have made great contrast to the usual descriptions of the city, plagued by tourists. Foscarini's son-in-law, Enrico Fenzo, has alarmed his wife (her daughter) by confessing their family might be in danger because of something he's involved with. It is a cozy world which is only occasionally interrupted by the criminal or ethical problems of those outside it.

A panoramic view of the Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice with the equestrian statue of mercenary Bartolomeo Colleoni on the extreme right.Feeling that he owes loyalty to Elisabetta's mother, who had been kind to him, he agrees to help and that there will be no police records kept. Crime fiction for those willing to grapple with, rather than escape, the uncertainties of daily life.