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Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:The New York Times�bestselling series transports us to "Donna Leon's enticing, troubled and beautiful Venice . . . Her latest mystery is one of her best" (Providence Journal). A New York Times Book Review Best Crime Book of the Year � A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice � A Financial Times Summer Book Pick � A Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine Most Anticipated Mystery of the Year Commissario Guido Brunetti is surprised by the appearance of a friend of his wife's, fearful that her son is using drugs and hopeful Brunetti can somehow intervene. When the woman's husband is found unconscious with a serious brain injury at the foot of a bridge in Venice after midnight, Brunetti is drawn to pursue a possible connection to the boy's behavior. But the truth, as Brunetti has experienced so often, is not straightforward. While Brunetti pursues several false and contradictory leads, he becomes exasperated by the petty bureaucracy that constantly bedevils him and threatens to expose Signorina Elettra, his superior's secretary. But steadied by the embrace of his own family and by his passion for the classics, he reads Sophocles's Antigone, and, in its light, considers the terrible consequences to which the actions of a tender heart can lead. "It's the living, bleeding humanity of the characters that makes Donna Leon's police procedurals so engaging. . . . Tagging along after this sleuth is a wonderful way to see Venice like a native." ?The New York Times Book Review "[A] droll and intelligent series." ?The Wall Street Journal "[A] richly rewarding series . . . from a master of character-rich crime fiction." ?Booklist.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Judiex
Once again Donna Leon has proven that police-based mystery story does not need graphic violence, car chases, detectives getting into life-threatening situations, profanity, or sex scenes to provide a well-written story. There is not the adrenalin rush so common in this genre. For those familiar
Soon after Brunnetti arrived at work one morning, a woman was escorted into his office. He recognized her as a colleague of his wife’s, but didn't really know her. Eventually he learned that she was concerned about her fifteen-year-old son. During the past year, his grades and dropped and his attitude had changed considerably. She thought he might be drugs and want to know that was a criminal offense. Brunnetti tried to find out the source of the drugs, but the mother was rather evasive.
That night, that he was called to the scene of a possible crime. A man was found bleeding and unconscious at the bottom staircase near the canal. He had no identification on him nor did there appear to be any witnesses. The police could not determine whether it was an accident or if he had been assaulted. Brunnetti immediately recognized the man as the husband of the woman who had been in his office. Following a long night in a slow-moving emergency room, after series of x-rays tests and scans, the doctor said the man had suffered severe brain damage and didn't know if he would ever regain consciousness or, if he did, would be able to communicate.
Brunnetti wanted to both find source of drugs. In the process, he discovered a scam involving elderly, confused people, a pharmacist, and a doctor.
As in all of the books in the series, Donna Leon provided a compelling picture of Venice: its people, its atmosphere, changes in the city, and the workings of the city government and the police department. Throughout the book, Brunnetti referred to Sophocles’s Antigone” with its examination of right and wrong, when should a law be broken, and at what cost?
Tidbits:
Five men who neither spoke Italian nor could explain the meaning of certain road signs were provided with a complicated wiring system so they could pass the test to get driver's licenses.
There are many Italian accents that enable someone to know where the speaker learned to speak the language. The story explains several of them. That knowledge helps bring people together or divides them. Some people who have contact with the public, such as police officers, learn to adopt those accents to facilitate the conversations with people they interview.
Because of her gender experiences, Griffoni is able to see situations, e.g., control by men of women, in ways that her male colleagues do not.
Paolo explains the difference between life and novels:
"That's why people like novels.... In most novels, things get explained to them by the narrator. They get told why people did what they did. We’re accustomed to that voice, telling us what to think.
"It's too easy. And in the end, it's so unlike life, so fake....
"Life doesn't have a narrator – it's full of lies and half-truths – so we never know anything for sure, not really.”
I’m not sure what the first chapter, getting immersed in a very heavy fog while taking a water taxi to work, is supposed to mean, unless it represents life: Suddenly, everything changes and you can’t see where you are. Then it clears up.
Unfortunately, too many chapters should have been combined. They are a continuation of the same characters in the same place. Minus one star for that..
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with the Commissario Guido Brunnetti series, THE TEMPTATION OF FORGIVENESS offers the same group of characters, primarily Guido’s wife Paola; Vice-Questore Giuseppe Patta, Commissario Claudia Griffoni, and Signorina Elettra, Patta’s gatekeeper and amazing source of information. For those who have not read the previous books, you’ll still be able to appreciate the book as a stand-alone.Soon after Brunnetti arrived at work one morning, a woman was escorted into his office. He recognized her as a colleague of his wife’s, but didn't really know her. Eventually he learned that she was concerned about her fifteen-year-old son. During the past year, his grades and dropped and his attitude had changed considerably. She thought he might be drugs and want to know that was a criminal offense. Brunnetti tried to find out the source of the drugs, but the mother was rather evasive.
That night, that he was called to the scene of a possible crime. A man was found bleeding and unconscious at the bottom staircase near the canal. He had no identification on him nor did there appear to be any witnesses. The police could not determine whether it was an accident or if he had been assaulted. Brunnetti immediately recognized the man as the husband of the woman who had been in his office. Following a long night in a slow-moving emergency room, after series of x-rays tests and scans, the doctor said the man had suffered severe brain damage and didn't know if he would ever regain consciousness or, if he did, would be able to communicate.
Brunnetti wanted to both find source of drugs. In the process, he discovered a scam involving elderly, confused people, a pharmacist, and a doctor.
As in all of the books in the series, Donna Leon provided a compelling picture of Venice: its people, its atmosphere, changes in the city, and the workings of the city government and the police department. Throughout the book, Brunnetti referred to Sophocles’s Antigone” with its examination of right and wrong, when should a law be broken, and at what cost?
Tidbits:
Five men who neither spoke Italian nor could explain the meaning of certain road signs were provided with a complicated wiring system so they could pass the test to get driver's licenses.
There are many Italian accents that enable someone to know where the speaker learned to speak the language. The story explains several of them. That knowledge helps bring people together or divides them. Some people who have contact with the public, such as police officers, learn to adopt those accents to facilitate the conversations with people they interview.
Because of her gender experiences, Griffoni is able to see situations, e.g., control by men of women, in ways that her male colleagues do not.
Paolo explains the difference between life and novels:
"That's why people like novels.... In most novels, things get explained to them by the narrator. They get told why people did what they did. We’re accustomed to that voice, telling us what to think.
"It's too easy. And in the end, it's so unlike life, so fake....
"Life doesn't have a narrator – it's full of lies and half-truths – so we never know anything for sure, not really.”
I’m not sure what the first chapter, getting immersed in a very heavy fog while taking a water taxi to work, is supposed to mean, unless it represents life: Suddenly, everything changes and you can’t see where you are. Then it clears up.
Unfortunately, too many chapters should have been combined. They are a continuation of the same characters in the same place. Minus one star for that..
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LibraryThing member VictoriaJZ
Yet another Brunnetti book with a solid twist at the end. And not every mystery is solved, just as in real life. I liked this even more than some of the others.
LibraryThing member pennykaplan
Brunetti deals with corruption by a doctor and pharmacist (as well as all the other corruption in Venice) in this rather short entry into the series.
LibraryThing member brangwinn
Even the 27th book in the Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries is as fresh as the first. How Leon is able to come up with such interesting issues in a place as small as Venice amazes me.
LibraryThing member cyderry
Guido Brunetti confronts illegal drug distribution and pharmaceutical fraud in this book. A mother, a professor at Paolo's university, comes to Commissario Brunetti believing that her son is taking drugs. However, without a lot of information Brunetti is forced to gather evidence in a round about
It amazes me that such a Renaissance man as Guido Brunetti is, that he can still find a way to be empathic to many of the worst criminals.
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way. Utilizing not just Senorina Electra and her suspect computer but also sources from the underworld, Guido determines that there is more than just illegal drugs at issue.It amazes me that such a Renaissance man as Guido Brunetti is, that he can still find a way to be empathic to many of the worst criminals.
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LibraryThing member hardlyhardy
Donna Leon demonstrates again and again that a mystery novel need not be fast-paced, involve multiple crimes or even be particularly suspenseful to make compelling reading. She accomplishes this feat again in “The Temptation of Forgiveness” (2018).
Leon's secret lies with interesting characters
This time the case before Commissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice police involves a man's death from a fall from a bridge in the middle of the night. It may have been an accident but seems suspicious, especially since the man's wife had visited Brunetti just a couple of days previously with worries that her teenage son might be involved with drugs. The commissario's first thought is that the father might have died in a confrontation with his son's drug dealer.
Brunetti seems to have a one-track mind, my main complaint with the novel. Rather than compile evidence and thoroughly question witnesses, first the wife and son, he always seems to start with a theory, then look only for evidence to support it. When that fails, he tries another theory and gathers more evidence. Yet his methods actually work in the end.
Meanwhile we are amused by his relationships with his wife and children and with the people he works with, especially Signorina Electra, the ever resourceful secretary who seems to be able discover with her computer any information Brunetti might desire. Among her secrets, known only to Brunetti, is that she has bugged the office of their boss.
While not the best book in the long series, “The Temptation of Forgiveness” (I love Leon's titles) will not disappoint.
Leon's secret lies with interesting characters
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whose daily lives are filled with enough drama and comedy to keep readers entertained even as the mystery plods along. I sped through this novel more quickly than I do most mysteries.This time the case before Commissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice police involves a man's death from a fall from a bridge in the middle of the night. It may have been an accident but seems suspicious, especially since the man's wife had visited Brunetti just a couple of days previously with worries that her teenage son might be involved with drugs. The commissario's first thought is that the father might have died in a confrontation with his son's drug dealer.
Brunetti seems to have a one-track mind, my main complaint with the novel. Rather than compile evidence and thoroughly question witnesses, first the wife and son, he always seems to start with a theory, then look only for evidence to support it. When that fails, he tries another theory and gathers more evidence. Yet his methods actually work in the end.
Meanwhile we are amused by his relationships with his wife and children and with the people he works with, especially Signorina Electra, the ever resourceful secretary who seems to be able discover with her computer any information Brunetti might desire. Among her secrets, known only to Brunetti, is that she has bugged the office of their boss.
While not the best book in the long series, “The Temptation of Forgiveness” (I love Leon's titles) will not disappoint.
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LibraryThing member Obi2015
It is very difficult to maintain the same quality throughout a longstanding series as this one(this is number 27...). And although that the storyline is still very good,the development of the characters is too detailed(looks,hand movement, breath taking,frowned eyebrows...).But this is
That said,one of the main characters is the city of Venice and Venice fulfils its role to perfection!
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unfortunately not exactly an added bonus. It does not lead to more understanding, more depth...That said,one of the main characters is the city of Venice and Venice fulfils its role to perfection!
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LibraryThing member addunn3
A mother worried about her son's drug use connects with the fall from a bridge of her husband.
LibraryThing member thornton37814
A woman serving the architecture faculty at Paola's university consults Brunetti about her son's drug use. Soon afterwards her husband dies in a fall from a bridge, and it appears he had some help getting over it. At times Griffoni seems a more capable investigator than Brunetti. At the same time
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Patta tries to find a leak in the department. While I always enjoy my visits to Venice through these novels, this one doesn't seem to be quite as cohesive as some. Some plot lines seem to almost drop from the radar. Leon's endings never wrap up quite as neatly as ones by other mystery writers--and I'll leave that there as a teaser! David Colacci's narrations are always superb. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dokfintong
This is not the most interesting book of the series. The plot is a relatively simple one about greed and corruption. Regardless of that, the writing is strong and Brunetti is clearly himself.
I received a review copy of this book directly from the publisher.
I received a review copy of this book directly from the publisher.
LibraryThing member diana.hauser
Temptation of Forgiveness is Book #27 in Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery series.
In this title, as in all previous Brunetti books, Venice - its culture, its citizens, its (shall we say) criminality lies center stage.
There were too many subplots and dead-end side issues that seemed
That aside, the title was amazing in that the main plot is exactly parallel to Guido’s reading of the Athenian tragedy Antigone by Sophocles.
Not my favorite title, but good reading nevertheless. ***
In this title, as in all previous Brunetti books, Venice - its culture, its citizens, its (shall we say) criminality lies center stage.
There were too many subplots and dead-end side issues that seemed
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very unnecessary to me. That aside, the title was amazing in that the main plot is exactly parallel to Guido’s reading of the Athenian tragedy Antigone by Sophocles.
Not my favorite title, but good reading nevertheless. ***
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