Call number
MYST LEO
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Publication
Grove Press (2024), 288 pages
Description
"In the thirty-second installment of Donna Leon's bestselling series, a connection to Guido Brunetti's own youthful past helps solve a mysterious murder. On a cold November evening, Guido Brunetti and Paola are up late when a call from his colleague Ispettore Vianello arrives, alerting the Commissario that a hand has been seen in one of Venice's canals. The body is soon found, and Brunetti is assigned to investigate the murder of an undocumented Sri Lankan immigrant. Because no official record of the man's presence in Venice exists, Brunetti is forced to use the city's far richer sources of information: gossip and the memories of people who knew the victim. Curiously, he had been living in a small house on the grounds of a palazzo owned by a university professor, in which Brunetti discovers books revealing the victim's interest in Buddhism, the revolutionary Tamil Tigers, and the last crop of Italian political terrorists, active in the 1980s. As the investigation expands, Brunetti, Vianello, Commissario Griffoni, and Signora Elettra each assemble pieces of a puzzle-random information about real estate and land use, books, university friendships-that appear to have little in common, until Brunetti stumbles over something that transports him back to his own student days, causing him to reflect on lost ideals and the errors of youth, on Italian politics and history, and on the accidents that sometimes lead to revelation"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Dokfintong
This short novel is not the most exciting of the series but, as always, Brunetti's moral insights and his accute observation of people and places continue to please me. Officer Vianello is at Brunetti's side through the book, while, Commissario Griffoni, and Signora Elettra play only small roles.
I received a review copy of this book from Grove Atlantic through NetGalley.com.
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It's worth reading but I don't think I would buy it. I received a review copy of this book from Grove Atlantic through NetGalley.com.
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LibraryThing member jetangen4571
Venice, Italy, law-enforcement, politics, murder, murder-investigation, deceit, due-diligence, class-consciousness, family, multicultural, emigree, secrets, lies,*****
Commissario Brunetti is never boring.
Life among the bigots, fascists, extremists. In the course of investigating the murder of one
I requested and received an EARC from Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
Commissario Brunetti is never boring.
Life among the bigots, fascists, extremists. In the course of investigating the murder of one
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man, Brunetti learns much about twentieth century Italian history and uncovers the answers to questions about this and a much older case. The characters are always interesting and the plot takes it's twisty road to some surprising answers. I love to learn as I solve with this series.I requested and received an EARC from Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
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LibraryThing member eyes.2c
Venice. Hidden places!
Inspector Brunetti is transported back to his student days, to the Italy of the red brigade activists — bombing, kidnapping, disappearances.
What prompted this? A body was found. It was a pleasant Buddhist Sri Lankan, Inesh Kavinda, who was living in the garden shed of the
Brunetti had met him. Days before he’d enquired for his father-in-law if the rumour was true that the palazzo was for sale, a hidden palazzo with its abandoned gardens. (And ok, I’d just viewed a Monty Don program about the gardens of Venice. So I was all a quiver at the idea of mysterious spaces unknown to Brunetti)
At that time the owners were away. It turns out the wife is an old friend of Guido’s from his childhood, Gloria Forcolin.
Mindful of the past, Brunetti has much to ponder. Meanwhile one of his officers runs into trouble at a Gay pride parade. The past and present are on a collision course.
As always an insightful foray into Venetian life, the past, the various laws of inheritance, including titles, and of course food.
A Grove Atlantic ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Inspector Brunetti is transported back to his student days, to the Italy of the red brigade activists — bombing, kidnapping, disappearances.
What prompted this? A body was found. It was a pleasant Buddhist Sri Lankan, Inesh Kavinda, who was living in the garden shed of the
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Palazzo Zaffo Sri Leonie.Brunetti had met him. Days before he’d enquired for his father-in-law if the rumour was true that the palazzo was for sale, a hidden palazzo with its abandoned gardens. (And ok, I’d just viewed a Monty Don program about the gardens of Venice. So I was all a quiver at the idea of mysterious spaces unknown to Brunetti)
At that time the owners were away. It turns out the wife is an old friend of Guido’s from his childhood, Gloria Forcolin.
Mindful of the past, Brunetti has much to ponder. Meanwhile one of his officers runs into trouble at a Gay pride parade. The past and present are on a collision course.
As always an insightful foray into Venetian life, the past, the various laws of inheritance, including titles, and of course food.
A Grove Atlantic ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
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LibraryThing member cyderry
This is the first book in the series that I could not finish. Normally, I love to spend time with Guido Brunetti and the Venetian police as well as his charming wife and family. However, in this book, there was no plot, no goal, I couldn't figure what he was searching for or why. I kept falling
Hope the next one lives up to the wonderful characters, this one didn't.
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asleep.Hope the next one lives up to the wonderful characters, this one didn't.
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LibraryThing member Judiex
It was late on a cold, rainy Saturday night when Commissario Guido Brunetti received a call that an officer in his police department had been arrested. Alvise, who was a quiet and easily ignored, had been attacked at a Gay Pride parade.
The aftermath of Alvise’s arrest lead to some rather
The next day, a friend of Brunetti’s father-in-law had mentioned that
someone wanted to purchase a palazzo and wanted to know if it was for sale. It’s history was a bit complicated but Brunetti said he would check it out. When Brunetti went to the house, he realized he had known the family many years previously. The door was opened by an Asian man who said no one else was home and he couldn’t help him.
That same evening, a passerby reported seeing a hand in a canal. The hand is soon identified as belonging to a Sri Lankan undocumented immigrant who turned out to have been living in a small house on the property of a professor.
The body in the canal and the palazzo were intertwined. With inadequate official information, Brunetti had to rely on friends, gossip, and the experience of his coworkers to solve the problem.
At one point, Brunetti recalls his university days when students they protested society and government, which they insisted be overthrown and how, as they aged and assumed more responsibilities. Some things have not changed.
Donna Leon’s use of and connection of words shines brightly in SO SHALL YOU REAP. Among my favorites in this paragraph:
"Alvise woulld spend most of his days at the Commissariato oat San Marco which dealt exclusively with the lost: lost tourists or their lost children, lost wallets (usually stolen), lost pastports, lost old people with lost minds, lost patience that had led to arguments or fights, lost backpacks that might easily contain bombs as lunch, and lost time in spending an entire shift dealing with problems that would better handled by social services than the police."
As is true of all of Leon’s Brunetti books, violence, profanity, and sex are not part of the plot. People, relationships, and talent are.
The aftermath of Alvise’s arrest lead to some rather
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unexpected results.The next day, a friend of Brunetti’s father-in-law had mentioned that
someone wanted to purchase a palazzo and wanted to know if it was for sale. It’s history was a bit complicated but Brunetti said he would check it out. When Brunetti went to the house, he realized he had known the family many years previously. The door was opened by an Asian man who said no one else was home and he couldn’t help him.
That same evening, a passerby reported seeing a hand in a canal. The hand is soon identified as belonging to a Sri Lankan undocumented immigrant who turned out to have been living in a small house on the property of a professor.
The body in the canal and the palazzo were intertwined. With inadequate official information, Brunetti had to rely on friends, gossip, and the experience of his coworkers to solve the problem.
At one point, Brunetti recalls his university days when students they protested society and government, which they insisted be overthrown and how, as they aged and assumed more responsibilities. Some things have not changed.
Donna Leon’s use of and connection of words shines brightly in SO SHALL YOU REAP. Among my favorites in this paragraph:
"Alvise woulld spend most of his days at the Commissariato oat San Marco which dealt exclusively with the lost: lost tourists or their lost children, lost wallets (usually stolen), lost pastports, lost old people with lost minds, lost patience that had led to arguments or fights, lost backpacks that might easily contain bombs as lunch, and lost time in spending an entire shift dealing with problems that would better handled by social services than the police."
As is true of all of Leon’s Brunetti books, violence, profanity, and sex are not part of the plot. People, relationships, and talent are.
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LibraryThing member cfk
This is one of the best Brunetti books I've read! There is less of the emphasis on political corruption and the link from college age politics of violence to a modern day murder.
LibraryThing member cygnet81
Back to normal!
LibraryThing member JulieStielstra
I've read all Leon's Brunetti books, but I'm done. Deeply disappointing. Pace is glacial, virtually nothing whatsoever happens in the first 60 pages. Long conversations where every crossing of legs, nod, change of glance or expression is noted. Every stop in a cafe is given full "he ordered his
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coffee, drank it, paid for it, then went out the door and turned right..." treatment. Entire sentences are even repeated, almost verbatim. Poorly paced, poorly plotted, poorly written - worse than the previous one. Che triste. Non piu. Show Less
LibraryThing member thornton37814
Brunetti, Vianello, and Griffoni investigate the death of a Sri Lankan palazzo servant. The body was spotted and recovered in the canal one evening. The palazzo belonged to a university professor and his wife. The palazzo was situated adjacent to a convent. The adjoining gardens were as different
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as night and day. The convent's was well-kept by a Filipino nun; the palazzo's was neglected. The servant who lived in a building in the garden was denied the opportunity to tend it. When Brunetti inspected the man's dwelling, he was struck by the odd selection of books. I never suspected anyone other than the guilty party of the deed, and there weren't a lot of red herrings thrown into the mix. It's fairly straightforward with much of the time spent gathering enough evidence to present a case that might stick (while keeping the reader in the dark concerning the suspect's identity). Those who have read others in the series know justice is not always carried out in Italy, so they perhaps need better evidence than in other countries to even consider an arrest. While it is solid, it is not Leon's best work. Show Less
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Venice’s Commissario Brunetti and his colleagues investigate the death of an undocumented Sri Lankan immigrant. The case is more personal than some for Brunetti because he had spoken with the victim just a day before his death. With very little information to go on, it would be easy to justify
Brunetti, his family, and his colleagues feel like old friends after 32 novels, and spending time with them is comfortable. I’m having a hard time identifying any other reason to recommend this book. The pace is so slow that my mind wandered to other things while I was listening to it, and I hadn’t missed any important details that made it necessary to rewind the audio to pay closer attention. I was mildly interested in the case’s connection to Italy’s Red Brigade kidnappings in the late 1970s and early 1980s since I recall those because of family members who were stationed in Italy at about that time. The subplot about officer Alvise is superfluous. It isn’t connected to the case Brunetti investigates in this book, but maybe Leon is setting up a plot for a future installment. If I had been this book’s editor, I would have cut large parts of that section.
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quickly moving on to other cases, but Brunetti doesn’t do that. He gives it his full attention.Brunetti, his family, and his colleagues feel like old friends after 32 novels, and spending time with them is comfortable. I’m having a hard time identifying any other reason to recommend this book. The pace is so slow that my mind wandered to other things while I was listening to it, and I hadn’t missed any important details that made it necessary to rewind the audio to pay closer attention. I was mildly interested in the case’s connection to Italy’s Red Brigade kidnappings in the late 1970s and early 1980s since I recall those because of family members who were stationed in Italy at about that time. The subplot about officer Alvise is superfluous. It isn’t connected to the case Brunetti investigates in this book, but maybe Leon is setting up a plot for a future installment. If I had been this book’s editor, I would have cut large parts of that section.
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Pages
288
ISBN
0802162762 / 9780802162762