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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780143113614
ISBN number: 0143113615
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 336
Printing Date: April 29, 2008
Publishing house: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Sale Popularity Level: 104852
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
A riveting new mystery from international bestseller Donna Leon
Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti series has made Venice—a city that’s beautiful and sophisticated, but also secretive and corrupt—one of mystery fans’ most beloved locales. In this brilliant new book, Brunetti is summoned to the hospital bed of a respected pediatrician, where he is confronted with more questions than answers. Three men had burst into the doctor’s apartment, attacked him, and kidnapped his eighteen-month-old son. What could have motivated an assault so violent that it has left the doctor mute? And could this crime be related to the moneymaking scam run by pharmacists that Brunetti’s colleague has recently uncovered? As Brunetti delves deeper into the case, a story of infertility, desperation, and illegal dealings begins to unfold.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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I began reading this book upon advice of a friend, and I was terribly disappointed: many times I was tempted to dump it, and I reached the end in the (vain) hope of a coup-de-theatre that never came.
Ms Leon has a very limited knowledge of Italian history and criminal laws. At the same time, she has lots of prejudices and doesn't hesitate to recur to lies and slander in order to justify them.
For instance, it is obvious that she doesn't like the military. That may be one of the reasons that made her hero Brunetti a member of civilian Polizia and not of military Carabinieri. To substantiate her dislike for Carabinieri, Ms Leon repeatedly questions their competence as an institution and has no problem in trying to ridicule them with a cartoonish description of a Captain wearing riding boots during a criminal police operation (total nonsense: even if Carabinieri officers are perfectly legitimated to wear riding boots, being all mounted officers, they are bound by explicit fragmented orders to wear the prescribed uniform for each and every operation they are involved into. A Carabinieri Captain leading a programmed criminal police operation wearing riding boots makes sense more or less like a Grenadiers Guard guarding Buckingham Palace with only his Government Issued underwear on). In her prejudice (soldiers = Fascists) Ms Leon reaches the point of stating (through Brunetti) that too many Carabinieri love acting "as Mussolini were still in power and no one to say them nay", willingly or unwillingly ignoring the fact that Mussolini used for his repression (besides his own Black Shirts) Brunetti's Polizia, and not the Carabinieri of which he never had the loyalty, which was unquestionably devoted to the King.
Moral relativism and double standard permeate the whole novel. Ms Leon deftly manipulates her readers, making them sympathize with people who broke the law or their vows/obligations with their spouses/partners, disdaining those who unveil their wrongdoings. The ultimate villain of the novel is someone who has dared to stick his nose into the personal data of some less-than-virtuous persons, informing the victims of their bad actions. Wow, what a criminal! More or less like a person who, seeing a burglar breaking into a house, calls the police. Poor burglar! How can he work if people (some religious zealots, undoubtedly) instead than minding their own business have to intrude in his life making it harder than it already is? Ms Leon should move to Sicily, where her love for Omertà, for the "code of silence" would be much appreciated.
All Ms Leon's prejudices float in the usual and trite collection of oversimplified generalisations on Italy: nothing works, everything and everybody is corrupted, all TVs belongs to one man, the media are not independent, everybody is on a permanent strike, Northerners are racists, all cities but Venice are stuck in an everlasting traffic jam, the Church controls everything with a Mafia-like grip, several new Saints are made daily, football players are constantly arrested, and so on and so forth. The only good things in Italy are food, Commissario Brunetti and, of course, Venice (which should be dismantled and rebuilt in some Eastern European country, like Bosnia or Bulgaria, to save it from those barbaric Italians. At least, Eastern Europeans appreciate it...). If a similar picture was given on any developing country, Ms Leon would immediately be labelled as a hardcore, dyed-in-the-wool racist. But against Italy and the US (which - even having nothing to do with the novel - are repeatedly lashed upon) all is fair, right?
Rated by buyers 
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Simply wonderful as are all of her Brunetti mysteries. I've read them all and now am finally going to visit her beloved Venice. I hope it doesn't disappoint because her books sure don't
Rated by buyers 
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Like her other Brunetti novels, this slow paced story meanders along, revealing corruption and decay within the church, the government, the police, and just about every aspect of life in Venice -- The hero remains easy going and sarcastic. This series is very engaging because the hero and his family are so accepting of the decay around them, and just ignore it to get their jobs done. They are worried about what the influx of millions of Chinese tourists may do to their vernerable old city, but Brunetti solves yet another crime in spite of all the barriers in his way.
Rated by buyers 
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This isn't a very good effort by Leon. The plot is vague and unfocused. There's not much action. There's not much Venice. There's not much suspense or excitement. Hope Leon is not getting tired.
Rated by buyers -
In this 16th of the Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery series, the reader is led through a convoluted plot in which there are more questions than answers. In the middle of the night, Brunetti is summoned from a deep sleep to the hospital bed of a doctor who has been assaulted when his home was invaded and he was struck by a rifle [...] leaving him seriously hurt and unable to speak. The doctor's 18-month-old son was removed from the home.
In a separate plot line, Brunetti ands his staff are investigating the possibility of fraud on the part of pharmacists and doctors bilking the state of insurance money (see, it's not limited only to Medicare and Medicaid fraud in the United States). The question arises whether or not the two separate crimes are related.
In the casual style of a Brunetti investigation, the facts begin to unfold. And the story is told with the author's accustomed vivid portrayals of Venice, characterization, mystery and social views. Once again, Donna Leon has given us a novel to treasure. [It should also perhaps be noted that Ms. Leon's newest book, The Girl of His Dreams, has just been released in hardcover.] Highly recommended.
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