A Commissario Brunetti novel by Donna Leon
When workmen discover a badly decomposed body in a macabre grave in the
gardens of a deserted farmhouse in the Dolomites, Commissario Guido Brunetti is
called in to look into the case.
The victim is conclusively identified as the son of an aristocratic
Venetian family who has been missing since his abduction two years previously.
Donna Leon exposes the corruption that lies behind the stunning beauty of Venice. |
Brunetti goes to the family’s villa to try to find out more about the
background of the victim and immediately notices a small detail about the gates
that had been overlooked by the officers who had investigated the kidnapping at
the time.
In this seventh novel to feature Commissario Guido Brunetti, Donna Leon
gives us an intriguing mystery that is set against the backdrop of a glamorous, but corrupt Venice.
Brunetti has to tread carefully because the important family are still
grieving for their abducted son, but he is determined to uncover the truth and
give the victim the justice he deserves.
Readers are treated to interesting details about Venice and the culinary
delights of the city that are enjoyed by the Brunetti family along the way,
by the author, who is a long term resident of the city.
But the grim truth uncovered by Brunetti in the closing pages stops this
novel from becoming just another predictable crime story that takes place in a beautiful
setting.