Friends in High Places

Donna Leon's sweetly cynical Venetian cop Brunetti has his principles, but is always prepared to bend them a little, to appeal to his own Friends in High Places. When bureaucrat Rossi starts to investigate whether his apartment in a historic building has any right to exist, he and his wife start to look for leverage;

At no time did it occur to him, as it did not occur to Paola, to approach the matter legally, to find out the names of the proper offices and officials and the proper steps to follow ... Venetians ignored them, knowing that the only way to deal with problems like this was by means of acquaintances, friendships, contacts and debts built up over a lifetime.

When Rossi rings him at his office, seeking help, and is found dead under some scaffolding, Brunetti feels a particular obligation to find out whether he fell, or was thrown. His investigations take him to the heart of corruption, to money lenders and officials and drug dealers and petty thugs, and to solutions and resolutions that are only ever going to be partial. Brunetti is an attractive detective because he has a human preparedness to make compromises and a judicious sense of when it is morally appropriate, and when it is not. And as always in this excellent and popular series, the true protagonist is the city of Venice, its buildings and its weather and its smells. --Roz Kaveney

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Public Corruption and Personal Values - Rated
If you've liked the Guido Brunetti mysteries, you will probably feel that this is one of the best in the series.

What's it all about? Commissario Guido Brunetti meets an honest public official, and crime follows as those who cheat and admire cheaters seek to remain hidden from honest men.

If that's all this book represented, it would be but an average mystery. Ms. Donna Leon adds a more intriguing element to the story: Corrupt practices breed more corruption . . . both of the heart and of the pocket book. To make the story more effective, she places Guido and Paola Brunetti in the middle of temptations that he isn't able to resist.

In Venice, the Ufficio Catasto is in charge of approving building plans and being sure they are faithfully carried out. As in many cities, homeowners try to avoid extra taxes by keeping improvements hidden from the government. Franco Rossi arrives from the Ufficio Catasto to ask Guido if he has the plans for his apartment. Why? The Ufficio Catasto has no record of plans or permits for the apartment.

What does this mean? Guido may have to pay a large fine; he may have to make substantial changes in the apartment; or he may have to demolish the apartment. None of those choices seem attractive. What about using a little influence to avoid the problem? That temptation dangles before the Brunettis throughout the story.

But they are not the only ones who have such challenges -- Vice-Questore Patta also has the need for some help with public matters. Guido finds himself placed in the middle of that moral choice as well.

During the course of the story, Guido also learns about other unpleasant parts of the underbelly of Venice "civilization" that lurks beneath the beautiful exterior that the tourists love to admire.

It's a powerful story that will leave you seeing Venice differently than you have before.

Enjoy!

A Parson's egg - Rated
Sadly this should have been a wonderful book but i'm always disapointed when things are written in specific locations. Never having been to Venice, yes it's interesting to read about the places and, obviously Donna Leon has done her homework, but it leaves me rather cold.

When asked if he liked his boiled egg, the parson replied, it's good in places. this is how i feel.

highly readable - Rated
it's obviously true, the rich are different from the rest of us. inspector brunetti's wife is the daughter of several centuries of italian nobility and so their problems have the potential to be much more expensive. taking a hefty side-swipe at public corruption and private hypocrisy, this is brunetti in excellent form.

mystery writing turning towards Henry James - Rated
Donna Leon seems to be at par with none less than Maugham and Graham Greene. IN UK, USA and Scandinavia crime and mystery are today often pretexts for great writing, where mood dominate.

In literature - as in telecommunications - it is not at all easy to distinguish between noise and signal.

Besides the moody Henry James Donna Leon occasionally brings to mind even Checkhov - ostensibly small tales, everything understated, but the bottom line is deep compassion towards everything imperfect, like people and life.

I loved it! My first Leon novel but certainly not my last. - Rated
I agree with all the previous comments. Brunetti is now an old friend whose family life is as much a part of the plot as the case he's investigating. His wife has the perfect job to make her interesting with all of the references to the classics and her attempts to get her detective husband to read more. Brunetti's secretary will become more important I'm sure. She's a great character who could be the heroine of a novel of her own. I'm dying to read more!