First
Sentence: It had been a tedious Monday, much of it spent
with the written witness statements about a fight between
two taxi drivers that had sent one of them to the hospital
with a concussion and a broken right arm.
Someone is stealing pages from some rare books as well as
stealing whole books as well from a prestigious library in
Venice. Their one possible witness is an ex-priest who has
been coming to the library for years. It quickly becomes clear
to Commissario Guido Brunetti that the man for whom they are
looking is an American professor with credentials from an
American university. Not only do they discover the credentials
are false, but that other libraries in Italy have suffered
losses as well.
This is truly a book that bibliophiles will love. Yet it is
one that will occasionally make a bibliophile cringe. There
is a wonderful description of old, handmade books.
It is nice to not always start with a murder, but to let the
story build. That takes a truly confident writer. But be patient;
the murder will come.
Comm. Guido Brunetti is such an excellent and appealing character.
He is well aware of the corruption and graft within the government
and the police department. Yet he believes in his job and
works to bring justice. One wonderful thing about Leon’s
writing is that her characters are anything but one dimensional.
Brunetti’s family is just as much a part of the series
as is he. For those who have followed the series, it’s
nice to see how relationships have evolved. However, even
for new readers, there is enough history provided that one
never feels as though they are missing something.
Leon is an incredibly intelligent author. The things one learns,
on a variety of subjects, are nearly as interesting as the
mystery. She makes the reader curious to look thinks up and
to know more. She provides small statements that make you
think, and sometimes question the way you’ve thought…”It’s
more important to understand people than to forgive them.”
By Its Cover is an excellent and rather unusual mystery
with an eyebrow-raising twist in the plot.
Reviews of other titles in this series
Death
At La Fenice
#1
Death
and Judgment #4
Drawing
Conclusions #20
Beastly
Things #21
The
Golden Egg #22
By
Its Cover #23
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