First
Sentence: It was a peaceful night at the Brunetti home,
and dinner progressed in harmony
Comm.
Guido Brunetti is asked by his boss to look into a minor violation
possibly being committed by his future daughter-in-law. But
it is Brunetti’s wife’s request that has more
significance. The handicapped man at their dry cleaner has
died of an apparent suicide and she feels it’s sad that
no one knew anything about him. As Brunetti begins to investigate,
he finds the man has no recorded history of being alive and
the mother refuses to speak to the police but claims his papers
were stolen. Who really was this man, and who might have wanted
him dead.
Leon
has a way of describing things so you clearly see them and
so you feel the emotions of the characters. It’s lovely
when an author doesn’t assume the reader has been following
the series from the beginning. Leon starts off with an excellent
introduction to Brunetti and his family.
The characters
are fully developed and what truly bring the books to life.
How refreshing to have a protagonist who works well with his
colleagues and empathetic to those around him. He understands
the idiosyncrasies of Italian law and politics…"Upstairs,
Brunetti opened the online pages of Il Fatto Quotidiano, a
newspaper which often delighted him by its manifest distrust
of every political party, every politician, and every religious
leader.", yet does his best to do his job, often with
the help of Signorina Elettra, "...a buccaneer utterly
without respect for rules or regulations." He also has
a close, loving and intelligent family who love to eat good
food, the descriptions of which are mouth-watering.
Leon
not only writes dialogue with subtle humor, but she asks philosophical
questions that make you think. She is an intelligent writer
who uses thoughts well…”Here he was again, assuming
that what he thought was what other people must surely think;
that his judgments must have universal validity.” She
does, occasionally, send the reader searching out a dictionary.
Her simple observations often catch you offguard…"Poor
people had grandparents; the rich had ancestors." Her
observation on how children learn is fascinating.
The
Golden Egg is a police procedural, but it is also a commentary
on society and people. Although it is not a crime story in
the usual sense, it is a crime of inhumanity, cruelty and
ignorance. The story is fascinating and completely involving
with an excellent revelation.
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
The
Waters of Eternal Youth #25
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