Donna
Leon's Earthly Remains is the latest installment
of the Commissario Brunetti police procedural novels that
take place in contemporary Venice and its environs. As with
all her previous novels, Donna Leon presents a view of Venetian
life that is different from the vision presented to tourists
visiting Venice. In this glamorized tourist paradise, crime
does occur and Guido Brunetti sets out to solve the crimes,
while dealing with the realities of living and working in
Venice today.
In this installment, Brunetti feigns a heart attack during
an interview with suspect regarding a suspicious death. As
a result, he is granted a leave of absence to recuperate even
though the doctors find nothing wrong with him. He decides
to take time off to be alone and relax in a villa in one of
the Venetian lagoon islands. In due course, there is another
unrelated suspicious death of a man that leads Brunetti on
a quest to determine the cause of the death.
This release brings out the shadier side of Venetian-based
economic activity, and the personal and ecological consequences
of questionable business practices. The daily nuances of living
and working in Venetian islands are described with details
that reveal Leon's deep knowledge and appreciation of local
Venetian life and mores, creating for the reader insights
rarely available to the American public.
Donna Leon’s novels are character driven. Leone takes
the reader through daily pulse of life as Brunetti works his
way around the Venetian lagoon islands to solve the crime.
The sounds, smells and local cuisine of Venice still jump
out of the pages, creating a variable treat to the senses
that sets this and all her novels apart from the typical contemporary
crime novels.
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
Earthly
Remains #26
|
