Donna Leon's First Detective (Commissario) Brunetti crime story and a perfect place to start. A fine, tight murder investigation leads to a satisfying end. Great characterization and wonderful sense of place- Venice. Read this and go on to read the rest. A delightful feature is the sprinkling of Italian language and culture- not too such and not too little. I think the author knows how to cook.
James Pope ( )

Death at La Fenice is the first of Donna Leon's series featuring Guido Brunetti, a commissario of in the Venice police department. One evening Brunetti is called to the La Fenice opera house - world-famous conductor Maestro Helmut Wellauer has been found dead at the intermission of the inaugural performance. Wellauer was a musical genius, but not a well-loved one. To find the killer, Brunetti must sort through the suspects, including the much-younger widow, the lead soprano, the soprano's beautiful and wealthy partner, the opera's director, and a woman from Wellauer's past.

I enjoyed this book, but I had really hoped to love it. One of my LT friends lists this as among her favorite books, and because our tastes in mysteries are so close I figured I would love it as much as she does. However, I think my expectations were too high. I found a beautifully written book with wonderfully well-drawn characters (including Venice, a character in and of herself), but a pretty light mystery. I had a good idea of the reason for the murder about two-thirds of the way through the book. There wasn't too much suspense, nor was there a great puzzle to work out. However, as I said, the characters are wonderful. I am hopeful that because this is the first book of the series, Leon is laying the groundwork so that she can build some great mysteries in the series. I will keep reading the series, as I find the characters and setting intriguing - I am hopeful that the mysteries become just as intriguing. ( )

Enjoyable read for anyone who loves traditional, old-fashioned murder mysteries (e.g., Sherlock Holmes, Josephine Tey). Good character development - requires some patience for those accustomed to page-turning thrillers, but the detail allows the author to paint a vivid picture of the city and civilian life in Venice. ( )

This is the first novel in a mystery series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice police force. This is a good introduction to the series with an interesting story and well developed characters that come to life for the reader. The story revolves around the victim, a world renowned music conductor who is murdered between acts of a performance of La Traviata. One of the reasons that this book appealed to me so much was because I spent a week in Venice when I was in college and saw a performance of La Traviata at the opera house while I was there. The atmosphere of the book brought back many memories. I remember vividly walking the winding streets (sometimes getting lost!) and riding gondolas on the canals and as I read I felt almost like I was there once again it seemed so familiar. Highly recommended—4 stars ( )

The mystery, first in a series starring Venetian detective Guido Brunetti, has a likable lead. The plot was not terribly complicated, but satisfying enough. However, the story gets stuck on cliches -- a vain, incompetent boss; a self-indulgent cultural critic; a doctor with a leftist social conscience -- that appear more as types than individuals. Enjoyable, but not compelling. ( )