Wilful Behaviour

One of Leon's better ones, I think, in which a young student of Paola's is killed after inquiring about clearing her grandfather's record from after WWII. People are indeed wilful in this story: an old lady who can't help loving a truly despicable follower of Mussolini, that same despicable fellow's penchant for collecting art to the loss of those attempting to escape Italy during the war, a notario whose whole family is obsessed with greed - and so forth. The only thought I had aside from enjoyment of this very satisfying mystery is that Brunetti wouldn't have been able to solve any of this without the extraordinary clandestine skills and connections of Signorina Ekatterin

What can I say? A session in the company of Donna Leon and Commissario Brunetti is always one of undiluted pleasure for me, as I travel round Venice with them, sharing unbelievably appetising meals and frequent coffee stops. There's usually a pretty good yarn involved, and this is no exception. I read this tale involving a murdered student during a couple of train journeys and it blotted out the hacking cough of the bloke opposite, and the equally annoying sound system belting out from behind (The owner of said system can't have any hearing left if that amount of noise was leaking from it). Leon's tales are atmospheric, subtle and complex and I enjoyed meeting Claudia and Signora Jacobs among others. As ever, I believed in these show more characters.. show less

In this 11th installment of the Commissario Brunetti mysteries, this one starts with Guido's wife Paola presenting him with an odd question that had been posed to her by one of her students. Claudia Leonardo knew that Paola's husband was a policeman and asked if she could find out if there was a way legally to have a person who had been convicted and sentenced for a crime declared innocent.

When Paola posed the question, Guido hedged, stating that he had to know the nature of the crime before he could give any kind of valid answer. So Paola sent Claudia to visit Commissario Guido Brunetti at his office to pose the question herself. Claudia gives the barest facts and no names. Guido is intrigued but thinks no more of it until he finds show more that his newest murder victim is none other than Claudia Leonardo.

After tracking down those who may know why Claudia was killed, Guido discovers Nazi Collaborators with a stockpile of millions in art treasures. Interwoven is a minor tale of municipal corruption and bribery.

This one of absolutely fascinating up until the last few chapters. The ending was, IMO, a little anticlimactic but overall a very good read. show less

When one of the brightest of Paola’s students asks her a legal question she can’t answer, Paola agrees to ask her husband, Commissario Brunetti. The girl’s question has to do with the reputation of her grandfather, who was convicted for criminal behavior during World War II but died before serving his sentence. Brunetti isn’t able to give her an answer she wants to hear. Brunetti thinks no more about it, until the girl is found dead in her apartment from what was quite clearly murder.

I enjoyed this one a bit more than some of the other installments in the series because of Paola’s contribution. She knew the murder victim and her insights were helpful to her husband as he tried to make sense of the case. I’m also fond of show more mysteries that involve art or libraries, and this one had both. I wasn’t as fond of the new narrator for the audio version. He mispronounced Chiara’s name throughout the book. It looks like this might have been a one-off for this narrator. Maybe the regular narrator couldn’t fit this one into his schedule. show less

The fourth book ticked off my TBR challenge. It was an enjoyable read - I love Venice and the art-related crime was a bonus. Quite weirdly this is the week that the digital version of Entarte Kunst was placed online by the V&A and a copy of the New York Times had a front page article about tracing the owners of looted art in France (perhaps because of the Monument Men movie? or just serendipity?) The solution was satisfyingly unexpected; the victims were not just ciphers but people one cared about; Brunetti and his wife and colleagues have the same kind of complicated lives we all live, and all through the book there was a palpable sense of the real Venice. But what I enjoyed most were the brief discussions about how great literature show more (in this case Henry James) explores and expresses the essential concerns of humanity such as honour and familial love. Great crime, absorbing characterisation and narrative, and a dash of intellectual stimulation. Yay. show less

11th in the Commissario Brunetti series set in Venice, Italy.

A young woman, one of Paola’s students, approaches Paola after class with an odd question: since Paola’s husband is a policeman, the student wants to know if there is any legal process by which a person who has already died can be declared innocent of a crime for which he was convicted and sentenced. Paola dutifully asks Guido; he, of course, can not answer so vague a question. Claudia, the young student, visits Brunetti at the Questura and gives him more details, enough so that Brunetti is intrigued, and begins privately inquiring about Claudia’s grandfather; Brunetti discovers that the grandfather was an antiquarian who is believed to have acquired priceless art show more treasures during the war from desperate people, mostly Jews, who sold them for a pittance in order to escape Europe. Before Brunetti can learn much more, Claudia is found murdered.

Leon almost always includes as an integral part of her plots some social issue, which she uses extremely well as a device to give added interest to the story and to illuminate a societal condition. The disappearance of art collections, both into the hands of the Nazis and into private ones as well, is a phenomenon that has reverberations to this day, as heirs of the original owners try to recover art works that were either stolen or coerced from their relatives during World War II. In addition, Leon gives glimpses, through Brunetti’s and Paola’s family histories, of some of the horrors of the Italian participation in World War II and the current national amnesia on the subject. It’s an absorbing matrix for the plot.

By this time, Leon’s fans are well acquainted with her recurring characters, who are the strongest elements of the books. Particularly well done is Brunetti’s family--Paola and his teen-age children, Raffi and Chiara. There is a particularly hilarious scene at the dinner table when the kids make the mistake of asking for cell phones. Vianello has finally received his promotion to Inspector, and Brunetti’s father-in-law, Count Falier, has another of his trade mark appearances.

The plot is very good and the writing is strong. It does take a little time to get the story going, but after that it’s absorbing if not a page-turner. “Justice” is served Italian style at the end; there is no such thing as a clean resolution in modern Venice.

While the book is not among Leon’s best installments in the series, it is still well worth reading if only for the history. Highly recommended. show less

Guido Brunetti is back again. He is walking and thinking. While he investigates a young woman's murder, he goes home to spend time with Paola, his wife. Not to go unnoticed are the good meals she cooks. Her literary thoughts and food lead him back to the watery streets of Venice. As Guido Brunetti explores what he discovers, we meet the neighbors. One person is very eccentric. For Signorina Jacobs, there is cigarettes and Art. She bothers no one. She lives one day at a time. If you thinks she has not lived, think about World War II and do as Guido Brunetti does, look at her wall of photos. She is also an adopted Grandmother. The love story is there. Where? On the wall.

Who did it is not easy to figure out. The ending is a wowser. How show more Brunetti put all the pieces together is mind staggering. Waiting to see what he is up to next makes your heart beat faster. Donna Leon is a Master Mystery Author. Never leave her until you finish her. show less