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Commissario Brunetti #19
A Question of Belief
Donna Leon's best-selling series featuring the principled, warm-hearted Venetian Commissario Guido Brunetti has won her countless fans, critical acclaim, and international renown as one of the world's best crime writers. In A Question of Belief, Brunetti must contend with ingenious corruption, bureaucratic intransigence, and the stifling heat of a Venetian summer. With his hometown beset by hordes of tourists and baking under a glaring sun, Brunetti's greatest wish is to go to the mountains with his family, where he can sleep under a down comforter and catch up on his reading. But before he can go on vacation, a folder with court records has landed on his desk, brought by an old friend. It appears that cases at the local court—hardly known as a model of efficiency—are being delayed to the benefit of one of the parties. A creative new trick for corrupting the system, perhaps, but what can Brunetti do about it? And just when it looks like Brunetti will be able to get away, a shocking, violent crime forces him to stay in Venice. This is a stellar addition to Leon's celebrated series: atmospheric, packed with excellent characters, and building to an explosive, indelible ending.
262 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
1468 people are currently reading
2055 people want to read
About the author
Donna Leon
107 books2,913 followersDonna Leon (born September 29, 1942, in Montclair, New Jersey) is an American author of a series of crime novels set in Venice and featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti.
Donna Leon has lived in Venice for over twenty-five years. She has worked as a lecturer in English Literature for the University of Maryland University College - Europe (UMUC-Europe) in Italy, then as a Professor from 1981 to 1999 at the american military base of Vicenza (Italy) and a writer.
Her crime novels are all situated in or near Venice. They are written in English and translated into many foreign languages, although not, by her request, into Italian. Her ninth Brunetti novel, Friends in High Places, won the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger in 2000.
Series:
* Commissario Brunetti
Donna Leon has lived in Venice for over twenty-five years. She has worked as a lecturer in English Literature for the University of Maryland University College - Europe (UMUC-Europe) in Italy, then as a Professor from 1981 to 1999 at the american military base of Vicenza (Italy) and a writer.
Her crime novels are all situated in or near Venice. They are written in English and translated into many foreign languages, although not, by her request, into Italian. Her ninth Brunetti novel, Friends in High Places, won the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger in 2000.
Series:
* Commissario Brunetti
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 625 reviews
December 5, 2010
Hmmm. I'm having trouble deciding between Guido Brunetti, Venetian Commissario, and my earlier hero, Quebec's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, from the Louise Penny series - who is my current favorite? Both middle-aged (okay, older middle-aged), sensitive, kind, and brilliant at solving the crimes they encounter. Both able to admit to mistakes, both mentoring younger colleagues. It's a great (library) world we live in, where we can tramp the snowy woods of Quebec, and, a week later, steam in the hot August canals of Venice. I guess I'm free to love 'em both! Brunetti leads us through the corrupt halls of Venetian government, with help from the ever-cool-and-composed, computer-savvy Signorina Elettra, who taps her sources (human and electronic) to ferret out the secrets of the rich and famous. A great read!
October 14, 2019
‘…deceit does have its uses: without it, and without betrayal, there would be no literature.’
As Venice suffers in a stifling heatwave Commissario Bruetti at the Questura is looking forward to spending the Ferragosto holidays with his family at a cottage high in the Alps, wearing sweaters and the warmth of a log fire at night. (Note: it is easy to forget – if I ever remembered – that the lagoon enclosing Venice and its canals lies at the northern end of the Adriatic, and is closer to Slovenia and Croatia than it is to the rest of Italy).
Before he goes on leave the commissario is confronted with two issues: a senior staffer at the Commune brings him papers from the Tribunale di Venezia that suggest judicial manipulation of cases through documents being mislaid or lodged incomplete, leading to delays which could affect the outcome, attributed to a certain judge and a clerk. Then, his assistant Ispettore Vianello, shares his concerns over the behaviour of his own aunt, a sensible woman now immersing herself in horoscopes and alternate medicine, who is making regular cash withdrawals from the bank which affects the family business. Brunetti agrees to discrete surveillance, and with the assistance of two young police officers, trails her to a house. Then, as Brunetti and Vianello set off on vacation, both are recalled by a murder: that of the clerk, Fontana from the Tribunale, in the courtyard of the apartment building he shares with his widowed mother.
This is the second Guido Brunetti mystery I have read, and am enjoying the series. The tempo is relaxed – excessive violence supplanted by irony – as the capable and honest detectives try their best in the face of a country (and culture) renowned for its chicanery. For the dubious activities or scam perpetrated against Vianello’s aunt, Brunetti calls upon his mother-in-law, the delightful la contessa Donnatella.
‘Do you have proof that this person is a charlatan?’
‘He has a long history of dishonesty.’
‘Ah,’ she whispered, ‘not unlike our own dear leaders.’
With the murder, attention is drawn to the victim’s family, the neighbours, and his associates at the Tribunale, with Brunetti reflecting that: The business of the law was not to discover the truth…but imposition of the power of the state upon its citizens.
Ultimately the villain is undone by contradicting evidence and coincidence, but I liked the way it remained unfinished business, as evidence stayed out of reach and the guilty drifted away.
As Venice suffers in a stifling heatwave Commissario Bruetti at the Questura is looking forward to spending the Ferragosto holidays with his family at a cottage high in the Alps, wearing sweaters and the warmth of a log fire at night. (Note: it is easy to forget – if I ever remembered – that the lagoon enclosing Venice and its canals lies at the northern end of the Adriatic, and is closer to Slovenia and Croatia than it is to the rest of Italy).
Before he goes on leave the commissario is confronted with two issues: a senior staffer at the Commune brings him papers from the Tribunale di Venezia that suggest judicial manipulation of cases through documents being mislaid or lodged incomplete, leading to delays which could affect the outcome, attributed to a certain judge and a clerk. Then, his assistant Ispettore Vianello, shares his concerns over the behaviour of his own aunt, a sensible woman now immersing herself in horoscopes and alternate medicine, who is making regular cash withdrawals from the bank which affects the family business. Brunetti agrees to discrete surveillance, and with the assistance of two young police officers, trails her to a house. Then, as Brunetti and Vianello set off on vacation, both are recalled by a murder: that of the clerk, Fontana from the Tribunale, in the courtyard of the apartment building he shares with his widowed mother.
This is the second Guido Brunetti mystery I have read, and am enjoying the series. The tempo is relaxed – excessive violence supplanted by irony – as the capable and honest detectives try their best in the face of a country (and culture) renowned for its chicanery. For the dubious activities or scam perpetrated against Vianello’s aunt, Brunetti calls upon his mother-in-law, the delightful la contessa Donnatella.
‘Do you have proof that this person is a charlatan?’
‘He has a long history of dishonesty.’
‘Ah,’ she whispered, ‘not unlike our own dear leaders.’
With the murder, attention is drawn to the victim’s family, the neighbours, and his associates at the Tribunale, with Brunetti reflecting that: The business of the law was not to discover the truth…but imposition of the power of the state upon its citizens.
Ultimately the villain is undone by contradicting evidence and coincidence, but I liked the way it remained unfinished business, as evidence stayed out of reach and the guilty drifted away.
August 30, 2016
An August occurring Venetian tale that sizzles- and steams. The air is so heavy with heat that all our favorite characters are moving through it like treading water. And what a better time to read this one than in August, as well. (Mostly in the warm rain and swimming nearly every day in a cool 72 degrees lake- but definitely out of the A.C.) During my childhood and youth I lived in over 110 degree temperature dormers with no A.C., btw. Like Paola and some characters here, my Italians also thought A.C. was decadent.
Guido is off to go to the mountains with his family. The train with all of them aboard has actually pulled out. He's more than half way there. But Paola and kids are transferred to their connection without him. Because he is pulled back by the telefono after half a day's travel. A murder has occurred and he is needed back in the sweltering city (Venice). Just when he was dreaming about bonfires and needing a nice cashmere sweater, on top of it.
Nearly everyone is on holiday. But not his most trusted mortician. Lucky for him. His partner returns to the job, as well. Signorina Elletra figures central to this one. She is one of the few left and using hers (and others as well) database systems to get to the story of all the past associates to this brutal bashing crime.
There is an immensely interesting to me under plot too in this series novel #19. IMMENSELY interesting! Because it has to do with a friend's Mother being conned out of her savings and equity. And this also includes pay for play and price fixing on rental apartments. Incredible to pay 450 Euros per month on this kind of spectacular space and location! And are all these details connected? How far would a Matriarch go to have that address of "honor" and superior placement?
And what superstition or trust to a cure or an improvement is the flimflam man promising. Would Guido even dare ask his patrician Mother-in-law for an approach to pretend that she needs "help" or succor and provide a visit to this venue for him, in his stead? She's NOT on vacation. And her apartment is cool as the Cattedrale of huge spaces and thick walls, despite being filled with light from floor to ceiling windows. Yes, he would. And she actually says yes. (Would that require acting ability!)
I loved this one. One of the three best out of the 12 or so I've read. Patta is not gone away. Of course.
Also Guido is stuck with no food in the refrigerator (Paola knew they would be gone for 3 weeks) so he calls and gets direction on how to make a sauce with just olives and the remaining ingredients in the dry stuffs cabinet. Plus some onions stored for long term use. Spectacular!
The crime has some real twists and the funeral of the deceased harbors a large clue. Guido and Elletra turn some inquiries into solid leads. And Guido solves both the murder reality and gets the pay for play and the helping con man out of business in their respective locations. But not before a real tragedy with one of the long term characters in the Forensics lab.
Oh yes, they admit that the back canals stink in the summer heat.
Guido does end up catching a train and being in the cool for some period of time.
Once again too, some extremely acute Italian mothers in this one! And also some Italians that are definitely NOT lady killers in their love lives.
Guido is off to go to the mountains with his family. The train with all of them aboard has actually pulled out. He's more than half way there. But Paola and kids are transferred to their connection without him. Because he is pulled back by the telefono after half a day's travel. A murder has occurred and he is needed back in the sweltering city (Venice). Just when he was dreaming about bonfires and needing a nice cashmere sweater, on top of it.
Nearly everyone is on holiday. But not his most trusted mortician. Lucky for him. His partner returns to the job, as well. Signorina Elletra figures central to this one. She is one of the few left and using hers (and others as well) database systems to get to the story of all the past associates to this brutal bashing crime.
There is an immensely interesting to me under plot too in this series novel #19. IMMENSELY interesting! Because it has to do with a friend's Mother being conned out of her savings and equity. And this also includes pay for play and price fixing on rental apartments. Incredible to pay 450 Euros per month on this kind of spectacular space and location! And are all these details connected? How far would a Matriarch go to have that address of "honor" and superior placement?
And what superstition or trust to a cure or an improvement is the flimflam man promising. Would Guido even dare ask his patrician Mother-in-law for an approach to pretend that she needs "help" or succor and provide a visit to this venue for him, in his stead? She's NOT on vacation. And her apartment is cool as the Cattedrale of huge spaces and thick walls, despite being filled with light from floor to ceiling windows. Yes, he would. And she actually says yes. (Would that require acting ability!)
I loved this one. One of the three best out of the 12 or so I've read. Patta is not gone away. Of course.
Also Guido is stuck with no food in the refrigerator (Paola knew they would be gone for 3 weeks) so he calls and gets direction on how to make a sauce with just olives and the remaining ingredients in the dry stuffs cabinet. Plus some onions stored for long term use. Spectacular!
The crime has some real twists and the funeral of the deceased harbors a large clue. Guido and Elletra turn some inquiries into solid leads. And Guido solves both the murder reality and gets the pay for play and the helping con man out of business in their respective locations. But not before a real tragedy with one of the long term characters in the Forensics lab.
Oh yes, they admit that the back canals stink in the summer heat.
Guido does end up catching a train and being in the cool for some period of time.
Once again too, some extremely acute Italian mothers in this one! And also some Italians that are definitely NOT lady killers in their love lives.
September 4, 2010
My first Brunetti mystery and I can see the appeal. A solid mystery by a thoughtful detective,layered with the timeless struggle of being an ethical man surrounded by a corrupt and antiquated civil infrastructure in Italy. His solace - his family and books. Leon writes an leisure mystery, well paced, and perfect for calming mental visit to Italy. This installment focuses on the key issues of gender & other beliefs, challenging the most ardent Italian constitution.
July 24, 2020
Another fun read in this series. This time, Commissario Brunetti faces two challenges: His colleague Vianello's aunt is giving large sums of money to a mysterious man, and a clerk at the courts is killed. And because of the murder, he has to come back to Venice before he can even reach the spot where the rest of the family is vacationing and getting away from the brutal heat of the Venice summer. By the end, everything is known, but there may be proof problems. Donna Leon has done this before in this series, and it works again this time.
September 6, 2012
I was a bit disappointed with this book. There was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. Also, about a quarter of the book was devoted to describing the heat of summer in Venice, which, as a reader dealing with 100+F temperatures in Texas, wasn't something I really wanted to hear so much about.
There are two cases, one involving a murder and the other a fortuneteller, but I never really felt like part of the investigation. There was a distance in the storytelling that kept me from getting involved with the storyline, almost to the point where I had to go back and re-read sections to try to remember who was who.
This has been a fantastic series so I'm hoping the next book will be better. This wasn't the Brunetti I've enjoyed so much over the years.
There are two cases, one involving a murder and the other a fortuneteller, but I never really felt like part of the investigation. There was a distance in the storytelling that kept me from getting involved with the storyline, almost to the point where I had to go back and re-read sections to try to remember who was who.
This has been a fantastic series so I'm hoping the next book will be better. This wasn't the Brunetti I've enjoyed so much over the years.
August 30, 2012
As opposed to most of my "reviews," based on reading and teaching over four decades, the Leon books I have not read but heard aloud (and in person, not from a tape or CD). They are filled with the complexities of Italy where a relative has lived for two decades: arrogant and expensive ruling class bureaucracy, the North-South divide (beginning at Rome!), justice as nearly impossible because of the interstices of power, the Court system biased through political connections and national prejudices (cf Amanda Knox), etc etc. No wonder Leon does not allow her novels translated into Italian, a telling and appalling state of affairs.
A Question of Belief is simply the most recent of our aloudread Leons. It does not dissapoint, though there are somewhat fewer Brunetti domestic scenes--always revelatory--because his family has gone "alle montagne" to avoid the heat. I cannot imagine heat in Venice, where I have lived mostly in
March, several times, to research my Worlds of Giordano Bruno. The cross-section of residents (and neighbors of the victim) living in proximity despite differing financial access is interesting, as is Brunetti's research of the tidal waters for the source of the body--or maybe I'm thinking of another one.
It's been four months since I read/ heard it.
A Question of Belief is simply the most recent of our aloudread Leons. It does not dissapoint, though there are somewhat fewer Brunetti domestic scenes--always revelatory--because his family has gone "alle montagne" to avoid the heat. I cannot imagine heat in Venice, where I have lived mostly in
March, several times, to research my Worlds of Giordano Bruno. The cross-section of residents (and neighbors of the victim) living in proximity despite differing financial access is interesting, as is Brunetti's research of the tidal waters for the source of the body--or maybe I'm thinking of another one.
It's been four months since I read/ heard it.
May 12, 2019
I have been slowly making my way through Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series and A Question of Belief is the 19th book in the series. I always enjoy Leon's books and I love reading about Brunetti and the author's descriptions of Venice. For me, A Question of Belief was not her strongest effort. I struggled getting into the plot and I found both cases to be somewhat lackluster. I still enjoy Leon's writing but I just didn't enjoy this one as much. I'm hoping the next book, book 20, will be better!
August 23, 2011
Ms. Leon has written, as of 2010, nineteen books in this series. It is my intention to read every one of those nineteen titles. At this point I have now read six of them. Only thirteen left. So, what is it about these stories that I find so appealing, you might ask? I have given this some thought and what follows is my conclusions about why I find these stories so appealing.
First and foremost, the central character in all of these stories is Commissario Guido Brunetti. I find him so believable and so admirable as a seasoned detective navigating the byways of Venice and the many dark sides of humanity that he encounters there. He is a “shrewd, principled detective, who knows that justice and apprehension of a criminal aren’t always the same thing” (from the book jacket).
Another reason I like these books as much as I do is the fact that Leon includes in each of these stories a view of Guido as a family man, which is not a common state of being in most novels in this genre. The Brunetti family and their extended family members makes for a lighter and more charming element in these tales. .
The sites, sounds and smells of the city of Venice bring life and character to these novels. Leon, probably because she resides there, brings to the reader a sense of the Venetian culture and in the process makes one feel, at the conclusion of one of these books, as though you have just come back from a visit to the canal city.
In this installment, Brunetti is looking forward to spending two weeks in the mountains with his family and away from the torturous heat of the summers in Venice. He makes it to his destination only to be called back to the city to investigate a murder. He also is looking into a little matter of corruption in the local judiciary and in assisting his colleague in investigating a possible charlatan who maybe taking advantage of the colleague’s aunt.
I am grateful to my fellow book club member who recommended that we read one of Leon’s early creations in this series. I very much enjoy visiting with Brunetti and his cohorts every chance that I get.
First and foremost, the central character in all of these stories is Commissario Guido Brunetti. I find him so believable and so admirable as a seasoned detective navigating the byways of Venice and the many dark sides of humanity that he encounters there. He is a “shrewd, principled detective, who knows that justice and apprehension of a criminal aren’t always the same thing” (from the book jacket).
Another reason I like these books as much as I do is the fact that Leon includes in each of these stories a view of Guido as a family man, which is not a common state of being in most novels in this genre. The Brunetti family and their extended family members makes for a lighter and more charming element in these tales. .
The sites, sounds and smells of the city of Venice bring life and character to these novels. Leon, probably because she resides there, brings to the reader a sense of the Venetian culture and in the process makes one feel, at the conclusion of one of these books, as though you have just come back from a visit to the canal city.
In this installment, Brunetti is looking forward to spending two weeks in the mountains with his family and away from the torturous heat of the summers in Venice. He makes it to his destination only to be called back to the city to investigate a murder. He also is looking into a little matter of corruption in the local judiciary and in assisting his colleague in investigating a possible charlatan who maybe taking advantage of the colleague’s aunt.
I am grateful to my fellow book club member who recommended that we read one of Leon’s early creations in this series. I very much enjoy visiting with Brunetti and his cohorts every chance that I get.
March 21, 2017
Commissario Guido Brunetti is a police official in Venice, Italy, working with his right-hand man, Ispettore Lorenzo Vianello. They open here with two problems. They are handed information which seems to implicate a judge in her choices of making delays in cases. There is also the personal problem of Vianello's aunt's behaving in financially dangerous ways for herself. Neither problem is technically police work, but they dig into both feeling some moral responsibility. Brunelli combines insight and experience, patience and calm, with good old gumshoe effort to determine what is going on. It probably goes without saying that something is going on. I love the character Elettra, that woman in every organization who is technically of insignificant power, but who, in actuality does a whole lot to make the organization function. I came to Brunelli through an observation that fans of Armand Gamache would like him. I adore Gamache and have read all but the last one, and this left me feeling like, with only a single book in the series under my belt, there is enough to make me look for more.
May 11, 2024
One of my favourites from this series for a number of reasons - the descriptions of a steamy hot August in Venice, a pair of plot lines that offer sadly convincing perspectives on human nature, Brunetti’s family are away on holiday so his police work and the relationships with his colleagues take a stronger focus.
Vianello’s aunt has become obsessed with horoscopes and he suspects she is victim of a fraudster - but how can they prove it? At the same time, a friend alerts Brunetti to discrepancies in the work of a dedicated civil servant at the courthouse. Before long, a murder takes place and Brunetti abandons his holiday to make sense of the contradictions in the case.
I always enjoy returning to Venice and seeing Brunetti pursue the truth despite the corruption and cynicism around him, and this was an excellent read.
Vianello’s aunt has become obsessed with horoscopes and he suspects she is victim of a fraudster - but how can they prove it? At the same time, a friend alerts Brunetti to discrepancies in the work of a dedicated civil servant at the courthouse. Before long, a murder takes place and Brunetti abandons his holiday to make sense of the contradictions in the case.
I always enjoy returning to Venice and seeing Brunetti pursue the truth despite the corruption and cynicism around him, and this was an excellent read.
January 9, 2021
This novel seems to simply be plodding along... way too hot to rush into a plot, a difficult Aunt, any murder investigation. Until, of course, the threads have slowly unraveled enough to solve the murder, manage the Aunt and appreciate the plot!!
June 29, 2024
Good sleuthing, lots of literary innuendo, family and office dynamics: Donna Leon writes for people who have wide literary experience. I love Commissario Brunetti
October 23, 2020
Vacation time looms on the horizon as Brunetti begins on unofficial investigation into the way Vianello's aunt spends her child's inheritance. Court postponements also captivate his attention when a friend informs him about a noticed irregularity. He finds these a welcome diversion from the lack of cases leading up to vacation and knows their unofficial status makes them easy to drop. He looks forward to escaping the Venice heat in a mountain setting, but before he reaches his destination, he receives a call. A murder connected to the court date irregularities occurred. Vianello also returns from his vacation to assist. Everyone describes the victim as "a good man," but someone hated him enough to commit murder. Is the motive work-related or linked to his personal life? It's another great installment in the series with David Colacci doing the narration. (3.5 stars)
July 11, 2024
Yes, I do have a crush on Commissario Brunetti. So much of my appreciation of him has to do with his demeanor; his Patience, how he thoughtfully questions people to elicit information, and the fact that he is so well read. Also, he doesn't allow himself to be corrupted by all that is going on around him. I don't think he would give me a second glance but in this book he seemed to spend some time giving his observations of people's sartorial choices. Mostly for women. Okay. Whatever.
This book was better than some of the other stories by Donna Leon. Funny, I'm in love with Brunetti but can barely tolerate the scoldings of his creator. Leon seems to have softened her approach to badgering people - No A/C!, limit hot showers! don't drive cars!. But in the end this is about solving crime and Brunetti dutifully returns from his holiday to do this. The heat in Venice matched the heat where I live (although I do use A/C) so this was a timely read.
Until the next book in the series... Ciao, Guido.
This book was better than some of the other stories by Donna Leon. Funny, I'm in love with Brunetti but can barely tolerate the scoldings of his creator. Leon seems to have softened her approach to badgering people - No A/C!, limit hot showers! don't drive cars!. But in the end this is about solving crime and Brunetti dutifully returns from his holiday to do this. The heat in Venice matched the heat where I live (although I do use A/C) so this was a timely read.
Until the next book in the series... Ciao, Guido.
March 9, 2014
As much as I enjoy the nice, familiar elements in Donna Leon's books such as describing Venice, the Italian way of life, Italian food and other wonderful little everyday details that Leon uses to create the unique atmosphere of her books, this time the edgy comments about Southern Italy were far too much for me.
Leon's comments have been irritating foreign people living in Southern Italy already for years, but her attitude is lately coming close from edgy to a clearly racists one. She's not 100% wrong, of course! But she is generalizing in an offensive way certain parts of Italy and that really disturbed my reading experience.
As I've been living in Italy for 17 years now myself, I certainly undesrtand the frustration one can feel when living in this country, but as I have been living in different parts of Italy (not only in the North) and seiing many different regions here , I at least understand that the truth is far more complicated than Leon tries to describe in her books. All the people living in Southern Italy are not villains as she seems to want to make us believe even through characters like Patta and Scarpa, not to mention other, minor characters and lines coming from the mouth of Brunetti and her wife and all the other characters. There are also a lot of positive, lovely things in the south even if she never mentions one.
It's a pity that Leon doesn't have a more complete and understanding point of view to whole Italy but she paints it in such a black and white colours. Because believe me, Italy is anything but black and white. I understand that for Leon it's easy to stick to her experiences and opinions in Veneto region, but that way she's not using all the potential that the wonderful Italy can offer both to an auther and to a reader. I would love to concentrate on the wonderful elements that Leon uses in her books, but if her attitude continues like this in the next books, I won't be reading them.
Leon's comments have been irritating foreign people living in Southern Italy already for years, but her attitude is lately coming close from edgy to a clearly racists one. She's not 100% wrong, of course! But she is generalizing in an offensive way certain parts of Italy and that really disturbed my reading experience.
As I've been living in Italy for 17 years now myself, I certainly undesrtand the frustration one can feel when living in this country, but as I have been living in different parts of Italy (not only in the North) and seiing many different regions here , I at least understand that the truth is far more complicated than Leon tries to describe in her books. All the people living in Southern Italy are not villains as she seems to want to make us believe even through characters like Patta and Scarpa, not to mention other, minor characters and lines coming from the mouth of Brunetti and her wife and all the other characters. There are also a lot of positive, lovely things in the south even if she never mentions one.
It's a pity that Leon doesn't have a more complete and understanding point of view to whole Italy but she paints it in such a black and white colours. Because believe me, Italy is anything but black and white. I understand that for Leon it's easy to stick to her experiences and opinions in Veneto region, but that way she's not using all the potential that the wonderful Italy can offer both to an auther and to a reader. I would love to concentrate on the wonderful elements that Leon uses in her books, but if her attitude continues like this in the next books, I won't be reading them.
May 16, 2019
While I sometimes read Donna Leon books as a "palate cleanser” between other books, I do not wish to imply that they are at all frivolous reads. Like the characters created by Taylor Sheridan in his movies Hell or High Water and Wind River, Commissario Brunetti is a character who seeks justice in a world where politics, money and influence trump the justice that should be administered by the courts/state. So while this is an entertaining series, it is also a thoughtful one. Recommended.
April 3, 2017
Don't read this book in the summer. The descriptions of the unbeatable heat of Venice made me perspire, even in March. What can I say about Commissario Guido Brunetti that hasn't been said? If you love him, you will read any book in the series. If you don't like him - abandon the series altogether. He's a wonderful character who grows more interesting as the series progresses.
December 10, 2019
Two fisherman have been murdered in a small maritime community near Venice. Signorina Elettra has a cousin who lives there, and decides to stay with her cousin and investigate informally, against Brunetti's better judgement. We get more insight into this enigmatic woman, so essential to the operation of the Questura, and the description of a furious storm at sea is mesmerizing.
September 20, 2021
Immer wieder schön ein Commissario Brunetti Buch zu lesen. Ist so ein bisschen, wie nach Hause kommen. Die Familie, die Kollegen, der idiotische Chef. Auch die Themen gefallen mir, sind menschlich, aktuell zeigen immer wieder Missstände auf.
May 28, 2010
Consistently high quality series! Great character development & culturally very interesting. I love learning about Venice & its inhabitants through this thoughtfully written detective series.
November 5, 2023
Sometimes you just have a visceral reaction to a book, it hums like a tuning fork in time with your own consciousness, and your experience a “harmonic convergence,” So with Ms. Leon’s 19th Commissario Brunetti outing…I love these books anyway, but in any series (esp. one this long!) some are “better” or more resonant to one’s taste, and A Question of Belief sucked me right into its pages, I was right there on the ground with Brunetti, Vianello, and Signorina Elettra. Together we visited the scenes, collated the facts, and made our surmises. Together we observed the trials and tribulations of the involved dramatis personae, and wove together the disparate threads of the several issues in question, seeing it through ‘til the answers revealed themselves…
Donna Leon has now given us 34 of these pearls of beauty, and I hope there many more oysters in the fertile seabed of her imagination. I’m already rationing myself so as not to run out of “the next one” anytime soon, but just when I craved a good read to buttress my spirits and soothe my soul, this little gem leapt into my hand, I’m so glad it did!
Donna Leon has now given us 34 of these pearls of beauty, and I hope there many more oysters in the fertile seabed of her imagination. I’m already rationing myself so as not to run out of “the next one” anytime soon, but just when I craved a good read to buttress my spirits and soothe my soul, this little gem leapt into my hand, I’m so glad it did!
April 16, 2025
A Question of Belief by Donna Leon is a stifling, melancholic entry in the Commissario Brunetti series, weighed down by the oppressive Venetian summer heat and a pervasive sense of futility. The novel follows Brunetti as he navigates two cases—a fraudulent spiritualist and a corrupt court official—but both investigations feel sluggish and unsatisfying, mirroring your sentiment of futility. The lack of consequences for the guilty, a recurring theme in Leon’s work, hits harder here, amplifying the book’s depressing tone. Compared to other Brunetti novels, this one lacks the usual balance of wit and moral complexity, making it a tougher, less engaging read. This installment leans too heavily into despair without the narrative payoff to justify it.
March 2, 2022
The focus of the series is Venice, giving a descriptive insight into the Italian lifestyle of the Venetian people. Commissario Brunetti is involved in two cases, a murder and a charlatan fortuneteller, during the brutal summer heat, which is variously described throughout the book. The plots were slow, flat, unrelated and not fully developed to make the mystery interesting. Donna Leon is an excellent writer, this story was as weary as the weather.
January 7, 2025
Donna Leon creates a multi layered and engrossing mystery series set in Venice. The characters are well defined, complex and engaging. The city of Venice Italy is a character within itself. Her presentation of the politics and dynamics within the government are an integral part of the plot. Clever humor throughout the book provides the icing on the cake.
January 17, 2025
3.5 the heat in Venice is getting to Brunetti and he really needs a vacation but alas there are crimes to investigate. A complicated scam involving Vianello’s aunt and a court employee who seems beholden to someone. A little disappointed by the number of loose ends left in this one - not in the sense that justice isn’t served which is often the case in Brunetti novels but that some of the plot lines ended up being left hanging completely.
March 26, 2020
Ένα αυθεντικό μεσογειακό νουάρ, γραμμένο από μια γυναίκα στη μαγευτική Βενετία!!! Θα συμπαθήσετε τη σινιορίνα Ελέτρα, την γραμματέα-χάκερ του τμήματος! Επιτέλους!! Κρίμα που μόνο δύο μυθιστορήματα της είναι μεταφρασμένα στα ελληνικά.
February 17, 2018
Real as life, [SPOILER] the corrupt ones win. ;-)
December 18, 2018
RATING: 3.25
March 24, 2022
It was a surprise ending for me.
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