turrean's review
4.0
Time in Venice with a Guido Brunetti mystery is time well-spent. In Beastly Things, Brunetti and his colleagues are investigating the mysterious death of a veterinarian whose body was dumped in a canal. They untangle a web of lies surrounding the slaughterhouses in the city.
lady_elle's review against another edition
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
richardpierce's review
5.0
If the last chapter doesn't make you cry you've got no soul, and that's not a spoiler. Sometimes the best plot isn't about who did it but how to prove they did it.
judenoseinabook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Subtle and thoughtful. The story is intricate and it is a while before the main plot emerges, and a realisation of the extent of the crimes. There is a scene in a slaughterhouse that is very graphic, not for the faint hearted, but otherwise Brunetti stories are.not usually all.action and guns blazing police dramas. They are thoughtful and full of moral and ethical questions. All the more realistic for that.
kezharri's review against another edition
Was boring tbf and the writing was too small adn the names were confusing
alysona's review
4.0
ARC provided by Netgalley.
I like the increasing amount on ethical issues in Leon's books, it gives the books the pleasure of genre reading but with a little more substance. As always the characters are great, but I wish there had been a little more food.
I like the increasing amount on ethical issues in Leon's books, it gives the books the pleasure of genre reading but with a little more substance. As always the characters are great, but I wish there had been a little more food.
cooeeaus's review
4.0
Once again Brunetti is on the trail of a killer. I love Donna Leon and her 'Guido'. Once again we meet all the characters of Venice, the Questura, Paola and children and follow Guido and team as they track down the bad persons.
If you haven't read this one yet, go and pick it up.
If you haven't read this one yet, go and pick it up.
perednia's review
4.0
The body of a man without identification but with a distinct medical condition is found in a canal. As Commissario Guido Brunetti discovers who the man was, and why he was killed, the well-loved Venetian policeman will have to address personal and professional issues.
Because the man has a condition that makes him stand out, Brunetti is able to identify him. The man was a veterinarian, separated from his wife and beloved son, and moonlighting at a slaughterhouse for financial reasons. So in addition to exploring other investigative avenues, Brunetti must talk to the people at the slaughterhouse. This comes as talk around home centers on unsafe food.
In a remarkable setpiece, Leon describes the tour Brunetti and Vianello take through the slaughterhouse after hours. It is gruesome but not graphic, and a master class in how to write about something utterly horrible without using extremely specific sights and actions.
The mystery of who killed the victim and why does not make a difficult case. But that is not the point of Leon's book. Nor is the point the theme so similar to Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.
Rather, it is widespread and so often accepted corruption in personal and private lives that forms the foundation to Beastly Things. Whether it's Brunetti relying on the highly capable Signorina Elettra to discover information he needs or the business of any business -- to make money -- there is little innocence in his world.
Beastly Things is yet another deceptively thoughtful mystery from Leon, who once again also brings to vivid life Brunetti's Venice and the commissario's wonderful family.
Because the man has a condition that makes him stand out, Brunetti is able to identify him. The man was a veterinarian, separated from his wife and beloved son, and moonlighting at a slaughterhouse for financial reasons. So in addition to exploring other investigative avenues, Brunetti must talk to the people at the slaughterhouse. This comes as talk around home centers on unsafe food.
In a remarkable setpiece, Leon describes the tour Brunetti and Vianello take through the slaughterhouse after hours. It is gruesome but not graphic, and a master class in how to write about something utterly horrible without using extremely specific sights and actions.
The mystery of who killed the victim and why does not make a difficult case. But that is not the point of Leon's book. Nor is the point the theme so similar to Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.
Rather, it is widespread and so often accepted corruption in personal and private lives that forms the foundation to Beastly Things. Whether it's Brunetti relying on the highly capable Signorina Elettra to discover information he needs or the business of any business -- to make money -- there is little innocence in his world.
Beastly Things is yet another deceptively thoughtful mystery from Leon, who once again also brings to vivid life Brunetti's Venice and the commissario's wonderful family.
deborama's review
3.0
I am giving this a lower than normal rating for a Commissario Brunetti because I don't like the way it raised the moral question of meat eating and of cruelty (even criminal level) being rampant and protected in slaughterhouses purely as a plot point, and utterly and deliberately failed to address the question so raised as it would have (one hopes) played out in the lives of the men affected. Moral cowardice in a police procedural! I am shocked! But, no, we really cannot have that.