aennareads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
roshk99's review against another edition
4.0
Donna Leon creates a masterpiece that connects the Seven Deadly Sins with the vibrant Venetian culture
nuska's review against another edition
3.0
Nuevo caso de Brunetti. Esta vez se enfrenta a una anciana de carácter complicado, a las lecturas de su mujer Paola y a los siete pecados capitales.
averagereadin's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Nicht das Beste aus der Reihe, aber solide.
usbsticky's review against another edition
4.0
On my 11th or 12th Donna Leon book I can say that there are a few constants in all of her books: description of some sort of corruption in Italy, some very well written passages and superb observations, unknown words that I have to look up in the dictionary, delicious Italian meals and side plots that are unfinished.
Each book usually starts with the discovery of the crime or the crime, then Brunetti shows up. This book is a little different in that it doesn't go into Brunett's POV after the crime, instead it's a witness. And the first policeman the book describes is Lt. Scarpa. This is the first long description that we've had of Scarpa and it confirms all the nastiness of the character we've come to expect based on the previous books. It shows Scarpa as uncaring and unfriendly. It's not until a bit later we get to Brunetti.
Spoilers ahead (I will tell you everything):
An unsavory elderly widow is bashed in the head violently with a statue. Her illegal Romanian live in helper is found on an outbound train near the border with what appears to be stolen money. At the last moment she escapes from a policeman and runs across the tracks only to be killed by an oncoming train. Case appears to be solved.
A few weeks later the widow's neighbor shows up at the Questura claiming that she was with the helper that morning and saw the widow alive so she could not be the killer. The investigation is unofficially opened.
Brunetti starts by searching through everything associated with the widow including her son who had passed away 5 years ago, her lawyer and her niece/heir. Eventually he finds suspicious small payments into the widow's bank accounts which are whisked away to an offshore account the moment the widow dies. The source of the payments is the concern.
Brunetti decides to search the widow's old accumulated bank records again. By luck he breaks an old statue. Inside the statue is a small document which shows the son's boss lied about having a doctorate. The son used this document to blackmail his boss who ultimately decided to kill the widow who got too greedy and demanded a 5x increase in payment.
Overall this was a pretty neat mystery with an easy mode solution (Brunetti could have found the document at stage of the book accidentally). The book ends abruptly with no follow up to what happened to the niece or lawyer. The corruption here is partly about that there isn't much graft in the education department so dead-enders are promoted there or put there until something more lucrative in the civil service shows up.
Each book usually starts with the discovery of the crime or the crime, then Brunetti shows up. This book is a little different in that it doesn't go into Brunett's POV after the crime, instead it's a witness. And the first policeman the book describes is Lt. Scarpa. This is the first long description that we've had of Scarpa and it confirms all the nastiness of the character we've come to expect based on the previous books. It shows Scarpa as uncaring and unfriendly. It's not until a bit later we get to Brunetti.
Spoilers ahead (I will tell you everything):
An unsavory elderly widow is bashed in the head violently with a statue. Her illegal Romanian live in helper is found on an outbound train near the border with what appears to be stolen money. At the last moment she escapes from a policeman and runs across the tracks only to be killed by an oncoming train. Case appears to be solved.
A few weeks later the widow's neighbor shows up at the Questura claiming that she was with the helper that morning and saw the widow alive so she could not be the killer. The investigation is unofficially opened.
Brunetti starts by searching through everything associated with the widow including her son who had passed away 5 years ago, her lawyer and her niece/heir. Eventually he finds suspicious small payments into the widow's bank accounts which are whisked away to an offshore account the moment the widow dies. The source of the payments is the concern.
Brunetti decides to search the widow's old accumulated bank records again. By luck he breaks an old statue. Inside the statue is a small document which shows the son's boss lied about having a doctorate. The son used this document to blackmail his boss who ultimately decided to kill the widow who got too greedy and demanded a 5x increase in payment.
Overall this was a pretty neat mystery with an easy mode solution (Brunetti could have found the document at stage of the book accidentally). The book ends abruptly with no follow up to what happened to the niece or lawyer. The corruption here is partly about that there isn't much graft in the education department so dead-enders are promoted there or put there until something more lucrative in the civil service shows up.
richardpierce's review against another edition
4.0
Probably a bit of a throwaway effort here, still with many blind alleys, and this time a meditation on the 7 deadly sins. As always, a reflection on human nature. And always worth reading.
avera's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Insgesamt habe ich das Buch ganz gerne gelesen. Allerdings war es mir etwas zu slow-paced und es gab nicht wirklich eine Pointe. Ich mag Donna Leons Schreibstil und das Setting in Venedig. Es gibt bei Brunetti immer nachdenkliche und unterhaltsame Dialoge. Allerdings waren diesmal ein paar homophobe und rassistische Bemerkungen dabei, was ich sehr schade finde.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Colonisation, Murder, Pedophilia, and Racism
rojaed's review against another edition
4.0
The mixture as always. But Leon is always readable, and her continuing characters are fun, if unrealistic