A review by nonna7
Earthly Remains by Donna Leon

5.0

This is probably Donna Leon's saddest and darkest book. If you are looking for a happy ending, don't read this. When Commissario Guido Brunetti is forced through some odd circumstances to take a medical leave of absence, his wife suggests that he use the home of a cousin of hers who has a villa on Sant'Erasmo, one of the largest islands in the laguna. The caretaker turns out to be an old friend of his father's, a man was part of a group that won a rowing championship. Davide Casati is a quiet man who mourns the loss of his wife from cancer, and also is mourning the loss of his bees. He and Brunetti go rowing every day. Then one day he doesn't show up. A search is organized. He is found drowned with an old grate that he used as an anchor tied to his leg. It seems as if he had committed suicide, a verdict Brunetti has accepted. However, he is still on leave so he decides to investigate to learn more about the man. One of the things he had noticed were the terrible scars he has on his back. They are a result of an industrial accident in his previous employment from which he has retired. This was one of the best books by this author & also, as I said in the beginning, one of the saddest and darkest she has written. This is a writer who loves Venice, but also sees the dark side of the Italian government that can't seem to shake off corruption and evil, not that my own country is really much different in the end.