Death and Judgment

Working my way thru all her books. Enjoy the writing, story, characters

All of Donna Leon's excellent mysteries set in Venice have a theme, beyond the common one of massive corruption in Italian politics and its connections with the Mafia. This time the theme is trafficking, and it is very powerfully developed. This time around Commisario Guido Brunetti's 14 year old daughter tries to help him out, with sad repercussions. Once again rich and respected pillars of society are involved in very sleazy activities, in this case trafficking for prostitution and snuff films from Bosnia. Once again there is very little justice in Brunetti's world. But Donna Leon skillfully introduces the reader to horrible injustices that continue. We also meet one of Signorina Elettra's hacker friends, although how they do what they do remains veiled in mystery.

Please be aware that this book also appeared under the title of Death and Judgment. If you are trying to read the whole series, read one or the other. This is the fourth novel in the Guido Brunetti series of mysteries. As the book opens, it's late September and a Rumanian truck carrying lumber plunges off the road and into a rock face to open up a grisly scene of crushed and broken young women amid scattered pine boards. Paolo, Guido's wife, notes the story where it remains tucked in her memory until it can provide a critical clue. The scene shifts to late November when prominent international lawyer Carlo Trevisan is found murdered on a late night train to Venice, where Trevisan lived. Vice-Questore Patta is annoyed that he had been called to the scene when Brunetti could not be reached. The mayor of Venice quickly calls the next morning to ask for a quick and quiet solution. Since there's no evidence of robbery, Brunetti must probe into motives. Who didn't like Trevisan? Brunetti gets a quick leg up when Signorina Elletra's sister agrees to share information about the wife and daughter of the murdered man, who had been patients. When the crime comes up for discussion at home, Brunetti's daughter, Chiara, says she knows the daughter and agrees to ask around a bit. When Chiara turns out to be good at snooping through gossiping with friends, there's a major confrontation in the Brunetti household concerning the ethics of such undercover methods employing a minor. The case becomes more clouded when a successful accountant is found dead of an apparent suicide, but leaving behind the telephone number of the dead attorney in his address book. When the numbers are matched up with the records of the attorney's calling, they show a disturbing pattern . . . including many international calls and to a bar where the ladies rent by the hour in a rough part of town. Trevisan's widow and her brother seem determined to shut off the police investigation. Frustrated that he's getting nowhere, Brunetti calls in a favor for a judge who tells him more about the background of the attorney and his family. Tracking through a tangled series of clues, the case takes one more twisted turn when the widow's brother is also killed. The case breaks open quite suddenly when an unexpected clue is dropped into Brunetti's lap. From there, it's a question of how to accomplish justice. But is there any justice other than God's? You may be reminded of the myth of Sisyphus as you contemplate the ending of this existential look at the human condition. For those who like action and mysteries evolving in ways that they can solve just ahead of the author's revelations, A Venetian Reckoning will be a disappointment. But for those who enjoy tough ethical questions, this is a very fine book. In either case, the book's primary limitation is Ms. Leon's customary dark view of human nature. In this book, she goes about as far as you can go and still slightly separate humans from vicious

One of Leon's best -- almost on a par with Aqua Alta -- the book has the usual sensuous characterization of Venice in various moods. She describes the characters with typical insight and sensitivity. At the same time, this book hits even harder at Italy's political and moral corruption than her others. If you are looking for an upbeat ending, don't read this one. But if you don't mind an unflinching look at the Italian political and judicial system and the corruption at their core, you will be pleased. This is Italy, with all its ambiguous morality (and I love it).

Venice is a large factor in this book -- not the touristy Venice, but the lived-in one. Commissario Bruneti is intelligent, low-key, and not at all the sexy superman of other series. He has a super-intelligent wife who is incidentally a good cook (follow her choices in food for an intellectual widening experience), two children whom he dearly loves as well (follow their growth from book to book) and intellectual conundrums rising from present-day problems which may or may not be popular with the local brass (who are not popular with the Commissario).

Donna Leon is a quietly perceptive and at times a forgivingly cynical narrator of human foibles and relationships under the stress of daily life, politics, bureaucracy and crime.This novel once again brings Commissario Guido Brunetti's empathetic pragmatism and integrity into conflict with the entrenched egocentricity and greed of Venice's and Italy's ruling classes. This is a piece of literature, not just a wonderful novel of crime and detection. Leon manages to make us question our assumptions about everything from political apathy and corruption, to what is honour, and how we live out our values. What a gift this woman must be to her students. Highly recommended for a desert island collection, as well as being a great primer for visitors to Venice. Not to mention being a damn good read.