At a dinner party given by his parents-in-law, Commissario Brunetti meets Franca Marinello, the wife of a prosperous Venetian businessman. He's charmed - perhaps too charmed, suggests his wife Paola - by her love of Virgil and Cicero, but shocked by her appearance.
A few days later, Brunetti is visited by Carabinieri Maggior Filippo Guarino from the nearby city of Marghera. As part of a wider investigation into Mafia takeovers of businesses in the region, Guarino wants information about the owner of a trucking company who was found murdered in his office. He believes the man's death is connected to the illegal transportation of refuse - and more sinister material - in his company's trucks. No stranger to mutual suspicion and competition between rival Italian police departments, Brunetti is nevertheless puzzled by the younger man's behaviour.
Eventually Guarino agrees to email a photo of his suspect, but by the time the photograph arrives, he himself is dead. Was he killed because he got too close? And how is it that Franca Marinello is involved?
A Commisssario Guido Brunetti mystery is as good as a short trip to Venice and its many neighborhoods. Ms Leon is so good at describing the city you feel as though you have spent those few hours reading while embraced by the city. And her continuing tales of Commissario Brunetti and all his supporting characters is wonderful in its details and convolutions. I especially appreciate the role of his wife, Paola,with its not-so-quiet adversarial element. She is a force by herself. There is never any doubt that their relationship is truly love, but the occasional acerbic interplay between Guido and her put a very real edge into that complex arena known as marriage. The introduction of new characters along with the continuation of development with the known ones, give the stories new deminsions. Her plots are always revolving around current issues, so the topics are relavant and biting. This is a series that, although light weight, is vastly enjoyable and I look forward with great anticipation to each new installment.
...Continua
