14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Leon has gained outrage but lost her spark, June 29, 2010
This review is from: About Face (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries) (Paperback)
For the first five or six Brunetti mysteries, I was totally hooked. The characters sparkled. The hero was flawed only by being entirely human. His loving family is believable. The continuing characters are endearing. Venice -- beautiful, charming and damaged -- is a character by itself. But I got the feeling, after reading my way through the series, that Leon is becoming increasingly disgusted by the failure of the Italians to cure what ails Venice -- corruption (senior police officials, building departments, tax collection) racism and, in this book (as in some others), pollution. It seems that with each new book her view is less accepting of the corruption that is undermining Venice and the narrative voice becomes more outraged. And this emphasis would be fine but for one problem that undermines each successive book. In About Face, the dumping of corrosive and medical wastes is a horror, as is the death of an investigator. The second theme is the destruction of a beautiful woman through plastic surgery. Perhaps Leon meant the second theme to be a metaphor for the slow destruction of Venice by its government trying to hide, rather than address, its serious problems. But the dual plots don't unfold but rather clunk along unbelievably--and forgettably. They are not intertwined successfully, there is almost no dramatic tension and resolutions lack suspense, clever detecting or even style. Plotting seems to be failing her more with each new book. I love mysteries, I love Italy, I love good characters, I love good writing and for a while there, Leon had it all, so I am especially sad that was originally a really good read has declined as the series progresses. The series reminds me of Elizabeth George, another series author I adored until she ran out of the inspiration that made her Lynley and Havers series so terrific. Much the same loss of spark seems to have overtaken Donna Leon and I could not be more sorry to see it go.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Slow start; compelling finale, May 14, 2010
This review is from: About Face (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries) (Paperback)
Initially I was glad I had borrowed this book from the library - her social/political 'theme' this time was garbage, and, despite the increased involvement of Guido's family and in-laws, I wasn't too engaged. But I persevered, and was glad I did. Donna's book often take unusual twists and turns, with interesting surprises, and this was no exception. Some new parts of town (casinos), some new dynamics in the station, and even gun fire. Sometimes her endings are downers - yes, the case was resolved, but it wasn't "justice". This ending was more affirming.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Title Will Prove Intriguing, May 14, 2010
This review is from: About Face (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries) (Paperback)
"About Face" by Venetian mystery writer Donna Leon has a clever double-meaning title which will become more apparent as you get further into the book. The intricacies of the human character are an important element in this book as it surmounts the usual conventions of the mystery genre. As usual Donna Leon's adopted city, Venice, in an integral part of the novel's fabric. The moving force behind Leon's writing is the way that human beings deal in practical terms with great moral dilemmas.
Unscrupulous Italian forces such as the Mafia are not only having great difficulty in getting rid of the country's own toxic chemical and nuclear waste products, but they are importing such material from other countries. Commissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice police gets involved in a nasty case involving these poisonous, life-threatening pollutants.
A young woman, Franca, the second wife of a successful businessman, Cataldo, has had an inordinate amount of facial surgery done which has turned her face into a strange mask. Brunetti is attracted to the woman because like him she enjoys reading the Roman classics. Her husband has been doing deals with some shady people, and she has been having an affair with a young gangster.
The national police, the Carabiniere, are investigating the transport and disposal of the toxic waste, and Brunetti assists a Major Guarino in the case. It involves murder, and as usual the corruption that reaches everywhere into Italian society. The political maneuvering and venality of Brunetti's boss, Patta, play a part in the story.
A waste cache is discovered in Mestre outside Venice, and its discovery leads to another murder. The plot is intricate and becomes more involving as the book progresses.
Brunetti's wealthy nobleman father-in-law Conte Falier and his wife, the Contessa, are key elements in the story's development. As usual in a Leon novel the pace is leisurely at times and then picks up with bursts of action. This book starts off in a very leisurely manner. Is it fair to say that parts of a book are too talky? If it is, that would be my comment on the first chapters, too much beating around the bush, with no real hook, no action to stir the reader.
This is the first book I read on Amazon's Kindle and found the experience almost the same as reading a book in a paper edition. Leon's description of Venice after a snowfall is very well done and evocative. A female commissario, Claudia Griffoni, is introduced, and she may become one of the continuing characters in the series, This is a worthwhile addition to the Leon canon, but one with pokey beginning chapters.
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