Customer Reviews

Death at La Fenice

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This first of Donna Leon's series on Commissario Brunetti is the aboslute "must" way to begin.
You will meet Brunetti, his family and co-workers at the Questura, take walks around Venice
with him. You will learn much about that beautiful city and with the fine writing of Leon will
want to continue to read all the following books. The plots are well put together and reading
is a joy.

Death at La Fenice, written in 1992, is Donna Leon's first in her series of crime novels set in Venice, featuring Guido Brunetti, Commissario of Police. (The American author has lived in Venice for many years and has taught English literature at degree level.)

La Fenice (pronounced La Fen-ee-chay) is the city's opera house, and the death is that of a visiting German conductor. (On her own website, the author relates how the impetus behind the book was her dislike of a certain German conductor with a dubious past, presumably von Karajan.)

Over 25 chapters and 338 pages, my interest was maintained: although not an un-put-down-able book, it is nevertheless a willing pick-me-up-able one. The characterisation is good, the description of Venice is realistic, and the plot believable. I enjoyed it so much, I have ordered the second in the series, Death in a Strange Country.

This was Donna Leon's first book (?) and I thought it was her best. She is developing a new star
character Brunetti. He does complain a lot about tourists and the incompetent government of which he works
for in the city of Venice. Brunetti takes you thru a murder of a famous conductor, interviewing interesting
characters and solving the murder. What he does at the end is totally different, but I'm sure you will agree that is was the right decesion.This ending is what establishes Brunetti as a warm and different detective in the Venice police department.

Unexpected twists of plot make this book exciting. The one getting the revenge is not who you expect. Looking forward to more books by Donna Leon.

A death at the opera, a matter for the police, and my, how quickly the action starts. In Venice the police arrive by boat. Guido Brunetti is the Commissario of the police and the hero of this series.

It is learned the dead man is Wellauer, a German conductor. It seems that the death is caused by the ingestion of cyanide. One of the newspapers pictures the deceased maestro with Maria Callas.

Brunetti's wife's parents live in a palazzo. He asks his wife to arrange for him to attend a party there so he can ask questions about the maestro. Brunetti feels that in Venice gossip is the real cult. After the party Guido Brunetti decides to interview some of the musicians.

I really don't like to give genre fiction five stars, but this is exceedingly good.