Friends in High Places [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Donna Leon (Author), Anna Fields (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2001

When Commissario Guido Brunetti is visited by a young bureaucrat investigating the lack of official approval for the building of his apartment years earlier, his first reaction, like any other Venetian, is to think of whom he knows who might bring pressure to bear on the relevant government department. But when the bureaucrat rings Brunetti at work, clearly scared, and is then found dead after a fall from scaffolding, something is obviously going on that has implications greater than the fate of Brunetti's apartment ...

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Donna Leon has lived in Venice for thirty years and previously lived in Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Iran and China, where she worked as a teacher . Her previous novels featuring Commissario Brunetti have all been highly acclaimed; including Friends in High Places, which won the CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, Through a Glass, Darkly, Suffer the Little Children, The Girl of His Dreams and, most recently, Drawing Conclusions. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From AudioFile

Mystery fans who are looking for a change of scenery and international ambience should get to know Guido Brunetti, commissario of the Venice police. Anna Fields deftly narrates this well-drawn plot of political corruption, murder, and drugs. Fields is at home in the city and canals of Venice. She brings forward the complexities of Brunetti's character, balancing his compassion and idealism with a tough cynicism born of many years experience with the bureaucrats and the powerful of Venice. Fields maintains a good pace for building the framework of clues that fit neatly together in unexpected ways. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged edition (December 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786121033
• ISBN-13: 978-0786121038
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,939,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A New Yorker of Irish/Spanish descent, Donna Leon first went to Italy in 1965, returning regularly over the next decade or so while pursuing a career as an academic in the States and then later in Iran, China and finally Saudi Arabia. Leon has received both the CWA Macallon Silver Dagger for Fiction and the German Corrine Prize for her novels featuring Commisario Guido Brunetti. She lives in Venice.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leon's book is 'stellar' indeed!, November 16, 2001

By 

Billy J. Hobbs "Bill Hobbs" (Tyler, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Friends in High Places (Paperback)

Without a doubt, "Friends in High Places" is Donna Leon's best book in her mesmerizing Commissario Brunetti series. "Friends" is the ninth in this outstanding series and Leon has not failed her fans with this latest edition, which, for some unfathomable reason, is not yet published in the States!

The author is able to capture what very few writers in the mystery genre do-- she creates such memorable characters that the reader actually feels he really knows--and even possibly understands--her creations. Certainly, Leon does to Venice what few other writers do to their settings. It is unbelievable that she is able to understand fully the mechanizations of the modern Venetian. She has weaved her plots so intricately--and plausibly--in her series, which seems short of a miracle for some "outsider"--she's an American!--to be able to grasp the bureaucracies of that system, be it religious, political, social, even the illicit "trade" bureaucracies.

With her unforgettable Brunetti and his family, Leon's themes run throughout her novels: among them the "moral path" which is at odds with what Venetians have come to expect and to accept, it seems. If one has a problem, the solution is to utilize his "friends in high places"--a favor for a favor--to solve it. The corruption seems to permeate all aspects of their lives.

But, of course, first, this is a murder mystery, and here, again, Leon is in top form. How exquisitely she leads the reader through this valley of temptation and evil! Yet, despite the impossible task of ever "cleaning up Venice," Brunetti plods on. He alone, it seems at times, knows right from wrong. He takes refuge and solace from his wife Paola; he loves his two children, and his greatest fear is that something evil might harm them.

He senses something is very wrong when a local bureaucrat is found dead; it is labeled an accident, but Brunetti has his suspicions, especially after this bureaucrat had previously contacted him to tell him that he had vital information that he must reveal to him, and to him alone. Before this revelation can occur, he is found dead. Brunetti doesn't believe in coincidences, especially when an attorney who is involved in a corruption investigation is found murdered by a sniper--an attorney whose telephone number Brunetti had found in the bureaucrat's wallet.

From this point on, Leon and Brunetti move cautiously--and sensibly--through this tangled, deceitful web.

The author is quite astute in her observations and realist she is, the endings of her books are not always the "happy ever after" type. Frequently, Brunetti has to con- cede to powers greater than his; he alone cannot stem the flow of corruption--and the Brunetti world, as seen through the series, seems to have no boundaries on corruption, be it from illegal dumping of toxic wastes to the illegal sex trade with local travel companies to the smuggling of drugs from Eastern Europe. Leon leaves no holds barred and the reader is often left to wonder if there really are truly decent folk anymore. Leon does not imply that the corruption is only in Venice, that Pearl of the Adriatic, but leads us to assume that such corruption--especially with today's big bucks, can be anywhere. The average reader knows this all too well, anyway.

For Leon fans, reading this book is not just an inclination, it is a must, naturally;

for new readers, it's also a great read, after reading this one, they will want to go back to the eight previous ones. Indeed, it's a "aventura felice della lettura"! (...)

70 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like being in Venice.., February 15, 2002

By 

Professor Joseph L. McCauley "Joseph L. McCauley" (Austria+Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Friends in High Places (Paperback)

Having read all of Helen MacInness and Sherlock Holmes (after midnight) as a grad student I couldn't stand reading anything less and so gave up mysteries for over 35 years. Looking for something to read on the train, I bought my first Donna Leon book (A Noble Radiance) in the station in Stuttgart and have read nine of her novels so far. Commisario Brunetti and his sharp-tongued wife (who, like Leon, accidentally teaches English in Venice) are never boring. So far, I've not guessed the plot before it developed, and the description of Venice and Italian life is fantastic. A wonder that she's not been run out of town tarred and feathered, if not be the city fathers or the patrici, then by The Church. Enjoy, when you need something entertaining and intelligently written, with attention to geographic and cultural detail.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Public Corruption and Personal Values, December 28, 2007

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Friends in High Places (Paperback)

If you've liked the Guido Brunetti mysteries, you will probably feel that this is one of the best in the series.

What's it all about? Commissario Guido Brunetti meets an honest public official, and crime follows as those who cheat and admire cheaters seek to remain hidden from honest men.

If that's all this book represented, it would be but an average mystery. Ms. Donna Leon adds a more intriguing element to the story: Corrupt practices breed more corruption . . . both of the heart and of the pocket book. To make the story more effective, she places Guido and Paola Brunetti in the middle of temptations that he isn't able to resist.

In Venice, the Ufficio Catasto is in charge of approving building plans and being sure they are faithfully carried out. As in many cities, homeowners try to avoid extra taxes by keeping improvements hidden from the government. Franco Rossi arrives from the Ufficio Catasto to ask Guido if he has the plans for his apartment. Why? The Ufficio Catasto has no record of plans or permits for the apartment.

What does this mean? Guido may have to pay a large fine; he may have to make substantial changes in the apartment; or he may have to demolish the apartment. None of those choices seem attractive. What about using a little influence to avoid the problem? That temptation dangles before the Brunettis throughout the story.

But they are not the only ones who have such challenges -- Vice-Questore Patta also has the need for some help with public matters. Guido finds himself placed in the middle of that moral choice as well.

During the course of the story, Guido also learns about other unpleasant parts of the underbelly of Venice "civilization" that lurks beneath the beautiful exterior that the tourists love to admire.

It's a powerful story that will leave you seeing Venice differently than you have before.

Enjoy!