Noble Radiance [Library Binding]

Donna Leon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2003

In a small village at the foot of the Italian Dolomites, the gardens of a deserted farmhouse have lain untouched for decades. But the new owner, keen for renovations to begin, is summoned urgently to the house when his workmen disturb a macabre grave. Wild animals have done their grisly work and the human corpse is badly decomposed. Then a valuable signet ring is found close by, providing the first vital clue. It leads Commissario Guido Brunetti right to the heart of aristocratic Venice, to a family still grieving for its abducted son ...

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Providing insight into Venetian society through the lens of a gripping intellectual mystery, this atmospheric tale from Leon (Uniform Justice, etc.) finds Inspector Guido Brunetti investigating an aristocratic family with a shady past. When a rural landowner discovers the body of Roberto Lorenzoni, who was kidnapped two years earlier, Brunetti immediately suspects the victim's family. The Lorenzoni clan bears the legacy of betraying the Jews of Venice during World War II, and from these ashes, its members have created a thriving enterprise. Roberto's cousin Maurizio, who's next in line to inherit the family fortune and business, is the logical suspect, but Brunetti senses something more insidious at play. As he works his way through Italian three-course meals and family crises, he uncovers disturbing details about the Lorenzoni family. Leon deftly depicts the tensions between Brunetti and his ambitious Sicilian boss, as well as the irony of the justice system ("Imprisoned parricides receive fan mail; officialdom and Mafia dance hand in hand toward the ruin of the state"). Brunetti emerges as an intelligent, somewhat world-weary individual who believes in his cause if not the system itself. In short, he's the ideal protagonist for this culturally rich mystery.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Review

"A splendid series with a backdrop of the city so vivid you can almost smell it." (The Sunday Telegraph)

"An evocative peep into the dark underworld of the beauteous city." (Time Out, London)

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: San Val (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417704683
• ISBN-13: 978-1417704682
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,163,368 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

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A master at the top of her game - an excellent mystery, October 3, 2005

By 

Dom Miliano (Denville, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Noble Radiance (Guido Brunetti, No 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

I love this series. It is set in one of the most interesting and mysterious cities in the world with a complex and equally interesting main character. The plots of each story masterfully intertwine the grit and politics of every day Venice with the day to day challenges of being a police detective. In this story, Brunetti is faced with solving the 2 year mystery of a kidnapping turned murder. Naturally, his insufferable boss, imperious Italian nobility, embarrasing police incompetence (or is it disinterest) and the grinding politics of Italian bureaucracy all challenge our hero's skills as much as the mystery itself. All of this would be forgetable if the book had been written by someone with fewer skills or a heavier hand than Ms. Leon. I especially love her dialogue. The conversations between Brunetti and his wife are tender and realistic. But I really love the way she gives voice to Guido Brunetti's inner thoughts - it makes this, and all of her books, so involving.

With so many cookie-cutter mystery series out there (many of which, I admit, I read and enjoy), it is refreshing to read a novel that is both interesting and very well written.

Note: Unlike some other mystery serials, this book stands on its own and can be read without having to have completed the prior books in the series to enjoy it.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leon: Another Glowing Thriller!, September 23, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: A Noble Radiance (Guido Brunetti, No 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

For Donna Leon's fans, Venice, the Most Serene Republic, is anything but serene! In yet another, the seventh
sure-winner in her Commissario Guido Brunetti series, Leon once again masterminds a plot, setting, and unforgettable characters in a must-read book.

In "A Noble Radiance," Leon shows what a master she is in establishing a grappling narrative hook, an absorbing
plot filled with dangerous curves, pitfalls, and landmines, and a theme that at once is contemporary and yet for all

time. The novel begins with the discovery of a badly decomposed body in a lonely farmfield in the north of Italy, and,
as her previous novels have it, Brunetti is given the case.

Just as he suspects, the body belongs to a kidnapped young man, the noble heir to a considerable estate. It is
Brunetti's responsibility to bring the news to the young man's family. Realist that he is, Brunetti is quick to find that,
indeed, something is rotten in the land of the nobili, and from this point on, the reader is led--even carried--to the
conclusion. The conclusion, however, appears a bit weak, albeit quite satisfying, I suppose, as Leon's endings usually
have a way of being far more thought- provoking.

Still, the book is well-worth the time spent--unfortunately, the time goes all too fast when reading Leon; one has the
tendency to wish they would keep on going, as they are, indeed, so mesmerizing. She has created such memorable
characters, most notably Brunetti, who has such a noble philosophy. It is almost as if he is a salmon without a stream,
as his ideals, his honesty, his concept of right and wrong seem at odds with today's sense of morality, whether it be
Italian politics or not. Leon's books are never ones to shy away from social issues and concerns and it is almost as if
she is Cassandra weeping outside the gates of Ilium, begging for anyone to believe her as she touches on responsible
concerns: the environment (especially), corruption (both political and social), and immorality in various forms. Unlike
Cassandra, Leon will be believed, one hopes.

London's "Sunday Telegraph" describes "A Noble Radiance" as a book "with a backdrop of the city so vivid you can almost
smell it." Indeed, and the smells are not always so desirable. Leon herself (always one with the apt literary allusion)
quotes Mozart at the beginning: "The nobility has honesty painted in its eyes." We find this quite appropriate for the
novel. She manages to evoke the landscape and atmosphere is a manner that lends strong support to her story line.
Her growing flock of readers have come to expect this in each succeeding book. So far, she has not let them down.
Like Caesar, her books have crossed the Rubicon with their social messages and readers should not let them go back! ([e-mail])

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars as pure as crime fiction gets, December 20, 2003

By 

RachelWalker "RachelW" (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Noble Radiance (Guido Brunetti, No 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

Donna Leon is wonderful. A Noble Radiance is the first book of hers that I have read, and I just know that she is wonderful. There is something so pure about this book. That's the only word i can think of to describe it. It is pure crime fiction, crime fiction with its heart in the plot, its pace in the movement of it, and its pleasure in the unravelling of it. Instead of giving us a deep and fascinating character study, Leon manages still to create a brilliant main character. He is developed subtly, gradually and fully, but he never becomes more important than the mystery. That is something lacking from some crime fiction today. The actual mystery takes a back-seat to things like setting, character, atmosphere. Here, the plot takes the front seat, but Leon still is able to present a brilliant backdrop, a wonderful atmosphere steeped in culture, and very fine characters. She uses seemingly large brushstrokes to draw them, and then fills in the details with tiny ones, imperceptible ones. She lays the clues masterfully, moves her plot along with brilliant skill. I can't really describe what a sublime pleasure it was to read this, and what joy I feel at having several more to read!

A Noble Radiance is an absolutely lovely book. Venice is beautifully described, i want to visit the city. It is very rare to find a book so rich in culture. (Also, the idea that the police of Venice have enough money spare form their budget to buy new flowers for the offices every week is an exquisitely romantic one)

I would reccomend Donna Leon to everyone. I can't believe i've been missing out for so long.