Uniform Justice [Paperback]

Donna Leon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2004

Neither Commissario Brunetti nor his wife Paolo have ever had much sympathy for the Italian armed forces, so when a young cadet is found hanged, a presumed suicide, in Venice's elite military academy, Brunetti's emotions are complex: pity and sorrow for the death of a boy, close in age to his own son, and contempt and irritation for the arrogance and high-handedness of the boy's teachers and fellow-students. The young man is the son of a doctor and former politician, a man of an impeccable integrity all too rare in Italian politics. Dr. Moro is clearly and understandably devastated by his son's death; but neither appears at all keen to talk to the police nor involve Brunetti in any investigation of the circumstances in which he died. As Brunetti - and the indispensable Signorina Elettra - investigate further they are faced by a wall of silence, as the military protects its own and civilians are unwilling to talk. Is this the natural reluctance of Italians to involve themselves with the authorities, or is Brunetti facing a conspiracy of silence?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Donna Leon has lived and taught English literature in Switzerland, Iran, China, Italy and Saudi Arabia. She now lives in Venice.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Arrow (March 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099415178
• ISBN-13: 978-0099415176
• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 0.9 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,236,732 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

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Look Beyond the Obvious, February 11, 2008

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: Uniform Justice (Paperback)

Uniform Justice doesn't match up very well to the excellent Wilful Behaviour that precedes it in this fine series. In the best books in the series, you find a great deal of layering where one character's life and reading provide dimensions to the meaning of the other characters' lives. That layering is mostly missing in this story, and Brunetti's investigation seems more ham-handed than necessary. The resolution will please few readers, as well.

A hung-over student in a military academy fears he's seeing an oversized bat in the bathroom where he goes for relief from his thirst. Upon closer examination, the "bat" turns out to be a dead cadet who is dead by strangulation. Is it suicide? All indications point that way except the words of his aunt. Naturally, Commissario Guido Brunetti begins to investigate as though it's a murder. Undoubtedly, having the dead youth be similar in age to his son has something to do with that decision.

But it's not such a serious investigation. The father refuses to talk to him, and he doesn't dig into the background of the family or of the military academy very seriously. Vice-Questore Patta is friendly with the head of the school which makes matters somewhat more difficult.

But due to the connections of Signorina Elettra, the outlines of an alternative theory begin to develop. With that theory in hand, however, Brunetti blunders more than once.

The story's other problem is that the scheme that Brunetti ends up investigating doesn't seem all that probable in some of its more extreme dimensions. The family's reaction to the plot also seems more than a little unlikely. As a result, I found it hard to take the story seriously. It just didn't ring true.

Be careful of the enemies you make.

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the best, October 4, 2011

By 

Cyclops - See all my reviews

This review is from: Uniform Justice (Paperback)

I have enjoyed other Inspector Brunetti books much more than is one. I would recommend most of the other books.