A Question of Belief
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Some authors -- even the best -- can show varying levels of consistency in their books, and sometimes deliver less than their top work. Which is why Donna Leon is considered one of the most reliable practitioners in the field -- so consistently high is the standard of her books. One might imagine by now that she would be repeating herself in her highly entertaining series of novels featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti, but there is little evidence of that. Leon, an American expat who has chosen to relocate herself to Venice (where she is friendly with such talented people as the singer Cecilia Bartoli), utilises her knowledge of her adopted city to great effect. As in the latest outing for Brunetti, A Question of Belief.
Venice is sweltering in a heat wave, and Leon's doughty copper is looking forward to getting away from the city and relaxing with his family in the relative cool of the mountains. But his colleague Ispettore Vianello has other things on his mind than the weather; his aunt, seemingly befuddled by an obsessive belief in horoscopes and astrology, has been siphoning off considerable amount of cash from the family business. Vianello asks Brunetti if it would be possible to trail her -- and this unorthodox investigation points the detectives in the direction of one Stefano Gorini. This beneficiary of the aunt’s largesse is not everything that he seems.
At the same time, it appears that there have been irregularities in the courts. At the Tribulane, an usher with a previously spotless reputation, Fontana, has been involved in suspicious business with a judge, Luisa Coltellini -- it appears that justice has a price. And then Fontana is brutally killed. Brunetti and Vianello now have more than enough problems to keep them even busier than usual.
Apart from the usual impeccable plotting, there is the customarily sharp evocation of Venice (something, of course, that Leon can do with one hand tied behind her back). This is not, perhaps, the most sheerly entertaining in the series -- but with the issues of faith and corruption it addresses, it is one of the most provocative. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Book Description
The 19th Commissario Brunetti novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Donna Leon
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have read an enjoyed all Donna Leon's books featuring her thoughtful and humane policeman Commissario Brunetti and his trusted assistant, inspector Vianello. The increasingly important part played by Signorina Ellectra, Vice-Questore Patta's computer-wizard secretary is an enjoyable part of recent books. One of the things I particularly like is that Brunetti isn't burdened by the all too frequent cliche's of detective fiction: he doesn't have a dysfunctional personal life, but loves his wife and children; he doesn't smoke and drink to excess or live off junk food. He's basically a happy and well-adjusted man with honourable intentions, but, sufficiently cynical to realize that he is no match for the corruption and cronyism of the Italian state. The author lives in Venice and it shows in the realism of her descriptions: one really can imagine walking along the alleys and enduring the humidity and heat that pervades this particular book, in contrast to an earlier book Acqua Alta where chill and cold wetness seeps into every page. I would also recommend the latter book as one of her best.
The book is carried along by two story-lines: it starts with an unofficial investigation of a confidence-trickster preying on Vianello's aunt that escalates into tragedy by the end of the book and a parallel story involving possible corruption connected with court proceedings that also becomes much more serious when one of the characters is murdered. Although Donna Leon's books are classified as detective fiction they are much more than this and, in some ways, the detection is peripheral to the exploration of morality and the understanding of what motivates people leavened with much humour over human weaknesses and foibles.
The book is carried along by two story-lines: it starts with an unofficial investigation of a confidence-trickster preying on Vianello's aunt that escalates into tragedy by the end of the book and a parallel story involving possible corruption connected with court proceedings that also becomes much more serious when one of the characters is murdered. Although Donna Leon's books are classified as detective fiction they are much more than this and, in some ways, the detection is peripheral to the exploration of morality and the understanding of what motivates people leavened with much humour over human weaknesses and foibles.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
For the first time, I was somewhat disappointed by one of Donna Leon's Brunetti novels. I'm not good at remembering titles, and when I read the blurb, it seemed familiar. It was, but not because I had read it before; the basic theme was so similar to one of her recent books that it was a few chapters before I realised that I really was reading a new book, and not one I'd already read. Is Brunetti getting tired? Or is the writer? It was not just the insistence on the oppressive heat of a Venetian summer, but a general listlessness throughout, and a feeling of being left with much unfinished at the end.
I look forward to the next book, with a Donna Leon back on her usual dazzling form!
I look forward to the next book, with a Donna Leon back on her usual dazzling form!
54 of 58 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Guido Brunetti is about to go on holiday with his family. Venice is baking hot in August and nothing much is happening. His colleague Vianello is worried about his favourite aunt who is spending money on fortune tellers and charlatans. The criminals seem to have gone on holiday too and nothing much is happening. Then someone brings Brunetti details of something odd he thinks is going on in the courts but he cannot immediately think what to do about it.
When in doubt Brunetti sets Elettra - his boss's secretary - to work to find out anything she can about the people involved. What she turns up gives Brunetti more food for thought but he goes away on holiday thinking neither of the cases is so urgent that he needs to do anything about it until he returns to Venice. Before he can even reach his holiday destination he is recalled by the murder of one of the people involved. What follows is a convoluted web of influence, patronage and behaviour which is, debatably, on the wrong side of the law.
As ever in this series nothing is quite what it seems and many events seems as confusing and disorientating as the reflections in the canals. The excessive heat is getting to everyone and people are sluggish and disinclined to do anything which involves expenditure of energy. The characters are complex and realistic; motives are confused and all too human. Just when you think you've got the whole thing figured out the plot twists and everything is changed. Brunetti himself is compassionate and human as ever - feeling sorry for the murder victim, backing away from questioning a child, ignoring a potential illegal immigrant and concerned about his colleague's aunt.
Above all there is Venice and few books have such as strong a sense of place as this series. If you've read them all you feel as though you know Venice better than any guide book can show it to you. Things are never cut and dried and there is rarely a clear dividing line between law abiding citizens and the criminal. Through it all Brunetti attempts to uphold the principles of law and order - or perhaps of justice. `A Question of Belief' is a worthy addition to this series.
When in doubt Brunetti sets Elettra - his boss's secretary - to work to find out anything she can about the people involved. What she turns up gives Brunetti more food for thought but he goes away on holiday thinking neither of the cases is so urgent that he needs to do anything about it until he returns to Venice. Before he can even reach his holiday destination he is recalled by the murder of one of the people involved. What follows is a convoluted web of influence, patronage and behaviour which is, debatably, on the wrong side of the law.
As ever in this series nothing is quite what it seems and many events seems as confusing and disorientating as the reflections in the canals. The excessive heat is getting to everyone and people are sluggish and disinclined to do anything which involves expenditure of energy. The characters are complex and realistic; motives are confused and all too human. Just when you think you've got the whole thing figured out the plot twists and everything is changed. Brunetti himself is compassionate and human as ever - feeling sorry for the murder victim, backing away from questioning a child, ignoring a potential illegal immigrant and concerned about his colleague's aunt.
Above all there is Venice and few books have such as strong a sense of place as this series. If you've read them all you feel as though you know Venice better than any guide book can show it to you. Things are never cut and dried and there is rarely a clear dividing line between law abiding citizens and the criminal. Through it all Brunetti attempts to uphold the principles of law and order - or perhaps of justice. `A Question of Belief' is a worthy addition to this series.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Charming but dull
This is the first of Donna Leon's books that I have read but it is not one that would tempt me to read any more of the series. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ceebee
Better 2nd half
For me, a book of two halves. I've read a few Leon/Brunetti novels and I think this was the weakest as the first half of the book was stagnant and the 2nd half just about got... Read more
Published 4 months ago by freedomrulesok
Deadly heat, deadly fraud, deadly closets--Venice in summer
A clever Commissario Brunetti mystery with some edge and more than a little seasonable realism about the great Italian tourist mecca. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Blue in Washington
Again pretty average
I won't review the plot as this has been done several times over. A once massive fan, I feel Ms Leon is treading water with a tired dramatis personae. Read more
Published 10 months ago by DK London
Brunetti's back on form!
Good to see Donna Leon and her wonderful creation Commissario Brunetti back on form again after a couple of books that were a little below par. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mrs. V. Bradley
As good as all the others
Love Donna Leon - her intellgent and fast-paced prose and depictions of Brunetti and his lot never fail to make me smile. Reading a Donna Leon is like a sneaky chocolate treat!
Published 12 months ago by Reading&MoreReading
Custom doth NOT stale!
As good as ever and with yet more new insights into Leon's (and our) Venice. As one reviewer has said: "These are fine novels" i.e. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. J. Hewett
good
good seller goods arrived on time .sorry late with review my email server was out of work for 6 weeks
Published 13 months ago by Mrs. C. A. Clements
There is no question!
Donna Leon never fails to provide her readers with a good read.
Well crafted and a fine way to relax.
Well crafted and a fine way to relax.
Published 13 months ago by D. White
A case of deja vu.
Not a bad way to kill a few hours, but I'm beginning to find Donna Leon is re-cycling plot threads from earlier novels in the Brunetti series.
Published 14 months ago by moby-dick
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