Beastly Things: (Brunetti) [Hardcover]

"Beastly Things" is another well-written episode of the Commissario Guido Brunetti series, albeit one that seems even darker and more contemplative than usual. For me, this story transcended the crime genre into something more like an insightful, psychological novel.

We have to assume that author Donna Leon uses her wonderfully sketched protagonist, Brunetti, to voice her own concerns about social and political issues that plague his (and her) Italian home of Venice; and those concerns have multiplied over the years as traditional woes with corruption in politics have been added to by the plight of immigrants in Italy, the trafficking in women and children, rampant polluting and pollution and myriad other forms of criminal behavior that generally are based in the sins well-described by Leon's early predecessor Dante.

"Beastly Things" opens with the murder of a local veterinarian. The investigation that follows uncovers something far more sinister, something that threatens the population at large. This crime vs. general threat is deftly--even brilliantly--handled by Leon as she describes the reactions of bystanders to details of the two kinds of crime. To be sure the author's outrage, as expressed through Brunetti, is appropriately great and expanding as the case moves toward its resolution. Greed is at the bottom of all of it, and Brunetti is allowed some powerful feelings that cause him to cut ethical corners in order to punish the perpetrators.

Built into this novel--and a few others in the series--is the basic question of what measures can be taken by decent people of authority to combat pervasive corruption, venality and criminality that is protected or indulged by people of even higher authority. In "Beastly Things", the estimable Signorina Elletra is at the core of that question. Brunetti's formidable wife, Paolo, has a similar dilemma at the university where she teaches, which requires a weighing of the same question.

I think one the great things about the Brunetti series has been that continued personal growth of the protagonist as a human being--some of it coming from the normal aging process (assuming that age produces wisdom) and some of it coming from association with the secondary characters whom author Leon endows with credible and interesting personalities.

"Beastly Things" was one of those books that I liked even better after finishing, for its intelligent message of moral outrage, justice and redemption. It's one of the Brunetti books where there is very clear retribution at story's end, even if it comes with some moral compromises by the admirable commissario. Recommended. 4++

I always learn something while reading Donna Leon's mysteries. For instance, although I'd seen the vu compra, the African immigrant street vendors, in Venice, I didn't know anything about them until I read Blood From A Stone (2005).

In this latest Commissario Brunetti mystery, Beastly Things, we learn about slaughterhouses and the meat processing industry. A visit to the slaughterhouse leaves even toughened cops Brunetti and Inspector Vianello speechless. And while they don't actually skip lunch afterward, they both opt for vegetarian sandwiches.

Beastly Things doesn't stand out among Leon's mysteries, but it is a dependable police procedural that keeps the murder in the forefront throughout. Some of her recent books have concentrated more on issues of the day rather than the mystery.

Of interest apart from the case itself were some apparent doubts expressed by Vianello and Brunetti as they once again turned to the Questura's (police headquarters) secretary, Signorina Elettra, to hack into databases they have no legal right to access. They wonder if they rely too much on Elettra's technical wizardry. Leon herself might have been asking the question of herself, at least as it regards the solutions to many of her mysteries, which often rely on Signorina Elettra's unofficial discoveries. Even as a reader, I wonder if I would be as amused if the unpleasant Lieutenant Scarpa or if Brunetti himself were doing the hacking? Elettra is such an engaging character that I look forward to her hacking exploits.

It's no coincidence that Leon has Brunetti's English professor wife, Paola, tussling with an ethical dilemma of her own. Not surprisingly, Paola comes to a decision that will allow her to sleep at night. Brunetti, once again forced to choose between doing the right thing and the legal thing, doesn't have that luxury.

As a regular visitor to Venice I must confess a weakness for Donna Leon's detective fiction. This, her latest, set in the city with her faithful detective, Brunetti, has many pleasing vignettes about the problems of coping with local bureaucracy and the endless strands of Government that costs billions without ever seeming to stamp down on corruption and environmental menace that has become ever more prevalent throughout Italy.

In this novel Leon, a committed vegetarian, takes a look at what health hazards are occurring in a mainland abattoir, the slaughterhouse on Venice having closed some years ago, and the mysterious death of a veterinary surgeon who worked there. Leon knows her Venice as one would expect from a long time resident in the City but unfortunately her plots are becoming simplistic to say the least.

The usual characters are all here: Patta, Brunetti's lazy and time serving boss whose work ethic is simply not to rock the boat with the City's power brokers and therefore remain in office; Paola, Brunetti's intellectual, liberal, university lecturer wife- most likely a meat eating edition of Leon herself- and Signorina Elettra, the beautiful and brilliant secretary to Patta who is capable of hacking into computers everywhere and, when she cannot, finding previously unmentioned friends who can render a service.

So whenever Brunetti, or indeed Leon, gets stuck a quick trip upstairs to the flower filled office of the fragrant Elettra is all that is required to get crime solving on the move again. As Leon churns out a new Brunetti every two years or so I have noticed an increasing reliance of Elettra and plots become ever less involved as the years have passed.

This is, at best a good holiday read, especially if one if visiting Venice where, ironically, all but the most most petty of crimes are almost unheard of. For all that the abattoir scenes are disturbing and will certainly encourage vegetarians everywhere and make a few meat eaters cause to pause, albeit momentarily, plus some evocative descriptions of what it is like to live on the lagoon. I just wish there had been a more complex plot and characterisation involving the suspects and a less straightforward conclusion.