Death
and Judgment
Commissario Guido Brunetti #4
by Donna Leon
A truck carrying lumber plummets off a snow covered mountain road
in the mountains of northern Italy. At the scene are found the bodies
of eight women with no identification.
Carlo Trevisan, counselor
to influential industrialists and bankers, an expert on international
law, is found shot to death on the train from Torino.
Commissionario Guido
Brunetti is assigned the Trevisan case with the admonition to handle
it discreetly and speedily. Two days later an accountant for politically
active manufacturers is found murdered in his car. Brunetti finds
that both men had been placing calls to Eastern Europe, Ecuador
and Thailand from a pay phone in a disreputable bar in Padua. Shortly
thereafter Trevisan's brother-in-law is also murdered. Brunetti
must find a connection between all these events.
Brunetti, relying on
various sources (his boss' secretary, a judge who owes him a favor,
his sergeant's wife who is a gossip, his own daughter), finds a
corruption network among the privileged and powerful. Brunetti uncoverss
an international drug and prostitution ring and also the production
of "snuff" videos, run by some of Venice's most influential citizens.
This is a book filled
with intrigue, political corruption and horrifying details of man’s
treatment of women. The story is complex with a sharp-witted Commissario,
who has a gentle heart and love for his family, but also a keen
sense of justice. The relationships between Brunetti and his many
sources of information are both humorous and intelligent. His love
for his daughter and wife unfolds with feeling and understanding.
We hope to follow the
career of Brunetti in the future. He is an illustrious addition
to the genre.
Reviews of other titles in this series
Death At
La Fenice
#1
Death
and Judgment #4
Drawing
Conclusions #20
Beastly
Things #21
The
Golden Egg #22
By
Its Cover #23
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