by Donna Leon
Part of Commissario Brunetti, book 19
First published 2010
Commissario Guido Brunetti dreams of escaping Venice's summer heat for the cool mountains with his family. Instead, he finds himself trapped by the city's tourist crowds and blazing sun. An old friend drops court records on his desk that reveal a disturbing pattern. Cases at the notoriously inefficient local court are being deliberately delayed to benefit specific parties. Brunetti recognizes this as a new form of systematic corruption, but the bureaucratic maze seems impossible to navigate. Just as he prepares to finally leave for vacation, a violent crime erupts that demands his immediate attention. The case forces him to remain in the stifling city, where he must untangle both the court manipulation scheme and the shocking new crime. Brunetti's investigation pulls him deeper into Venice's web of institutional decay while the summer heat bears down relentlessly.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, investigation
Setting: Venice
Period: Summer
262 pages · Hardcover · Atlantic Monthly Press