by Donna Leon
Part of Commissario Brunetti, book 21
First published 2012
Commissario Guido Brunetti stares at a waterlogged corpse pulled from a Venice canal. The dead man carries no identification, wears just one shoe, and bears the marks of tidal damage. No missing person reports match the victim, and local hotels report no vanished guests. Brunetti teams up with Inspector Vianello to trace the single shoe through Venice's shops. Their search leads them beyond the city to Mestre on the mainland, territory outside Brunetti's normal jurisdiction. There they discover the victim showed unusual compassion toward animals. Back at the Venice Questura, debates about animal rights and meat eating consume both the police station and Brunetti's household. With Signorina Elettra's research skills, the investigative team finally puts a name to the corpse and uncovers the motive behind his murder. Leon delivers a mystery that examines how we treat the vulnerable.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, crime, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, social-commentary
Setting: Venice, Mestre
Period: contemporary
296 pages · Hardcover · Atlantic Monthly Press
Content warnings: animal-death