Death at La Fenice, by Donna Leon
Posted on June 26, 2008
Filed Under Crime Books, Donna Leon, book review |
La Fenice is the name of the famed opera house in Venice. The novel starts with the death of the well-known German conductor Helmut Wellauer. He is found dead in his dressing room after an intermission, shortly before he was to conduct La Traviata. Of course, the police are called.
The detective in charge is
Guido Brunetti, vice-commissario of police in Venice, and the hero of many of Donna Leon’s stories.
He is a brilliant, quintessential police detective. “He was a surprisingly neat man: tie carefully knotted, hair shorter than was the fashion; even his ears lay close to his head, as if reluctant to call attention to themselves. His clothing marked him as Italian. The cadence of his speech announced that he was Venetian. His eyes were all policeman.”
Brunetti is an interesting character, especially in Death at La Fenice. He has a loving wife and a familily life that does not interfere too much with his work. He is broad minded and has considerable wisdom. And he has the ability to understand people - not only what they express, but also what they hold back. And, contrary to many American detectives in crime novels, he is understanding and respectful.
The dead conductor, Wellauer, has been drinking coffee that has the unmistakable bitter-almond odor of cyanide. His death is a scandal to the city. And as Brunetti starts to investigate, he quickly realizes that the suspects are multiple. The great conductor Wellauer was loved for his music, but he was a man with many enemies and that had destroyed many lives.
Death at La Fenice, by Italian writer Donna Leon, is a great and entertaining book. Leon’s turn of phrase is descriptive, delicious and delightful. You see and hear what you read. It all feels amazingly detailed and real, and the plot moves nicely along as well. Death at La Fenice is one of the best police procedurals of the last decade.
See also The Girl of His Dreams (A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery)
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