A Venetian Reckoning by Donna Leon

A Venetian Reckoning by Donna Leon is the 4th book in the Commissario Brunetti series. I’ve read the first one and I’ve decided to read another one. I think the plot was interesting, but it was unnecessarily dark, especially in relation to his family. I have to say that because of that particular aspect of the book it put me off reading other books by her, at least for now.

There is a link between various crimes, which is not clear at first. One person is found dead in a train and a lorry crashed with some additional cargo – women – besides the timber it was supposed to carry. Commissario Brunetti is on the case and makes the connection, as this made it possible to discover who the killer was. This story is very dark on its own and, on top of that, the investigation seems like a bit of a stretch at points.

In addition to the unnecessary gore in the story, there are some other things that bothered me. For example, an Italian puts 2 sugars in an espresso! Really?! There is not enough liquid in an Italian espresso to dissolve 2 sugars! In addition, there were phone books in Romania in the 1990s, something that I assume it would have been very easy to find out for murder mystery writer, if they were willing to put in the work. There was even a mobile phone network by 1995. These small things wouldn’t have been enough to put me off her books, but the issue with the daughter was.

A Venetian Reckoning by Donna Leon

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My rating: 3/5 Stars
Would I recommend it: no
Published by: Pan
Year it was published: 2012 (first published in 1995)
Format: Paperback
Genre(s): Murder Mystery
Pages: 326

About the author: Donna Leon (born September 29, 1942, in Montclair, New Jersey) is an American author of a series of crime novels set in Venice and featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti.
Donna Leon has lived in Venice for over twenty-five years. She has worked as a lecturer in English Literature for the University of Maryland University College – Europe (UMUC-Europe) in Italy, then as a Professor from 1981 to 1999 at the american military base of Vicenza (Italy) and a writer.
Her crime novels are all situated in or near Venice. They are written in English and translated into many foreign languages, although not, by her request, into Italian. Her ninth Brunetti novel, Friends in High Places, won the Crime Writers’ Association Silver Dagger in 2000.
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