Acqua Alta (Guido Brunetti Series #5)

by Donna Leon

Overview

In Leon's fifth Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery, the beating of renowned art historian Dotoressa Brett Lynch draws the contemporary Venetian police detective out of his warm and loving home and into the yearly onslaught of acqua alta, the torrential winter rains.

Brett, an American who spearheaded a recent exhibition of Chinese pottery in Venice, lives with her lover, Flavia Petrelli, the reigning diva of La Scala. With his open mind and good sense, Brunetti finds himself more fazed by Flavia's breathtaking talent than by the nontraditional relationship between the two women. Brunetti's deliberate and humane investigation to uncover a motive for Brett's beating takes him to dark, wet corners of Venice and into a sinister web of art theft, fakery and base human desires.

“Every fan’s first-pick Brunetti novel.” —The New Yorker

“Music and art mingle delightfully with murder and mayhem in the course of this very engaging story.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“A subtle study of emotion and character… A sophisticated mystery.” —Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802120281
Publisher:	Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date:	04/23/2013
Series:	Guido Brunetti Series , #5
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	76,685
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Donna Leon, born in New Jersey in 1942, has worked as a travel guide in Rome and as a copywriter in London. She taught literature in universities in Iran, China, and Saudi Arabia. Commissario Brunetti made her books world-famous. Donna Leon lived in Italy for many years, and although she now lives in Switzerland, she often visits Venice.

Hometown:

Venice, Italy

Date of Birth:

February 28, 1942

Place of Birth:

Montclair, New Jersey

Education:

B.A., 1964; M.A. 1969; postgraduate work in English literature

Editorial Reviews

It is winter in Venice, and the flood waters are rising, fed by relentless, torrential rains. But the onslaught of acqua alta doesn't consume the thoughts of Commissario Guido Brunetti; he is preoccupied instead with the brutal beating of his friend, archaeologist Brett Lynch, outside her small flat. Before long, he connects it to a savage murder, which leads him far beyond merely meteorological matters. A solid police procedural with beguiling local color.

In Leon's fifth Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery, the beating of renowned art historian Dotoressa Brett Lynch draws the contemporary Venetian police detective out of his warm and loving home and into the yearly onslaught of acqua alta, the torrential winter rains. Brett, an American who spearheaded a recent exhibition of Chinese pottery in Venice, lives with her lover, Flavia Petrelli, the reigning diva of La Scala. With his open mind and good sense, Brunetti finds himself more fazed by Flavia's breathtaking talent than by the nontraditional relationship between the two women. Brunetti's deliberate and humane investigation to uncover a motive for Brett's beating takes him to dark, wet corners of Venice and into a sinister web of art theft, fakery and base human desires. While there may be a whiff of stereotype in Brunetti's assumptions about a character of Sicilian heritage, the action builds to a dramatic and deeply satisfying climax. Intricate and intimate descriptions of Venetian life fill these pages and prove that Leon has once again created a high-stakes mystery in which the setting vibrates with as much life as the story itself. Agent, Susanne Bauknecht at Diogenes (Switzerland). (Sept.) Forecast: Last year's release of Uniform Justice, Leon's first U.S. novel since 1996, to great acclaim heralded a Leon revival in this country. This will help keep the momentum going. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Just back from an archeological expedition to China's Xi'an dig, Brett Lynch is relaxing in the apartment of her lover, La Scala diva Flavia Petrelli, when two men knock at the door, matter-of-factly beat her, and warn her not to keep her appointment with Dottore Semenzato, director of the Palazzo Ducale, until recently the Venetian home of Brett's Xi'an finds. Brett survives her ordeal (two broken ribs, one cracked jaw), but it doesn't matter: A few days later, before she can talk her way out of the hospital, somebody visits the Palazzo Ducale and leaves Semenzato dead. Can Vice-Commissaire Guido Brunetti doubt that it was the same pair of thugs, or that their courtesies cast grave doubt on the authenticity of the Xi'an treasures, and the "accidental" verdict on the death back on the dig of Brett's assistant? And can Brunetti doubt that the power behind this nefarious plot is much-arrested Salvatore La Capra's wealthy collector father?

Sadly, there's not enough doubt to make much ado over, leaving Brunetti's fifth (Death and Judgment, 1995, etc.) the most routine of a generally fine Venetian series.

Kirkus Reviews

This latest addition to the series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice Questura takes place during Acqua Alta, the fall rainy season and hence flood season in Venice. The story concerns a brutal attack on Brett Lynch, an expert on Chinese antiquities and curator of an exposition that traveled to Venice and has now gone back to China. These are fine, thoughtful, and well-constructed mysteries, but the star in each book is the city itself. Charming, complex, and full of atmosphere, Venice shines through as one of the most fascinating metropolises on earth. Anna Fields is a pro; she glides through difficult foreign pronunciations and accents and keeps tension building nicely. Her eloquent reading helps to flesh out Brunetti as a contemplative and introspective student of the world, as well as a loving family man. D.G. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

FEB/MAR 02 - AudioFile