In Sachen Signora Brunetti

Commissario Brunetti #8

by Donna Leon

Es beginnt mit einem Telefonanruf im am frühen Morgen. Im kühlen venezianischen Frühdunst ist ein Akt von Vandalismus verübt worden. Bald allerdings muss Commissario Brunetti feststellen, dass der Täter kein kleiner Ganove ist. Am Tatort wartet auf die Festnahme keine andere als Paola Brunetti, seine Frau.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Italy, Crime, Audiobook, Detective, Thriller

311 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

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.

Series:
* Commissario Brunetti

Reviews

[Zain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Love Affair With Venice.

After his wife throws a rock through a window-to make a political statement-Brunetti is enraged and embarrassed.

Although he doesn’t want her to go to jail, he decides to stay away from it, to teach her a lesson.

Despite his efforts, Paola Brunetti is more than taught a lesson when the owner of the business is murdered in his home.

And though the press hints that his wife may have caused the murder, Brunetti is still the best person to solve this case.

So, up and down the Calles of Venice he travels, pondering, investigating and using his staunchest brain power to find the murderer of Pablo Mitri.

Throughout the story we are given wonderful insight into the minds of the ordinary people of Venice as well as the criminals.

Five stars. ✨✨✨✨✨

[Blaine DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authors and readers just click sometimes, not sure why that is, but for me Donna Leon and her Commissario Brunetti series just fits me to a T! I loved this book that begins with a woman throwing a rock through the window of a travel agency to protest the agencies booking sex-travel tours to Thailand so their clientele can have the pleasure of having sexual relations with 10-year old girls. It is an outrage and one lady has had enough, and it is Brunnetti's wife!!!!! Yes, Brunnetti is sound asleep when he gets a call from the police station that his wife is there. Before long Brunnetti is placed on Administrative Leave (something they never had at that time) while everyone tries to work out whether a civil settlement can be reached. But a few days later Brunnetti gets another call from work that the owner of that Travel Agency has been killed. And now the hunt is on, with no apparent suspects. Luckily Brunnetti always has the lovely Signorina Elettra to rely upon. Even though she is not his personal secretary, he taps her for her vast computer skills and she is eventually able to find a connection between the manner of death, and a few other cases with similar M.O.'s in Italy.
This is a wonderful book that really shows the personal strife the Brunnetti family undergoes thanks to Paula's vandalism at the travel agency, and how it affects their marriage and relationship (no fear, the Brunnetti's love each other), how it spills over into his work and their social life and that it is not until the murder is solved that it becomes apparent that the killing was not caused or related to Paula Brunnetti's actions.
Well plotted, fast paced, and just a solid read for Donna Leon fans. I do believe you need to begin this series with Book 1 to see how the characters grow and evolve. But by the time you get to this book you will hopefully agree this that is a superb series, a well-written series and that this is one of the best books of the series. Leon has come back strong in this book after a few not as great books earlier. And she has proven herself to be the Queen of Italian police mysteries.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m late in discovering the Commissario Brunetti series and I’m not even able to read them in order thanks to my library having a hit or miss approach to buying the earlier books in the series. But I’m really enjoying the ones I can access. And my favorite part of the stories is the deep love between Guido and his wife, Paola.
The story starts with Paola really testing Guido’s love. As an act of protest, she flings a rock through the window of a travel agency promoting “sex tours” to Thailand. The act has multiple repercussions for him. I can’t say that her act rang true. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to organize a public protest?
Then the owner of the agency turns up dead. Are Paolo’s actions somehow to blame? There’s also another crime that Guido’s investigating, the murder of a witness to a bank robbery. The mystery aspect to these stories do ring true and are complicated enough to keep me guessing. The humor is also subdued but ever present. This is a series I definitely plan to pursue.
David Colacci does a fine job as the narrator.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 2 out of 5]

* Spoilers below *

Well, that was disappointing! This starts off as one of the 'issues' books - Paola commits an act of civil disobedience which places Brunetti in an awkward position as she is carted off, not once but twice, to the Questura by his subordinates.

The question of protest feels particularly topical with Extinction Rebellion taking place as I write and debates about when it is morally right to break the law: after all, much necessary social change has been brought about by resistance, from the suffragettes to Rosa Parks to Nelson Mandela just for starters. But Leon, after a provocative start begins to lose the plot...

Firstly there's the shadow of murder which hangs over Paola which, obviously, we can't get behind. Then there's a rather silly leap that Paola's protest has triggered a murderous impulse in someone else that is equally unlikely - I mean, the man owns a travel agency that organises sex-tours to Thailand: reprehensible? Yes. But the cause for murder? Um, not really.

And, as it turns out, the sex-tours thing which incenses Paola is just a red herring, and another 'issue' is shoe-horned in. That would be ok-ish except that Leon's writing feels, for once, half-hearted and lacking engagement. Very unsatisfying on the crime front and I even found myself skimming.

More interesting is the relationship between Paola and Brunetti - their strong marriage comes under pressure as their views diverge over her civil disobedience. To be honest, as much as I usually adore Paola, she comes over here as short-sighted, selfish and overly privileged: her husband is temporarily suspended due to her actions but she doesn't care partly because she's the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Venice and can afford not to care. Also, as much as I applaud her disgust, does she really think a single person breaking a window will stop the sex-tours business? Leon just doesn't nail it.

The highlight of the book is Signorina Elettra's buzzwords bingo in Patta's meeting - but the rest of the book collapses in on itself. A temporary blip as I've read later books in the series that are back to Leon's best. Still, a disappointing 2.5 stars.

[Alex is The Romance Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: Brunetti's career is under threat when his professional and personal lives unexpectedly intersect. In the chill of the Venetian dawn, a sudden act of vandalism shatters the quiet of the deserted city, and Brunetti is shocked to find that the culprit waiting to be apprehended at the scene is a member of his own family. Meanwhile, he is also under pressure from his superiors to solve a daring robbery with connections to a suspicious accidental death. Could the two crimes be connected? And will Brunetti be able to prove his family's innocence before it's too late?

Fatal Remedies, the 8th novel in Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti Series takes you back to Venice,
so richly described – the canals, the vaporettos, the food, the sad and crumbling buildings, cafes, the campos and the interesting Venetian locals – a total sensory experience, [image error]
[image error]and to the Commissario Brunetti’s life, as he faces a new challenge, both professional and personal. [image error]There’s a lot happening in this story. A bank robbery investigation, a few murders, child sex slave market, selling of pharmaceuticals to Africa, corruption. The plot moves in a somewhat slow but never boring pace, with some surprises that one never expects.

I love the way the characters are written, both main and secondary ones. The daily family and work life of a policeman, how Brunetti deals in his philosophical manner, with the corruption and the inefficiency of the Italian crime force.

One of my favorite characters has to be Signorina Elletra, Vice-Questore Patta’s (I love his name…) Administrative Assistant. I had to share this with you - Signorina Elletra greatest character description – just as I have always thought her to be like!!!....but never able to write it as well as this.
Thanks to:
http://margotkinberg.wordpress.com/ca... - hope I am forgiven for this “transgression”!!!!

“Usually known as Signorina Elettra, she is the assistant to Giuseppe Patta, Vice-Questore for the Venice Questura. As such, she works closely with Leon’s main sleuth Commissario Guido Brunetti. Vice-Questore Patta may have the authority at the questura but it’s Signorina Elettra who really runs the establishment and everyone knows that. She allocates resources, manages the bureaucratic details of police activity and serves as a buffer between her boss and the outside world.
But for all of that de facto power and authority,

Signorina Elettra is neither rude nor arrogant, and that’s part of what makes her appealing. She can and does make things happen or not happen at the questura, and sometimes her ability to do that seems almost miraculous. But she generally remains pleasant, helpful and professional.

But make no mistake: Signorina Elettra is no pushover. As I said, she is the real driving force of the questura, and she finds ways to make things work.
And Signorina Elettra is well-connected enough to find out anything that either of the two police sleuths needs to do the job. She knows people in every government department, in many law firms and in lots of other places too. So even when ‘official’ or big-money doors are metaphorically shut she can almost always find a way to get access to important people.

For those situations in which Signorina Elettra doesn’t happen to know the right person, she relies on her computer wizardry. She is an expert at computer research, databases and getting information that – er – isn’t exactly available to the public. In many of the novels in this series, Brunetti finds that all he has to do is ask Signorina Elettra for background information or data and almost before he knows it, he gets what he needs. She knows that Brunetti and Vianello want to do their jobs well and that they are good cops. She also knows that they can be trusted and the feeling is mutual. So the three are strong allies as Brunetti and Vianello investigate their cases.

Signorina Elettra is independent, a strong character and a highly skilled administrator and computer expert. She’s also friendly, professional and courteous. She always manages to get things done without raising her voice. In fact, many times she gets what she wants without the other person even being aware of what she’s really doing. And that takes skill. If I worked at Donna Leon’s Venice questura, I would do everything I could to make sure I was in Signorina Elettra’s good graces – and not because of intimidation either.”

How is it possible to forget Signorina Elletra???????

Commissario Brunetti solves the case and so he continues on his quest to upholding the law.

There is not much action, gore and blood in these books…it’s more subtle than that. It’s more cerebral and you get into the heads of the characters to understand why and what. That is what makes this series such a pleasure to read.

[Issicratea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book rather at random, as a piece of convalescence reading and a test of whether Amazon Prime’s free library had anything worth exploring. The Venetian setting was the main draw for me, and Donna Leon’s reputation as an established old pro.

It’s an amiable enough crime novel, and I enjoyed the evocation of Venice and its light-industrial mainland hinterland, but it struck me mainly for a rather unexpected reason. It is set in 1999, at a transitional moment in terms of technology, when the only person in the office of the protagonist, detective inspector Guido Brunetti, who seems to have mastered the use of computers is the slinky, sardonic administrator, Signorina Elettra. Brunetti himself doesn’t even use email. Leon thematizes the mysterious, alchemical character of the new technology quite amusingly. Elettra’s colleagues are nonplussed at her ability literally to pluck vital information from the air.

Other archaic phenomena: the police are put under pressure, in controversial cases, only by print media, so that they need to wait until the papers physically appear until they know how these cases will be discussed. People make phone calls essentially from land lines, although Brunetti’s mafia insider contacts seem to have telefonini. There’s a wonderfully mixed-tech moment when Brunetti goes out to a rank of public payphones (remember those?) and uses up his stock of prepaid phone cards (remember those?) calling these petty mobsters on their mobiles, which they presumably use because they’re less easy to trace.

I found this archaic-tech aspect of the novel quite fascinating, in a Marshall McLuan-ish way. It helped me recognize quite how much communications technology has transformed our culture over the past two decades, to the extent that reading a novel from 1999—which I’m old enough to regard as fairly recent--can feel as “historical” as reading something from the 1920s or 30s. (Lord Peter Wimsey could pick up a telephone, after all.) As an admirer of Wilkie Collins, I have always been aware of the extent to which the detective novel was born out of the Victorian communications revolution, with its telegrams and railways and swift penny post. Reading Leon’s novel, I found myself wondering whether less had changed, almost, in these respects, between the 1860s and the 1990s than has changed in these last vertiginous twenty years.

A good follow-up read, in this regard, to Robert Harris’s dystopian The Second Sleep, which is still rattling around in my mind.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huge fan of this series and Commissario Brunetti and especially of Signorina Eletra(?). My favorite part was the "buzz word bingo" she invented for the office to play during the weekly meetings. Definitely will be instituting that at my work place soon.

As for the mystery -- it was not traditional and it was a little hard to follow, but believable in that aspect. I appreciated the glimpse into the compicated relationship between Guido and Paola and the issues of two people taking very firm stands on their positions on important questions of law and morality -- especially when the two concepts are at odds. The question of the tentacles of the Mafia in so many aspects of Italian life was also an interesting one to explore.

But really -- even if I had not enjoyed the book (and I did), it would have been a great read just for the "buzz word bingo."

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paola Brunetti is a woman who feels injustice keenly. Particularly when that injustice is dealt to innocent children. She has recently become aware that travel agencies in her own city of Venice are selling sex tours to Southeast Asia. These sex tours offer children as their objects. Children are being raped for the pleasure of sick, rich men. Paola feels a compulsion to act.

The travel agencies are not technically breaking any Venetian or Italian law; their transgression is against morality. Paola decides to protest in a way that will get the attention of the agencies and, she hopes, the public. And so, in the early morning hours one day, she goes to the local travel agency with a very large rock which she hurls through the front window, setting off the burglar alarm. Then she sits down on a bench and waits to be arrested.

The two local gendarmes show up and question her about what happened, asking her if she can describe the vandal. She offers them a description and, at length, they realize she is describing herself. They take her into custody and take her to the police station where they discover that she is, in fact, the wife of Commissario Guido Brunetti. They call the Commissario and he comes to pick up Paola and manages to arrange things so that she is not charged.

Paola, however, is not content to let things lie. A few nights later, after the window she broke has been replaced, she goes to the agency again and tosses another rock through the window. This time she is charged and the local newspapers learn what has happened. A feeding frenzy ensues, much to the chagrin of Guido and Paola's father.

Meantime, Guido has been involved in the investigation of a robbery that may have Mafia connections and this leads to the death of the wife of a witness to the robbery - a death that is initially thought to be an accident but which Guido believes is murder.

Before this can be resolved, another death occurs. There's no doubt this time; it's murder by garrote. The victim is the owner of the travel agency that Paola vandalized and a note is left at the scene indicating a linkage with the vandalism. Could Paola have taken her protest to another level?

Moreover, when the police dig into the life and finances of the latest murder victim, they discover even more nastiness having to do with the shipment of out-of-date and adulterated medications to Third World countries. Was there no limit to the man's evil?

Poor Guido has his hands full, but he has his loyal helpers at the Questura, especially Signorina Elettra and Ispettore Vianello, on his team, so we can be assured that some form of justice will be achieved.

This is the eighth entry in Leon's Guido Brunetti series and it is one of my favorites. I particularly enjoyed the development of his wife Paola's character, as well as the mysterious (to Guido) workings of Signorina Elettra. This book was published in 1999 and, at this point, computers are still a complete mystery to Guido. He has no idea how to do an internet search or how email works! Fortunately for him, Signorina Elettra, with all of her contacts and her computer expertise, is on the job.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one made me sad. Paola's attitude didn't help. She has potential to be a champion in the "hater" category, IMHO. For a valid reason, but her hatred is always defused in a wider arena and there is usually friendly fire damage. In this one that included Guido being hurt/hit, IMHO.

The Mafia repercussions were dire, and some of the mood setting conversations with witnesses and in between police departments was 2 star enjoyment reading.

Guido's daughter being 12 and asking some innocent questions was good. But the highlight for this book, for me, was Elettra's bingo game devised to keep them all awake and appearing as if they were attending during their mandatory "awareness discussions" and "multi-cultural" conclusions upon departmental solidarity. Having the coins become the markers and making it into a long shot type of gambling at the same time was ingenuous. We used to do that too at my university admins meetings. Paradigm was the word that was always the free space word in the middle for admins OR for faculty at ours.

We play a similar game at home to Elettra's when we are watching White Sox games, but only when Hawk Harrelson is the announcer. Party visitors get two cards because some of them don't know when the exact words might be coming up in his calls as they are not decades long fans. He uses numerous country twang words for different baseball plays. (Can of Corn is the middle space- it's a given.) My youngest son always makes out the cards. But we have never used coins for markers- or had winner take all- as in the example in which Elettra's quiet "Bingo" resounded upon the occasion of Patta using the word "accessed". And her Dingo explanation was an excellent wing it response too! Reminding others of another worthy cause for consolidation or for "awareness" or group empathy for the department is always a full proof counter play.

The murders were horrific and brutal in this book- and the Mafia relentless in follow ups. Also there is immense corruption evident in consequences all around. In Italy, in Venice. And the Southerner from Salerno who does say he will "witness" pays dearly. So this one seemed most Leon pedestrian in the writing, while being gloom and doom negative in mood. It ended with Brunetti trying to make the "trouble" better with Paola actually recognizing that fact aloud. But it seemed, to me, that there was as little hope as keeping the little girls safe at the other end of those sex trade flights.

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at the annual Friends of the Library book sale over 5 years ago. I think I would have appreciated reading it at any time, but it was certainly the exact right book for now.

The book opens when a woman in the dead of night throws a rock through the window of a travel agency which set off the burglar alarm. She patiently waited for the police to arrive and take her in. When she presented her ID, the police realized she was the wife of Commisario Guido Brunetti, who they called promptly. Paola committed this act of civil disobedience because the travel agency was in the sex-tourism business. The agency sold flights for men to travel to countries in southeast Asia and the subcontinent for the purpose of having sex with girls as young as 10-years old.

Paolo and Guido had disagreements over this. Oh, not that the sex-tourism was good, but that throwing rocks through windows was also illegal and, after all, he was a policeman whose job it was to enforce the law. There were some funny lines over this marital disagreement. Guido came home one afternoon and asked Chiarra, their daughter, "where is your mother?" Chiarra wanted to know if her parents were going to have an argument because her father only referred to "your mother" when they were going to argue. But the best line was after the argument (Chiarra was, of course, right). Guido professed his love for his wife even though he thought she was wrong to throw rocks through windows. "You do love me, Guido? Good, then it will be alright to put knives on the table for dinner."

After the few chapters with about rock throwing and sex-tourism, there is the inevitable murder which Brunetti must solve. The rock throwing isn't just incidental, but is a way to introduce characters related to the murder. Mostly I like reading about how Brunetti solves these mysteries.

I like being in Venice for this series. I'm glad the series doesn't have to be read in order. I don't know if this one is really worth the 4 full-fledged stars I'm giving it, or whether I was just more than ready to be reading about Guido Brunetti. But I'm not backing down from that rating in either case.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this might win a non sequitur contest: "On her left foot, a large bunion had pushed its way into the leather and sat there like a section of an egg, the leather stretched tight across it. Was marriage the ultimate mystery?"

Leon is on autopilot here. Her writing is banal, the plotting slack. We begin the book with sex tourism (Brunetti's wife has vandalized a travel agency that sends men to Asia to hook up with underage prostitutes) and end it with expired pharmaceuticals being sold to Third World countries. I feel like I've seen both tropes thousands of times, and they're not getting any fresher.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favourite of the series so far!

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read after my month on the Lido, commuting by vaporetto to the Biblioteca Marciana to research my books on Giordano Bruno. His first Inquisition Trial was right next to Basilica San Marco, in the little San Teodoro, still closed to all but locals, clerics. I think San Teodoro can be entered from Rio Canonico (also called Rio di Palazzo) behind the Palazzo Ducale—see entrance on the cover of my book, Worlds of Giordano Bruno. [A Facebook page, too.]
Another year we stayed for a week at Campo Santi Apostoli, near where we heard the author lived south of Campo Santa Maria Nova. At any rate, we had great daily experience of the vaporetto routes, and of course the grand Ponte Rialto, built in marble in the 1590’s.
Commissario Brunetti lives near Campo San Polo, not too far from playwright Goldoni’s house at the San Toma vaporetto stop. He usually walks from home, across the Rialto bridge, and various routes to arrive at headquarters, the Questura on Rio dei Grechi. Brunetti and I share very few things, but taste in wine— Pinot Grigio—and in books—on “administrative leave” he goes home and reads all of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall.
Unlike many of her novels, where Brunetti solves a crime that the Italian state bureaucracy somehow inhibits prosecuting, here Commissario actually has evidence that will hold up. No spoiler, but the evidence after an inspiration, at home when he almost runs out. Leon does not allow her novels translated into Italian, where they might be seen as an attack on Italian government and its high taxation—which justifies almost envy crime. Here a crime had implicated his wife who protested against a travel agency selling sex-tours to S Asia. She brought a rock from Maine (where I spent my youth summers on 40 acres) to use in her night attack on the agency owned by the rich chemist later found murdered.
Though she herself is American with a British accent (say, “maths” for US “math”), the heart of Donna Leon’s mysteries is very Italian: la casa, la famiglia. House and family. Here, Brunetti’s daughter Chiara (11?) asks “Are you and Mom going to have an argument?
“Why do you say that?
“You always call Mamma ‘your mother’ when you’re going to have an argument with her.”
“Yes, I suppose I do.” (47*).
Chiara had earlier satirized her older brother Raffi, who tells his dad, “I hope you don’t mind I used your razor.” Chiara, “To do what? There’s certainly nothing growing on that face of yours that needs a razor” (31).
As in many of my favorite books*, the US comes in for glancing satire, as in his computer whizz Signorina Elettra, also secretary to his semi-competent boss. Brunetti asks her, “‘Accessed’?”
“It’s computer speak, sir.”
“To access?” he asked. “It’s a verb now.”
“Yes, sir, I believe it is.”
“But it didn’t used to be,” Brunetti said, remembering when it had been a noun.
“I think Americans are allowed to do that to their words, sir”(37).

Wonderful, amusing writing. Many fully drawn characters like the semi-competent boss, Patta, who occasionally impresses the Commissario by bureaucratically positioning crimes out of their jurisdiction. Then there’s Pattta’s kissass Lieut. Scarpa, as well as Brunetti’s faithful officer Vianello and others. While Brunetti has his own office, on a higher floor reached by stairs, officers like Vianello share one large room.
As for suspects, besides his wife Paola—why his boss sends him on “administrative leave,” though he needs him back to solve the crime—there’s a passel of ‘em, including mafiosi, pizzaioli, business successes and failures. And there’s serious business fraud selling deadly potion to UN charities for poor countries.


* Pagination from Penguin, first edition, 1999.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was time for another "fix" of Donna Leon. It has probably been a year since I've read one of her Commissario Brunetti novels and I've really missed him.

The plot is always well conceived, but the real pleasure is in the family dynamic of the Brunetti's, his philosophical and moral musings, and his meanderings around Venice.

And, when I talk about the family dynamic I suppose I mean his "work family" too. The relationships at the office are so real and so entertaining that I think they are my favorite aspects to Leon's series. Anyone who has ever worked for an incompetent, but ego driven, boss will revel in his relationship with his superior officer.
And the most superior secretary, Signorina Elettra, will be a familiar type to any reader who has taken note that the real power in an office is often not with the assigned leader, but with his or her assistant.

I can't imagine tiring of Donna Leon's wonderful series. I hope she writes dozens more.

[Bobbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the latest of this Commissario Brunetti series very enjoyable although I did find Paola Brunetti's behavior in the beginning rather puzzling. I thought her breaking the law (twice) to make a point rather incongruent with her intelligence and her risking her reputation as a university professor and of her husband as a Commissario of Police out of character as well as a poor example for her teen children. It was interesting to see the effects of this behavior on the Brunetti marriage and family.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strongest of the series that I've read so far. Exploring the character of Brunetti's wife was rewarding.

[June Ahern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fatal remedies
A of powerful look into the marriage of police DetectiveCommissario Guido Brunetti and his professor wife Paola and their marriage problems and and strong differences. This is one of author Donna Leon's most engaging and intriguing novels offers series of the Italian detective earnestly. Every page is riveting with the issues of corruption, social moral and immoral issues and behavior, and unpleasant but real look at political posturing. At some point you as the reader will find that you also have to take a stand. As in all her novels that take place in Venice Italy is fun and informative to travel around the old historical city with Commissario Brunetti, a man that I have learned to admire and respect ( even if he is only a made-up character, one that I’d love to see come alive on the screen. Who would play him though?) This book is a most intriguing whodunit story. As a fan of Ms. Leon’s series, I must say this is one of her best.
The Skye in June

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just stupid to me. I quit reading this series after Earthly Remains but figured I could listen to an earlier audiobook without thinking Leon had jumped the shark. Wrong.

The premise is that Brunetti’s wife, Paola, commits vandalism thinking it will call attention to one of the many causes she is always blathering about. No matter that it automatically puts her husband’s job in danger. She is the spoiled daughter of a millionaire and doesn’t care. For some reason she does not anticipate the media response, which, to this reader, makes her look incredibly stupid.

In response, Brunetti does absolutely nothing but get angry inside his head. At no time does he outwardly show anger towards his wife. He shows exasperation and wrings his hands a lot, but he does not get angry. I can think of no earthly husband who would react in this way, so it was very hard to suspend my disbelief.

The rest of the book tries to convince the reader: 1. How intelligent Paola is despite what she has done (fat chance) and 2. How angry Brunetti is at her despite not showing it (not happening)

[Karen A. Wyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm rounding up at least half a star, but this may be my favorite of this series.

Throughout the series, the marriage of Commissario Guido Brunetti and his wife, Professoressa Paola Brunetti, has been, in essence, a separate character and one of the more interesting characters at that. That is particularly true than in this book, where their marriage, faced with an unprecedented challenge, more or less takes center stage. There are also moral questions to be faced, though not necessarily resolved.

The mystery that develops has enough twists for my taste, and the role of a particularly wily lawyer adds complexity and interest.

[Dianne Landry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another successful read. I really love this series.

[Judith von Kirchbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fatal Remedies is the eighth book in the Commissario Brunetti series.
All of Leon's characters are well described, multidimensional and seem real and she does a great job of weaving the story with the characters. I love the character development over the whole series. Fatal Remedies concentrated more on Paola, Brunetti's wife, than any of the others books that I've read. I love reading about Brunetti's family as much as the actual mystery, although the mystery parts have always been superb. I love that real topics like sex tourism and drugs for third world countries are tackled. And I love Venice, the setting for the series.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brunetti is called into the station to find that his wife has been arrested for an act of vandalism. He manages to smoothe things over, but Paola is determined to do something about travel agencies facilitating sex tourism and vows to keep vandalising their premises until her actions have an effect - much to Brunetti's dismay, who finds himself in serious trouble at work and besieged by the press when the story is leaked to them as Paola breaks another agency's shop window. Then the owner of one of the businesses she targeted winds up murdered, and at first glance his death appears to be related to Paola's crusade...

Another quick and entertaining read that kept me guessing.

[Tex · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the top of the story, there is the threat of sex tours and that threat reaches our Guido Brunetti via familial lines. Of course, it expands across Venice and other parts of Italy. There are reminders of the beauty of the area, but the author doesn’t dwell on them. (Imagine living in an area where lovely, ancient sites are so commonplace as to be not noticed...) Pretty straightforward detective story otherwise.

[Julie Durnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was one of the best Brunetti books I've read yet. I loved the juxtaposition of viewpoints between Brunetti and his wife, Paola. They were at odds with one another, even to the point of jeopardizing his career as Commisario due to her smashing the travel agency window in protest over alleged sex tour bookings but were still empathetic and respectful. Signorina Elettra has become one of my favorite characters as she competently and effortlessly handles research and their superior Patta!

[Dlmrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+

[Marina Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Venice, I've visited this grand place three times and each time was a wonderful experience. This book is the eighth Commisario Brunetti mystery and I've read three previous mysteries from this series. I enjoy each one differently, as always we get to see Venice and it's denizens through the eyes of Guido Brunetti, and we get to experience his friends, family, co-workers and also the criminal element in Italy. Reading how Guido Brunetti solves the mystery and interacts with his wife, co-workers and adversaries is very enjoyable. Overall, love the interaction between him and his wife, how she's influenced his reading habits (he reads Edward Gibbon, Homer, Virgil, Suetonious and Voltaire to pass the time while he is on administrative leave). His wife Paola is also his moral compass and he realizes that he's become somewhat jaded because of his dealings with the criminal element on a daily basis. Paola has decided that it's time she took a stand about travel agencies in Venice that offer or facilitate sex tourism to third world countries and cities such as Bangkok and Manila where there is sex trade with children. This is definitely a good cause, however, I don't think smashing a window would necessarily cause that establishment to change their ways. Perhaps better to co-ordinate a boycott or a a create a group of women to protest against the establishment might be a better option. No matter, her actions have consequences including her husband being placed on administrative leave, her family being hounded by the paparazzi which forced all of them to stay at home to avoid the press and having to face possible imprisonment, fines and a libel suit. Whoo!
We then got to see how the family coped with this difficulty; I really admired Guido and his love and dedication to his wife and children and his wish to defend them even though he disagreed with their actions.
As always I love the character of Signorina Elettra, who actually in many ways runs the office for Vice Questore Patta. She's no pushover, but has finesse and dealing with her superiors and also the police department. Quite often, the police look down on the civilian personnel. Not so with Signorina Elettra because she's a whiz at the computers and knows how to get reports and does research for the police to help solve crime. I think deep down inside Signorina Eletra is Guido's work wife.
This book was written in 1999 and I smiled at the facts talked about in the book about the Italian Lire, the bank of paid telephones, the telephone cards and faxes to provide info within various police stations. No mention of the Internet!!!
I got a kick out of Guido and the other police men discussing how much money the attorney's made and how much was the rent for the travel agency and we're talking about $500,000 Million Lire for the attorney and $3 million for the rent, Which actually translates into about $750,000 and $3,000 in rent. And I remember fondly, being shocked on my first trip to Venice and was asked to pay 750 Lire for a gelato - not realizing that the cost was about $1.
Now Italy has the Euro and all of us have to contend with social media and the iternet.
Definitely recommend this book.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

To begin with, I have to confess that I love Venice. So any story that takes place there is likely to please me. Also, I love a good whodunit. Nothing's better for curling up with and relaxing. Still, Donna Leon's stories have something special. Maybe it's her detective, Commissario Brunetti. He's an extremely wise and cool person. A murder mystery's effectiveness depends on the personality of the detective, and Brunetti is extremely simpatico. Maybe it's the way her ripped-from-the-E.U.-headlines plots examine aspects of contemporary life that we don't like to look at, lay bare the ugliness of society, and yet leave you feeling hopeful for the human race. Actually, I think it's because it's through the eyes of Brunetti and his unforgettable friends and family that we observe these things. Riding along in his boat is a bit like following Virgil through the Inferno: you know you will witness the very worst of human nature, but you'll be safe, and you're headed for better places.

[Susan Bernhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fatal Remedies is the eighth book in the Commissario Brunetti series and the eight book of Donna Leon's that I've read. All of Leon's characters are well described, seem real and she does a great job of weaving the story with the characters. I love the character development over the series. Fatal Remedies concentrated more on Paola, Brunetti's wife than any of the others books that I've read. I love reading about Brunetti's family as much as the actual mystery, although the mystery parts have always been superb. And I love Venice the setting for the series.

[Rbucci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing for a Donna Leon. Paula, an intelligent and inquisitive woman, could only find one solution to the situation with which she was unhappy. Guido, also intelligent and inquisitive, didn’t even try to redirect her to a different way to look at the problem. This took up much of the beginning of the book before the true crime revealed itself. To top it off, it was a very predictable resolution

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been quite a while since I read a Brunetti book. I remember loving them, particularly Guido’s relationship with his wife whom he often sees for lunch. This book, however, didn’t quite capture my interest. Like many other Brunetti books, there is as much time taken to deal with the corruption within as to deduce the killer of the prime victim. Hoping the next book is better.