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Commissario Brunetti #24
Falling in Love
Donna Leon's Death at La Fenice, the first novel in her beloved Commissario Guido Brunetti series, introduced readers to the glamorous and cutthroat world of opera and one of Italy's finest living sopranos, Flavia Petrelli--then a suspect in the poisoning of a renowned German conductor. Years after Brunetti cleared her name, Flavia has returned to Venice and La Fenice to sing the lead in Tosca.
Brunetti and his wife, Paola, attend an early performance, and Flavia receives a standing ovation. Back in her dressing room, she finds bouquets of yellow roses--too many roses. Every surface of the room is covered with them. An anonymous fan has been showering Flavia with these beautiful gifts in London, St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, and now, Venice, but she no longer feels flattered. A few nights later, invited by Brunetti to dine at his in-laws' palazzo, Flavia confesses her alarm at these excessive displays of adoration. And when a talented young Venetian singer who has caught Flavia's attention is savagely attacked, Brunetti begins to think that Flavia's fears are justified in ways neither of them imagined. He must enter in the psyche of an obsessive fan before Flavia, or anyone else, comes to harm.
Brunetti and his wife, Paola, attend an early performance, and Flavia receives a standing ovation. Back in her dressing room, she finds bouquets of yellow roses--too many roses. Every surface of the room is covered with them. An anonymous fan has been showering Flavia with these beautiful gifts in London, St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, and now, Venice, but she no longer feels flattered. A few nights later, invited by Brunetti to dine at his in-laws' palazzo, Flavia confesses her alarm at these excessive displays of adoration. And when a talented young Venetian singer who has caught Flavia's attention is savagely attacked, Brunetti begins to think that Flavia's fears are justified in ways neither of them imagined. He must enter in the psyche of an obsessive fan before Flavia, or anyone else, comes to harm.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
1175 people are currently reading
2479 people want to read
About the author
Donna Leon
98 books2,907 followersDonna 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 805 reviews
March 31, 2024
If you like the excitement of a gruesome murder and the ensuing chase of a cynical serial killer, then you’d better look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you enjoy observing the native Venetians as they go about their daily routines and listening to them as they bemoan the ‘loss of the city that was’ then this might just be the place for you. Little of criminal consequence happens in this book – well insufficient, you’d think, to occupy a high-ranking police officer and his team – but there is plenty to delight existing fans of the series and anyone who just loves the city and its people.
I think Venice is the most wonderful of all cities - it’s just so different from anywhere else. Already enchanted by Donna Leon’s Brunetti books, I travelled to the municipality some years ago with my wife and (then) young son. I’d already circled on my tourist map, the location of the Questura (police station) that features in all of the books, and is home to Brunetti and his colleagues. Determined to track it down, I dragged our small group around, through and over the calli and canals until I came to the spot marked on my map. I knew that, in reality, the police had moved to a new site some years ago, and there would be no sign to identify the building. Nonetheless, I was convinced I had enough of a description to be able to spot it and therefore gaze upon the office window Brunetti regularly stands before as he ruminates upon his latest case. But I just couldn’t identify the building. We didn’t spend long there – my companions were more anxious to track down the nearest gelateria – so I left disappointed. The rub to the tale is, upon my return to the UK, I checked my map against available reference material only to find that I was looking on the wrong side of the canal. The building I’d had my back to as I scanned the area (of which I have no memory at all) was the fabled Questora!
Leon has written 24 books now featuring Venice based policemen Commissario Guido Brunetti. The cast has barely changed: his wife and children feature prominently as do his boss (the pompous Vice-Questore Patta) and his other work colleagues. Every time I pick up a new book, I instantly feel at home and am transported immediately to this delightful place. In this latest episode we are returned to the scene of the original crime, described in the very first Brunetti book Death at La Fenice. This time, the volume of yellow roses lavished upon her by an adoring yet anonymous fan spooks a renowned opera singer (well, I did say not to expect a hunt for a serial killer).
As always with this series, it’s the small things I love. There is much talk of food (lentils with hot salami and candied currants… veal roll filled with sweet sausage) and Brunetti is apt to put his temporary lethargy down to the simple fact he’s had insufficient coffee. A glass of wine with your lunch? Not a problem – even if there are witnesses to interrogate later.
It’s all wrapped up nicely in the end, and here’s a nice mix of humour and pathos. Moreover, we’re able to track another period in the lives of this long-running cast. Time for a coffee or maybe a glass of Prosecco - it’d be rude not to.
I think Venice is the most wonderful of all cities - it’s just so different from anywhere else. Already enchanted by Donna Leon’s Brunetti books, I travelled to the municipality some years ago with my wife and (then) young son. I’d already circled on my tourist map, the location of the Questura (police station) that features in all of the books, and is home to Brunetti and his colleagues. Determined to track it down, I dragged our small group around, through and over the calli and canals until I came to the spot marked on my map. I knew that, in reality, the police had moved to a new site some years ago, and there would be no sign to identify the building. Nonetheless, I was convinced I had enough of a description to be able to spot it and therefore gaze upon the office window Brunetti regularly stands before as he ruminates upon his latest case. But I just couldn’t identify the building. We didn’t spend long there – my companions were more anxious to track down the nearest gelateria – so I left disappointed. The rub to the tale is, upon my return to the UK, I checked my map against available reference material only to find that I was looking on the wrong side of the canal. The building I’d had my back to as I scanned the area (of which I have no memory at all) was the fabled Questora!
Leon has written 24 books now featuring Venice based policemen Commissario Guido Brunetti. The cast has barely changed: his wife and children feature prominently as do his boss (the pompous Vice-Questore Patta) and his other work colleagues. Every time I pick up a new book, I instantly feel at home and am transported immediately to this delightful place. In this latest episode we are returned to the scene of the original crime, described in the very first Brunetti book Death at La Fenice. This time, the volume of yellow roses lavished upon her by an adoring yet anonymous fan spooks a renowned opera singer (well, I did say not to expect a hunt for a serial killer).
As always with this series, it’s the small things I love. There is much talk of food (lentils with hot salami and candied currants… veal roll filled with sweet sausage) and Brunetti is apt to put his temporary lethargy down to the simple fact he’s had insufficient coffee. A glass of wine with your lunch? Not a problem – even if there are witnesses to interrogate later.
It’s all wrapped up nicely in the end, and here’s a nice mix of humour and pathos. Moreover, we’re able to track another period in the lives of this long-running cast. Time for a coffee or maybe a glass of Prosecco - it’d be rude not to.
September 26, 2022
With every Guido Brunetti mystery, Leon picks a new topic. This time, it’s stalking. Flavia Petrilli, the opera singer from Death at La Fenice (the first in the series), makes a re-appearance. This time, she is being stalked by someone leaving her dozens of yellow roses. And a young singer that has caught her attention suffers a vicious assault.
These are never fast paced stories. They will appeal to those that want detailed descriptions of food, music, books and family life, with a mystery being almost secondary. But having said that, I rarely figure out who the villian is in advance.
I was so happy to see that the inter-office politics that always bring a smile to my face featured more prominently in this story.
This is a wonderful series to listen to and I adore David Colacci as the narrator.
These are never fast paced stories. They will appeal to those that want detailed descriptions of food, music, books and family life, with a mystery being almost secondary. But having said that, I rarely figure out who the villian is in advance.
I was so happy to see that the inter-office politics that always bring a smile to my face featured more prominently in this story.
This is a wonderful series to listen to and I adore David Colacci as the narrator.
March 7, 2015
This 24th Commisario Brunetti mystery is an exception in this series as a former main character, Flavia Petrelli, makes another appearance. This rarely happens in Donna Leon's books, apart from the main cast(Brunetti's family and friends, the police corps and the people working in the various places Brunetti frequently visits) all characters usually don't appear more than once. I was looking forward to this because Flavia is a very memorable character and it had been a while since her last appearance.
I also enjoyed that parts of the book were told from her perspective, also something uncommon in this series. The setting at the opera was also well-chosen. It reminded me of the first book, Death at La Fenice, one of the most memorable and best crime novels I've ever read.
But even though all the conditions were set for me to expect a great mystery I still found the book rather mediocre. I found Brunetti and his colleagues quite slow-witted: my Italian is very rudimental but I saw the meaning of "É mia" much faster than any of the police did. I also found Signorina Elettra's strike rather ridiculous and wondered why no one found Alvise's suspension without payment weird.
On the positive side I liked the idea of the stalker, something I find very scary. The show-down was great but I wish that the stalker hadn't died and we would have found out more about her motives and why it was exactly Flavia she was after.
(I received a free digital copy via Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the opportunity!)
I also enjoyed that parts of the book were told from her perspective, also something uncommon in this series. The setting at the opera was also well-chosen. It reminded me of the first book, Death at La Fenice, one of the most memorable and best crime novels I've ever read.
But even though all the conditions were set for me to expect a great mystery I still found the book rather mediocre. I found Brunetti and his colleagues quite slow-witted: my Italian is very rudimental but I saw the meaning of "É mia" much faster than any of the police did. I also found Signorina Elettra's strike rather ridiculous and wondered why no one found Alvise's suspension without payment weird.
On the positive side I liked the idea of the stalker, something I find very scary. The show-down was great but I wish that the stalker hadn't died and we would have found out more about her motives and why it was exactly Flavia she was after.
(I received a free digital copy via Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the opportunity!)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2020
Here in Venice, a city where she had spent a great deal of time and where she should know a lot of people, she had no desire to mingle with her colleagues: a baritone who spoke only of his success, a conductor who disliked her and found the feeling hard to disguise, and a tenor who seemed to have fallen in love with her – with certainly no encouragement from her.
Soprano Flavia Petrelli is back in Venice, performing the lead role in Puccini's "Tosca" at La Fenice. Now in her early forties, divorced, with two almost grown children, she is at the height of her career, undertaking a demanding programme of appearances. She met Guido Brunetti years earlier, when falsely accused of murder, and now she needs his help again, to save her from an unhinged fan, following her from London to St Petersburg and now to Venice, showering her in bouquets of yellow roses.
These flowers made no sense: they should have been a compliment to her talent, sent in appreciation of a good performance. Instead, she felt in them menace and something stronger than that, something approaching madness…
Events escalate when a young contralto whose voice Flavia compliments is assaulted and left for dead on the streets of Venice, raising concerns for Flavia’s own safety.
Brunetti gave thanks that he lived in a country where a woman who had just spoken of being in fear of her life would put on eyeliner and lipstick for ten-minute walk across a deserted city after midnight.
I admit that had not given a great deal of thought to the concept of opera singers as “vocal athletes”, yet the comparisons to sports stars are there: swap wigs and costumes for sportswear, both train/practice for performances, the travel and hotels, taking care of diet and health. Both have a loyal following of fans. This book takes the reader backstage at La Fenice to dressing rooms and rehearsal rooms, and from the stage manager and stage hands, to the dressers and orchestra, and the security guard. I learned so much.
We have the familiar character of Commissario Guido Brunetti, happily married to Paola, an avid reader, and their two (now teenage) children. Brunetti goes home for lunch and gets on well with his in-laws. At work, he is answerable to the Vice-Questore Giuseppe Patta and Lieutenant Scarpa (whom he quietly despises) and works well with his colleagues, including the formidable secretary, Signorina Elettra and forensic technician Bocchese. There is a constant whiff of corruption, and a general distrust the Venetians harbour against those from other parts of Italy who moved there to further their careers. Then there is the growing disquiet at the cruise ships disgorging thousands of tourists (proven by recent events to be well-founded) and the tackiness of souvenirs.
What I really liked about this one is that it is only late in the story that the identity of the stalker is revealed: and the strength of Donna Leon’s writing is that each book is complete unto itself, allowing a reader to pick a Brunetti novel at random and enjoy the fine writing, evoking the sights and sounds of Venice.
Soprano Flavia Petrelli is back in Venice, performing the lead role in Puccini's "Tosca" at La Fenice. Now in her early forties, divorced, with two almost grown children, she is at the height of her career, undertaking a demanding programme of appearances. She met Guido Brunetti years earlier, when falsely accused of murder, and now she needs his help again, to save her from an unhinged fan, following her from London to St Petersburg and now to Venice, showering her in bouquets of yellow roses.
These flowers made no sense: they should have been a compliment to her talent, sent in appreciation of a good performance. Instead, she felt in them menace and something stronger than that, something approaching madness…
Events escalate when a young contralto whose voice Flavia compliments is assaulted and left for dead on the streets of Venice, raising concerns for Flavia’s own safety.
Brunetti gave thanks that he lived in a country where a woman who had just spoken of being in fear of her life would put on eyeliner and lipstick for ten-minute walk across a deserted city after midnight.
I admit that had not given a great deal of thought to the concept of opera singers as “vocal athletes”, yet the comparisons to sports stars are there: swap wigs and costumes for sportswear, both train/practice for performances, the travel and hotels, taking care of diet and health. Both have a loyal following of fans. This book takes the reader backstage at La Fenice to dressing rooms and rehearsal rooms, and from the stage manager and stage hands, to the dressers and orchestra, and the security guard. I learned so much.
We have the familiar character of Commissario Guido Brunetti, happily married to Paola, an avid reader, and their two (now teenage) children. Brunetti goes home for lunch and gets on well with his in-laws. At work, he is answerable to the Vice-Questore Giuseppe Patta and Lieutenant Scarpa (whom he quietly despises) and works well with his colleagues, including the formidable secretary, Signorina Elettra and forensic technician Bocchese. There is a constant whiff of corruption, and a general distrust the Venetians harbour against those from other parts of Italy who moved there to further their careers. Then there is the growing disquiet at the cruise ships disgorging thousands of tourists (proven by recent events to be well-founded) and the tackiness of souvenirs.
What I really liked about this one is that it is only late in the story that the identity of the stalker is revealed: and the strength of Donna Leon’s writing is that each book is complete unto itself, allowing a reader to pick a Brunetti novel at random and enjoy the fine writing, evoking the sights and sounds of Venice.
February 4, 2015
First Sentence: The woman knelt over her lover, her face, her entire body, stiff with terror, staring at the blood on her hand.
Flavia Petrelli, the operatic soprano from “Death at La Fenice” has returned to Venice, singing the lead in “Tosca.” Although is it usually flattering to receive flowers, an anonymous fan seems to be following Flavia around Europe, sending her increasing quantities of yellow roses. Although it’s disturbing, things change when a young singer, with whom Flavia spoke, is brutally attacked.
Leon opens the story in a way that conveys drama and excitement and, without an obvious portent, still establishes that sense of “something wicked this way comes.”
For those who read Leon’s first book, “Death at La Fenice,” it is nice to see one of the characters return. For those who did not, there is no feeling of information missing.
Leon has such a wonderful voice and subtle humor. When referring to Brunetti’s mother-in-law …”The fact that she did not mention the year of that debut only reminded Brunetti that the Contessa’s family had contributed a large number of diplomats to both the Vatican and the Italian state.”
The characters come alive. One cannot help but admire, and perhaps envy a bit, the relationship Brunetti has with his family. Not only is it enjoyable to have him be happily married, but scenes with his family are always natural and delightful. One also sees his pride at being a Venetian. On the other hand, Signorina Elettra, secretary to Brunetti’s boss, is intriguing and enigmatic which only adds to her appeal.
The plot is well-paced and fascinating in its addressing the subject of fans, particularly obsessive fans; the physiology of fandom and the effect being stalked has on the victim.
“Falling in Love” is yet another excellent book from Ms. Leon. The sense of threat and danger is subtle, but very well done.
FALLING IN LOVE (Pol. Proc – Comm. Guido Brunetti – Venice, Italy – Contemp) – VG+
Leon, Donna - 24th in series
Atlantic Monthly Press – April, 2015
Flavia Petrelli, the operatic soprano from “Death at La Fenice” has returned to Venice, singing the lead in “Tosca.” Although is it usually flattering to receive flowers, an anonymous fan seems to be following Flavia around Europe, sending her increasing quantities of yellow roses. Although it’s disturbing, things change when a young singer, with whom Flavia spoke, is brutally attacked.
Leon opens the story in a way that conveys drama and excitement and, without an obvious portent, still establishes that sense of “something wicked this way comes.”
For those who read Leon’s first book, “Death at La Fenice,” it is nice to see one of the characters return. For those who did not, there is no feeling of information missing.
Leon has such a wonderful voice and subtle humor. When referring to Brunetti’s mother-in-law …”The fact that she did not mention the year of that debut only reminded Brunetti that the Contessa’s family had contributed a large number of diplomats to both the Vatican and the Italian state.”
The characters come alive. One cannot help but admire, and perhaps envy a bit, the relationship Brunetti has with his family. Not only is it enjoyable to have him be happily married, but scenes with his family are always natural and delightful. One also sees his pride at being a Venetian. On the other hand, Signorina Elettra, secretary to Brunetti’s boss, is intriguing and enigmatic which only adds to her appeal.
The plot is well-paced and fascinating in its addressing the subject of fans, particularly obsessive fans; the physiology of fandom and the effect being stalked has on the victim.
“Falling in Love” is yet another excellent book from Ms. Leon. The sense of threat and danger is subtle, but very well done.
FALLING IN LOVE (Pol. Proc – Comm. Guido Brunetti – Venice, Italy – Contemp) – VG+
Leon, Donna - 24th in series
Atlantic Monthly Press – April, 2015
April 6, 2017
By all accounts, Donna Leon’s long-running series of detective novels featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti is widely popular, even loved. I wish I could understand why.
Falling in Love, the 24th installment in Leon’s series, is an insipid tale of an opera diva and her violence-prone stalker. I kept reading until the end in hopes that something at least mildly interesting would happen. No such luck. Instead, the painfully slow-moving action is further retarded at far too many places by useless verbiage such as the following:
“Paola said she’d bring coffee into the living room or — if he thought it was warm enough — they could drink it on the terrace. It wasn’t warm enough, so Brunetti went to the sofa and thought about literature. When Paolo joined him a few minutes later, two cups of coffee on a wooden tray . . .”
Snooze! There is no excuse for such boneheaded excess! And don’t think for a minute that that was an isolated example. Here, more or less at random, is another one:
“He called Vianello, who must have been at home or at least in a place where there was a television, for in the background Brunetti could hear the patently artificial voices of the Italian-speakers who did the voice-over for foreign films. Vianello told him to wait, and the sound diminished as he moved away from it.”
Elmore Leonard would gag if he read filler-copy like this! (I certainly did.) It’s reminiscent of the bad old days, when the writers of genre fiction were paid by the word.
But wait — there’s more.
The novel is punctuated by dialogue in Italian that’s nowhere translated into English; I complain when pretentious writers do that with French, which at least is spoken by a halfway reasonable number of people, so I regard a showoff in Italian as a worse offender.
If the plot of Falling in Love were interesting — if it were more than a simple, straightforward, linear story — some of this nonsense might be excusable. Regrettably, nothing relieves the tedium of the boring plot-line in this unfortunate excuse for a mystery.
Falling in Love, the 24th installment in Leon’s series, is an insipid tale of an opera diva and her violence-prone stalker. I kept reading until the end in hopes that something at least mildly interesting would happen. No such luck. Instead, the painfully slow-moving action is further retarded at far too many places by useless verbiage such as the following:
“Paola said she’d bring coffee into the living room or — if he thought it was warm enough — they could drink it on the terrace. It wasn’t warm enough, so Brunetti went to the sofa and thought about literature. When Paolo joined him a few minutes later, two cups of coffee on a wooden tray . . .”
Snooze! There is no excuse for such boneheaded excess! And don’t think for a minute that that was an isolated example. Here, more or less at random, is another one:
“He called Vianello, who must have been at home or at least in a place where there was a television, for in the background Brunetti could hear the patently artificial voices of the Italian-speakers who did the voice-over for foreign films. Vianello told him to wait, and the sound diminished as he moved away from it.”
Elmore Leonard would gag if he read filler-copy like this! (I certainly did.) It’s reminiscent of the bad old days, when the writers of genre fiction were paid by the word.
But wait — there’s more.
The novel is punctuated by dialogue in Italian that’s nowhere translated into English; I complain when pretentious writers do that with French, which at least is spoken by a halfway reasonable number of people, so I regard a showoff in Italian as a worse offender.
If the plot of Falling in Love were interesting — if it were more than a simple, straightforward, linear story — some of this nonsense might be excusable. Regrettably, nothing relieves the tedium of the boring plot-line in this unfortunate excuse for a mystery.
September 29, 2016
Everyone in this book is tired. They actually say they are tired and I believe them--so was I after reading this last sad entry in Donna Leon's once marvelous Guido Brunetti series. Venice is dying, overrun by tourists and immigrants from points south. Leon's dream world that gave power to a few honest souls with courage, a sense of justice and devotion to family, a special city, great food and a handful of friends is dead.
Soprano Flavia Petrelli is back for an encore performance in Tosca in Venice but the magic is gone. Death at La Fenice and Acqua Alta (both featuring Flavia) had suspense, brilliant characters and a rich sense of place. But Flavia is almost unrecognizable and all of the elements that made those books special are missing in this phone-it-in sequel.
The jacket blurb noted that Leon now divides her time between Venice and Switzerland. I'm guessing that she spends most of her time in her Swiss enclave. The sense of furious righteousness that gave her Brunetti novels their strength has succumbed to old age and disillusionment. I sort of liked the opera bits but the plot was thin and the denouement so predictable that I guessed it half way though. It's sad to see an author force herself to write when her heart is no longer in it.
Soprano Flavia Petrelli is back for an encore performance in Tosca in Venice but the magic is gone. Death at La Fenice and Acqua Alta (both featuring Flavia) had suspense, brilliant characters and a rich sense of place. But Flavia is almost unrecognizable and all of the elements that made those books special are missing in this phone-it-in sequel.
The jacket blurb noted that Leon now divides her time between Venice and Switzerland. I'm guessing that she spends most of her time in her Swiss enclave. The sense of furious righteousness that gave her Brunetti novels their strength has succumbed to old age and disillusionment. I sort of liked the opera bits but the plot was thin and the denouement so predictable that I guessed it half way though. It's sad to see an author force herself to write when her heart is no longer in it.
December 17, 2014
Donna Leon's mysteries are not your standard police procedural see-if-you-can-solve-the-crime stories. You are not going to be able to figure this one out, so just let the (mostly) congenial gang at the Questura (police department) handle the investigation and enjoy the gondola ride through Venice.
If you're a regular reader of Donna Leon, you'll enjoy the banter between Guido and his wife, Paola, and between Guido and his colleagues. If you are new to these mysteries, you will no doubt find the pace slow and the mystery so subtle as to be nearly nonexistent. The pace is something that comes with the territory, which is of course, Venice, nicknamed La Serenissima, The Serene One. No car chases here.
The drama in Falling in Love is provided by the opera Tosca, which features the center of our attention, Flavia Petrelli, a diva that Guido met in the very first mystery in the series, Death at La Fenice. Back for another encore (she appeared in at least one more book), Flavia is feeling stalked by an anonymous fan who is leaving her too many flowers and giving her ostentatious gifts. Guido isn't too concerned until another singer that Flavia has recently met is assaulted and left for dead.
The action picks up in the second act and as the music reaches a crescendo, there's a dramatic confrontation that threatens to mimic the opera's tragic ending. Meanwhile, back at the Questura, the usually hyper-efficient Signorina Elettra makes a wrong move in her computer hacking and may have jeopardized her own career as well as Guido's and several others.
So, plenty of atmosphere, banter, Venetian delicacies, opera, and yes, even a mystery thrown in for good measure.
(Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for a digital review copy.)
If you're a regular reader of Donna Leon, you'll enjoy the banter between Guido and his wife, Paola, and between Guido and his colleagues. If you are new to these mysteries, you will no doubt find the pace slow and the mystery so subtle as to be nearly nonexistent. The pace is something that comes with the territory, which is of course, Venice, nicknamed La Serenissima, The Serene One. No car chases here.
The drama in Falling in Love is provided by the opera Tosca, which features the center of our attention, Flavia Petrelli, a diva that Guido met in the very first mystery in the series, Death at La Fenice. Back for another encore (she appeared in at least one more book), Flavia is feeling stalked by an anonymous fan who is leaving her too many flowers and giving her ostentatious gifts. Guido isn't too concerned until another singer that Flavia has recently met is assaulted and left for dead.
The action picks up in the second act and as the music reaches a crescendo, there's a dramatic confrontation that threatens to mimic the opera's tragic ending. Meanwhile, back at the Questura, the usually hyper-efficient Signorina Elettra makes a wrong move in her computer hacking and may have jeopardized her own career as well as Guido's and several others.
So, plenty of atmosphere, banter, Venetian delicacies, opera, and yes, even a mystery thrown in for good measure.
(Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for a digital review copy.)
January 17, 2017
Două steluțe doar pentru că-mi plac opera și teatrul. Și atmosfera din prima jumătate a cărții chiar mi-a plăcut. Sfârșitul m-a enervat foarte tare, prea brusc și tras. Îs ok două steluțe, chiar 1.5! Și coperta chiar îmi place.
May 30, 2015
I was very happy to win this book, as it's one of a series and I do love mystery series. Having said that...
Well, I'm a sucker for a good mystery. Especially set in a foreign country, with an inspector, his sidekicks and assistants, his long-running feud with superiors, etc., etc. Give me a new one that's pretty good and I'm in heaven...
This didn't turn out to be one of those. A bit long-winded when it comes to obsessing over trivial and frivolous matters, this writer just isn't doing it for me. Also obsessed with repetition, commas and endless phrases in every fourth or fifth sentence, something which left me confused and often flabbergasted. I read several chapters in, found myself constantly re-reading whole paragraphs because on the first read they just didn't make sense. But I told myself once I got into the 'swing' of so many phrases, and commas, and repetition, the book would just breeze along.
It didn't. Then I thought, well...one must, really, allow for artistic license, the writer's writing style, the witty dialogue and banter, did I just say banter? Let me say it again. Banter this and that and if there are people bowing, say it once, twice, say it a dozen times! And the scene with the roses. How many ways can one say roses? At least a dozen.
However, if one does love a story filled with banalities and an excess of dwelling on the obvious, this is surely the book for him, or her, or them, or anyone.
Just not the book for me.
Well, I'm a sucker for a good mystery. Especially set in a foreign country, with an inspector, his sidekicks and assistants, his long-running feud with superiors, etc., etc. Give me a new one that's pretty good and I'm in heaven...
This didn't turn out to be one of those. A bit long-winded when it comes to obsessing over trivial and frivolous matters, this writer just isn't doing it for me. Also obsessed with repetition, commas and endless phrases in every fourth or fifth sentence, something which left me confused and often flabbergasted. I read several chapters in, found myself constantly re-reading whole paragraphs because on the first read they just didn't make sense. But I told myself once I got into the 'swing' of so many phrases, and commas, and repetition, the book would just breeze along.
It didn't. Then I thought, well...one must, really, allow for artistic license, the writer's writing style, the witty dialogue and banter, did I just say banter? Let me say it again. Banter this and that and if there are people bowing, say it once, twice, say it a dozen times! And the scene with the roses. How many ways can one say roses? At least a dozen.
However, if one does love a story filled with banalities and an excess of dwelling on the obvious, this is surely the book for him, or her, or them, or anyone.
Just not the book for me.
April 19, 2015
I've been terribly critical of Leon's recent work, so it was nice that this time around there was nothing especially not to like. Even at her worst (as in The Jewels of Paradise) Leon writes intelligently and well, especially by comparison with most police procedurals, so my criticisms have been mostly out of disappointment that not every one of her books can be as good as the best of her books. Here, in Falling in Love, she returns to the character of Flavia Petrelli, introduced in her first Brunetti novel, Death at La Fenice, seeking, perhaps, to recapture the brilliance of those early novels. She doesn't quite succeed, but comes close.
So, why doesn't this succeed? I think, in part, it is that Leon has lost much of her earlier political passion. In the early novels there was always something that she delighted in tearing apart: corporate greed, political corruption, environmental spoilage, the power of the military. More recently I believe she has lost that passion and has, perhaps, even turned to the right. Her ire, now, is aimed at the hordes of tourists in Venice and the resultant "cheapening of everything" there. She aims her guns at "shoddy Chinese-made" goods, without going further and looking at the political causes of the influx of cheap foreign goods. She has one of her characters deride workers for going on strike during the great financial crisis: "They're crazy! We need these jobs", says the character (approximately). Leon does have Brunetti think to himself that the character is not showing much working class solidarity - but even that is expressed ironically, as if Brunetti doesn't think much of such solidarity. Paola, especially, has entirely given up her leftist and anti-clerical views. And in Falling In Love we are even treated to the spectacle of Brunetti going into a church to reverently light a candle for his mother.
Having this novel feature Flavia Petrelli, the opera singer from the first novel, makes us think a little about the passage of time in the Brunetti series. In this latest novel, Chiara is still at home, in high school as far as I can tell, and Raffi is still in college. This suggests that the novels must be spaced about 3 months or so apart, so the 20 years that separates the first from the most recent novel in real time is about 5, maybe 6, years. That's quite a short time for Brunetti and Paolo to have shed their outrage over the ills of capitalism and to have become apathetic or resigned. But, I guess, 20 years is not too short a time for Leon to have done so.
Once again the publisher, Grove Atlantic, has managed to do a perfectly awful job of typography. They clearly do not care about their readers or authors: if they did, they would make an effort to make their books look like something published by professionals. I do hope that Leon is not in a long term contract with Atlantic Press: she deserves far better.
So, why doesn't this succeed? I think, in part, it is that Leon has lost much of her earlier political passion. In the early novels there was always something that she delighted in tearing apart: corporate greed, political corruption, environmental spoilage, the power of the military. More recently I believe she has lost that passion and has, perhaps, even turned to the right. Her ire, now, is aimed at the hordes of tourists in Venice and the resultant "cheapening of everything" there. She aims her guns at "shoddy Chinese-made" goods, without going further and looking at the political causes of the influx of cheap foreign goods. She has one of her characters deride workers for going on strike during the great financial crisis: "They're crazy! We need these jobs", says the character (approximately). Leon does have Brunetti think to himself that the character is not showing much working class solidarity - but even that is expressed ironically, as if Brunetti doesn't think much of such solidarity. Paola, especially, has entirely given up her leftist and anti-clerical views. And in Falling In Love we are even treated to the spectacle of Brunetti going into a church to reverently light a candle for his mother.
Having this novel feature Flavia Petrelli, the opera singer from the first novel, makes us think a little about the passage of time in the Brunetti series. In this latest novel, Chiara is still at home, in high school as far as I can tell, and Raffi is still in college. This suggests that the novels must be spaced about 3 months or so apart, so the 20 years that separates the first from the most recent novel in real time is about 5, maybe 6, years. That's quite a short time for Brunetti and Paolo to have shed their outrage over the ills of capitalism and to have become apathetic or resigned. But, I guess, 20 years is not too short a time for Leon to have done so.
Once again the publisher, Grove Atlantic, has managed to do a perfectly awful job of typography. They clearly do not care about their readers or authors: if they did, they would make an effort to make their books look like something published by professionals. I do hope that Leon is not in a long term contract with Atlantic Press: she deserves far better.
June 16, 2019
The fraught and rather bloody opening scene had me wondering what exactly had happened to the usually quieter and more internalized Donna Leon--until the heroine leapt from atop Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo and I realized Commissario Brunetti was sitting at La Fenice watching the finale to Puccini’s TOSCA. In this book Leon revisits the world and characters of opera that she first explored 24 books earlier—a subject she knows well. (I’ve heard that some of her royalties went toward underwriting the late Alan Curtis’s Baroque opera productions in Italy. She also has Brunetti characterize the opera as “that shabby little shocker,” which suggests either Brunetti or the author had been reading the late Joseph Kerman’s opera criticism from almost 70 years ago.) Once the curtain comes down, Leon returns to her accustomed style, Venetian milieu, and the familiar characters whom her fans happily read about. The frequent topographical references as Brunetti explores the Venetian lagoon and the numerous musical references may trouble readers who bristle at feeling left out of the in-crowd but are no more a stumbling block for readers than when Jonathan Kellerman has Alex Delaware zipping around the highways and byways of LA. Once again, plot seems chiefly to provide readers with the excuse to engage with all the familiar characters (and the city) that make Leon’s novels a pleasure to read.
January 28, 2022
Ab und zu kann ich einen „Brunetti“ zur Entspannung vertragen. Durch die Gassen und über die Brücken Venedigs zu laufen, die unheimlichen Tricks der Sekretärin bestaunen, die Treppen zur Wohnung der Heile-Welt-Familie (die es sonst nie im Krimi gibt) steigen und schon den Essensduft riechen (Dieses Mal ist es: ach nee, ich verrate es nicht). Die Atmosphäre, die ich mag, findet sich auch in diesem Buch, aber darüber hinaus hat es kaum etwas zu bieten. Donna Leon verbindet hier ihre Leidenschaften, das Theater oder genauer die Oper und die Schriftstellerei, dazu gibt es noch ein paar literarische Verweise. Aber daraus wird kaum eine einleuchtende Handlung, vor allem keine spannende. In diesem Fall nicht einmal eine mit politischem Hintergrund oder mit Gepflogenheiten in Italien, sondern eher etwas Absurdes und trotzdem genau Vorhersehbares.
Dabei sind die Dialoge oft hölzern und die Emotionen nicht glaubwürdig. Entweder werde ich immer anspruchsvoller oder diese Folge war besonders schlecht. Immerhin kenne ich jetzt die Handlung der Oper Tosca, aber deswegen lese ich doch keine Krimis. Oder vielleicht sollte ich mal die Gerichte kochen, damit die Lektüre noch etwas Mehrwert hat.
Dabei sind die Dialoge oft hölzern und die Emotionen nicht glaubwürdig. Entweder werde ich immer anspruchsvoller oder diese Folge war besonders schlecht. Immerhin kenne ich jetzt die Handlung der Oper Tosca, aber deswegen lese ich doch keine Krimis. Oder vielleicht sollte ich mal die Gerichte kochen, damit die Lektüre noch etwas Mehrwert hat.
July 23, 2016
Would You Like To Visit Venice For A Few Days?
Book Review: Falling In Love by Donna Leon
Falling In Love is book number twenty-four in Donna Leon’s crime series set in Venice, Italy featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti. It is about a mysterious stalker who threatens Flavia Petrelli, a fortyish opera singer performing the lead role in Tosca at Teatro La Fenice, and Brunetti’s attempts to catch the culprit before she is murdered. The author explores the love-hate relationship between a star and her admirers giving us an intriguing tale of obsessive fans, sibling rivalry, illicit affairs and lustrous jewels.
The novel unfolds in twenty-eight chapters and prior to the first, there is a black and white aerial map of Venice. Marked with clear text and directional arrows, it identifies the six sestieri, major canals, location vis-à-vis the mainland and some of the other islands in the Venetian Lagoon. Donna Leon, however, uses the map as more than a tool to define place. Sites where pivotal action occurs are also noted. By providing the opportunity to track developments, therefore, she draws readers into the story.
Opera is a complicated art form and Donna Leon fosters our understanding of it through many means. In Chapter 26, for example, Commissario Brunetti and Inspector Vianello observe Flavia Petrelli perform so they might guard her. In this instance, she weaves technical and staging details necessary to mount the production without interrupting flow.
As the following sentence evidences, she articulates the musical score beautifully. “Although there was only death to come, the scene opened with soft flutes and horns and church bells and the utter tranquility of night’s slow mellowing into day.”
Donna Leon excels at creating complex characters. Guido Brunetti is a methodical detective committed to his duties as a Venetian detective. This passage from Chapter 23, however, demonstrates he is also a man of passion with tenderness for his wife, Paola Falier. His definition of love is especially poignant.
“Perhaps life had been too generous to him, for the only woman he had ever desired to the point of pain at the thought of not having was Paola, the woman he had married and who was now part of himself. For her, and for his children with her, he willed the good: he couldn’t remember which philosopher had defined love this way, but he thought it was as perfect a definition he had ever heard.”
Related to this talent is her deftness at character description. I cite Flavia Petrelli’s comments in Chapter 3 with regards Guido Brunetti and Paola Falier to elucidate this point.
“She noticed, in the midst of the remaining people, a middle-aged man at the back of the group: brown-haired, head lowered to listen to something the woman next to him was saying. The woman was more interesting; natural blonde, powerful nose, light eyes, probably older than she looked.”
The author also captures the minutiae of everyday life with precision often referencing food and meal interactions to illustrate family dynamics. In a Chapter 12 lunch scene, Brunetti and Paola have a “frittata with zucchini and stuffed turkey breast” with their children, Raffi and Chiara.
She writes, “The meal passed quietly, with the idle chat of people who were at ease with one another.” This parsing testifies to Donna Leon’s keen powers of observation as well as her skill as a wordsmith.
And a final thought. Venice, Italy is a popular tourist venue but Brunetti’s reflections challenge the reader to view it from a resident’s perspective. In Chapter 17, he ruminates, “Since the city illumination had been changed about a decade ago, Brunetti had grumbled about how bright the night had become: some of his friends complained that they could read in bed with the light that came in the windows.”
Whenever I yen to spend a few days in Venice to escape my current reality, I reach for a Donna Leon book. I have enjoyed the visit Falling In Love has afforded me and encourage you to travel with this author, too.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
Book Review: Falling In Love by Donna Leon
Falling In Love is book number twenty-four in Donna Leon’s crime series set in Venice, Italy featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti. It is about a mysterious stalker who threatens Flavia Petrelli, a fortyish opera singer performing the lead role in Tosca at Teatro La Fenice, and Brunetti’s attempts to catch the culprit before she is murdered. The author explores the love-hate relationship between a star and her admirers giving us an intriguing tale of obsessive fans, sibling rivalry, illicit affairs and lustrous jewels.
The novel unfolds in twenty-eight chapters and prior to the first, there is a black and white aerial map of Venice. Marked with clear text and directional arrows, it identifies the six sestieri, major canals, location vis-à-vis the mainland and some of the other islands in the Venetian Lagoon. Donna Leon, however, uses the map as more than a tool to define place. Sites where pivotal action occurs are also noted. By providing the opportunity to track developments, therefore, she draws readers into the story.
Opera is a complicated art form and Donna Leon fosters our understanding of it through many means. In Chapter 26, for example, Commissario Brunetti and Inspector Vianello observe Flavia Petrelli perform so they might guard her. In this instance, she weaves technical and staging details necessary to mount the production without interrupting flow.
As the following sentence evidences, she articulates the musical score beautifully. “Although there was only death to come, the scene opened with soft flutes and horns and church bells and the utter tranquility of night’s slow mellowing into day.”
Donna Leon excels at creating complex characters. Guido Brunetti is a methodical detective committed to his duties as a Venetian detective. This passage from Chapter 23, however, demonstrates he is also a man of passion with tenderness for his wife, Paola Falier. His definition of love is especially poignant.
“Perhaps life had been too generous to him, for the only woman he had ever desired to the point of pain at the thought of not having was Paola, the woman he had married and who was now part of himself. For her, and for his children with her, he willed the good: he couldn’t remember which philosopher had defined love this way, but he thought it was as perfect a definition he had ever heard.”
Related to this talent is her deftness at character description. I cite Flavia Petrelli’s comments in Chapter 3 with regards Guido Brunetti and Paola Falier to elucidate this point.
“She noticed, in the midst of the remaining people, a middle-aged man at the back of the group: brown-haired, head lowered to listen to something the woman next to him was saying. The woman was more interesting; natural blonde, powerful nose, light eyes, probably older than she looked.”
The author also captures the minutiae of everyday life with precision often referencing food and meal interactions to illustrate family dynamics. In a Chapter 12 lunch scene, Brunetti and Paola have a “frittata with zucchini and stuffed turkey breast” with their children, Raffi and Chiara.
She writes, “The meal passed quietly, with the idle chat of people who were at ease with one another.” This parsing testifies to Donna Leon’s keen powers of observation as well as her skill as a wordsmith.
And a final thought. Venice, Italy is a popular tourist venue but Brunetti’s reflections challenge the reader to view it from a resident’s perspective. In Chapter 17, he ruminates, “Since the city illumination had been changed about a decade ago, Brunetti had grumbled about how bright the night had become: some of his friends complained that they could read in bed with the light that came in the windows.”
Whenever I yen to spend a few days in Venice to escape my current reality, I reach for a Donna Leon book. I have enjoyed the visit Falling In Love has afforded me and encourage you to travel with this author, too.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
April 9, 2015
Flavia Petrelli - world class opera singer, is back at La Fenice singing the role of Tosca. Fans of this excellent series will remember her from the first book - Death at La Fenice in which she was a suspect in the suspicious death of a famous conductor. Now she is the potential victim of a stalker who bombards her with yellow roses. Brunetti is at first inclined to pass it off as a fan's over enthusiasm but when a young singer is attacked and left for dead he starts to realise things could be more serious than he first supposed.
This is Leon at her best. In the recent books in the series she has concentrated too much, in my opinion, on ecological issues but now she is back to the territory of the earlier books. Her writing is as ever subtle and elliptical and conversations and people always have multiple layers which often only reveal themselves on second reading. Here are all the favourite series characters - Elettra, the expert at tracking down information; Brunetti's wife, Paola with her head in a book but still finding time to cook delicious meals for her family; Patta, Brunetti's boss who seems to have mellowed slightly.
This is a compelling read and kept me up long pats my usual bed time as I just had to finish it to find out what happened. The nail biting finale was well worth staying up for. Recommended to all Guido Brunetti fans as well as anyone who hasn't read this series before. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.
This is Leon at her best. In the recent books in the series she has concentrated too much, in my opinion, on ecological issues but now she is back to the territory of the earlier books. Her writing is as ever subtle and elliptical and conversations and people always have multiple layers which often only reveal themselves on second reading. Here are all the favourite series characters - Elettra, the expert at tracking down information; Brunetti's wife, Paola with her head in a book but still finding time to cook delicious meals for her family; Patta, Brunetti's boss who seems to have mellowed slightly.
This is a compelling read and kept me up long pats my usual bed time as I just had to finish it to find out what happened. The nail biting finale was well worth staying up for. Recommended to all Guido Brunetti fans as well as anyone who hasn't read this series before. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.
June 20, 2019
Brunetti is reduced to being a mere observer in this book. He is told a story, at length; he gets a phone call and rushes off to hospital on a boat but stands around in the hospital until he is told a story; he walks around Venice and is told a story; he talks with the lady in the office who started out as receptionist and now appears to be Italy's foremost computer intruder and is told a very long story or two; he talks to a victim of crime and is told a story. At the end, having signally failed to do the one thing that would have been obvious he needed to do, he stands around backstage listening to a story, while the matter resolves itself.
As I am not so interested in classical opera as some, I didn't find the book riveting, but opera fans may get more out of this than I did. The ending is forced, shoehorned, in and doesn't fit; a stalker would probably not want to lose immediate contact with the person they had stalked. The concept of stalking, even of assault, seems unknown to Brunetti, even after all these years. That's odd.
Fans of Leon will probably want to read the latest, but I thought it was not a patch on her earlier works. Library read for me.
This is an unbiased review.
As I am not so interested in classical opera as some, I didn't find the book riveting, but opera fans may get more out of this than I did. The ending is forced, shoehorned, in and doesn't fit; a stalker would probably not want to lose immediate contact with the person they had stalked. The concept of stalking, even of assault, seems unknown to Brunetti, even after all these years. That's odd.
Fans of Leon will probably want to read the latest, but I thought it was not a patch on her earlier works. Library read for me.
This is an unbiased review.
September 3, 2016
Absolutely delightful Brunetti episode with the opera singer soprano of the first books returning to Venice for her staging of Tosca. And she is being stalked?
Loved it. Every nuance of the Commissario, his wife- our always defiant Signora Elettra is in top form and some of the lunches alone so delectable that I cannot venture to describe them.
We are behind the scene sets, at stage Right and Left. And in the dressing room on the 5th floor. Freddy is an escort of timely manners.
And I almost forgot the dozens and dozens of yellow roses in glass blown exotic vases- and the priceless necklace of a dozen plover sized gems left next to the Diva's make up mirror.
I did not guess the perp, wasn't even close.
These are getting better and the depth of characterizations deeper as time goes on.
Venice again, of course, is a 5 star.
Loved it. Every nuance of the Commissario, his wife- our always defiant Signora Elettra is in top form and some of the lunches alone so delectable that I cannot venture to describe them.
We are behind the scene sets, at stage Right and Left. And in the dressing room on the 5th floor. Freddy is an escort of timely manners.
And I almost forgot the dozens and dozens of yellow roses in glass blown exotic vases- and the priceless necklace of a dozen plover sized gems left next to the Diva's make up mirror.
I did not guess the perp, wasn't even close.
These are getting better and the depth of characterizations deeper as time goes on.
Venice again, of course, is a 5 star.
July 22, 2015
I adore Guido Brunetti. He is high on the list of favorite contemporary characters. That's why Falling in Love disappointed me. Guido was not Guido in this story!
There was very little interaction with his family, and that has been one of the most wonderful aspects of the series. No Henry James? No banter over dinner? How could that be?
Most of the usual characters do appear in the book, but they don't have much juice either. Even the amazing Signorina Elettra was subdued.
Once a year, Leon gives a glimpse into Brunetti's world. Waiting for the 2016 tale will give readers time to forget that Falling in Love fell flat.
There was very little interaction with his family, and that has been one of the most wonderful aspects of the series. No Henry James? No banter over dinner? How could that be?
Most of the usual characters do appear in the book, but they don't have much juice either. Even the amazing Signorina Elettra was subdued.
Once a year, Leon gives a glimpse into Brunetti's world. Waiting for the 2016 tale will give readers time to forget that Falling in Love fell flat.
January 30, 2017
Dieser Roman beginnt gemächlich, seeehr gemächlich. Und nimmt auch nur sehr langsam Fahrt auf, nicht gerade ideal für einen Krimi. Was mir allerdings sehr gefallen hat ist der Rückgriff auf den ersten Roman "Venezianisches Finale" der Brunetti-Reihe und die Einsichten in das Innenleben von Opernstars. So schließt sich der Kreis. Ob ich noch eine weitere Brunetti-Geschichte lessen warden? Ich bin mir nicht sicher.
May 5, 2015
In this character-driven mystery, Donna Leon reprises opera singer, Flavia Petrelli. This time Flavia is the victim not the murder suspect. With the able assistance of the ever-so-resourceful and devious Signorina Elettra, Guido Brunetti once again triumphs. Too bad it seemed to take forever.
November 30, 2015
Flavia Petrelli is a famous opera singer and as such is used to getting flowers. So she's not worried when she starts receiving yelllow roses. Until hundreds of them show up in her changing room and in front of the door to her apartment...
This was a great entry in the Brunetti series. Reading it was like slipping in a well-worn sweater. I enjoyed following the familiar characters around, learning what they are up to, drooling at the descriptions of the food and seeing beautiful Venice through their eyes.
Flavia Petrelli is a great character, talented, headstrong, down to earth and kind. I liked her a lot and thus was invested in how the story would end.
If you enjoy slow mysteries with great atmosphere and characters, you will probably like this.
This was a great entry in the Brunetti series. Reading it was like slipping in a well-worn sweater. I enjoyed following the familiar characters around, learning what they are up to, drooling at the descriptions of the food and seeing beautiful Venice through their eyes.
Flavia Petrelli is a great character, talented, headstrong, down to earth and kind. I liked her a lot and thus was invested in how the story would end.
If you enjoy slow mysteries with great atmosphere and characters, you will probably like this.
February 4, 2018
The umpteenth novel in Leon's long-running Commissario Brunetti series set in Venice, focuses on opera singer Flavia Petrelli yet again. In the first Brunetti ('Death at La Fenice') Petrelli was suspected of murder. In the fifth, 'Acqua Alta,' her lover was beaten and Brunetti investigated. In the latest, she is victimized by a deranged fan. Safe to say, Falvia should probably stay away from "La Serenissima" for good. Placid procedural with enjoyable asides, though Brunetti encounters far less Venetian venality than usual.
October 10, 2017
3.5* est plus correct. Pas la meilleure enquête de Brunetti mais toujours un plaisir pour moi de retrouver ce personnage.
May 4, 2015
Vissi d'amore...
Famous opera star Flavia Petrelli is back at La Fenice in Venice to sing the lead in Tosca. But she has brought with her an unknown admirer who has been turning up at her performances in various cities and showering her with vast quantities of yellow roses. Although she has not been physically threatened, Flavia is finding the obsessiveness of this fan unsettling and when she returns to her apartment after a performance to find another bouquet propped against her door, her unease turns to fear. Over dinner with her old friend Commissario Guido Brunetti, she tells him what's been going on. At first he's not too worried, but when a young opera singer in whom Flavia had shown an interest is savagely attacked, he wonders if there's a connection...
This is only my second Brunetti book although it's the twenty-fourth in the series. Apparently Flavia appeared in the very first book but I didn't find it a problem at all that I hadn't read it. This one works perfectly well as a standalone.
Flavia's friendship with Brunetti is a distant one, enough for them to be glad to meet and catch up, but not close enough for Brunetti to really know about her life. In fact, most of what he knows he's gleaned from celebrity magazines. The first few chapters are told from Flavia's point of view, giving what feels like an authentic picture of the life of an opera star, on stage and off. She has a family – two children and an ex-husband – but her career means she is often on the road, and we get a good feeling for the loneliness she sometimes feels once the glamour of her performance is over. She can be over-dramatic at times, to Brunetti's annoyance, and this can mean that people think she's exaggerating. But Brunetti soon comes to believe that her fears are well grounded.
These books have a slightly old-fashioned air about them – no bad thing, in my opinion. Brunetti's family life is a happy one and the interludes with them add some lightness to the overall tone. The depiction of Venice feels as if it's stuck in a time-warp from thirty or forty years ago but perhaps Venice really is that out of date. Sadly, I've never been there. However, the way the police operate comes over as distinctly amateurish at times, with them having to find out how to requisition CCTV footage, etc., and the idea that the only person who can use the computer properly is the Vice-Questore's secretary is surely unbelievable. However, the tensions between the various officers give an indication of how much this society is still dependant on patronage rather than merit. And Brunetti himself is a thoughtful detective, relying on brain rather than brawn to solve his cases.
There is a slight whodunit element to the book but it's more about the why than the who really. The plotting is excellent and the characterisation of the main players is very strong. The pace is fairly leisurely, rather like the pace of life of Venice itself, but it never flags in what is quite a short book. And as it heads towards the finale both pace and tension ratchet up. In the last book in the series, By Its Cover, I felt the ending let it down rather. Quite the reverse in this one! A true thriller ending, as dramatic as an opera itself, it had me racing through the last pages as it came to an exciting and satisfying conclusion. Most enjoyable. I'm sure fans will love this one, and it would also be a good introduction for someone coming new to the series. If I ever get time, I'll go back and read the twenty-two I've missed...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Grove Atlantic.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Famous opera star Flavia Petrelli is back at La Fenice in Venice to sing the lead in Tosca. But she has brought with her an unknown admirer who has been turning up at her performances in various cities and showering her with vast quantities of yellow roses. Although she has not been physically threatened, Flavia is finding the obsessiveness of this fan unsettling and when she returns to her apartment after a performance to find another bouquet propped against her door, her unease turns to fear. Over dinner with her old friend Commissario Guido Brunetti, she tells him what's been going on. At first he's not too worried, but when a young opera singer in whom Flavia had shown an interest is savagely attacked, he wonders if there's a connection...
This is only my second Brunetti book although it's the twenty-fourth in the series. Apparently Flavia appeared in the very first book but I didn't find it a problem at all that I hadn't read it. This one works perfectly well as a standalone.
Flavia's friendship with Brunetti is a distant one, enough for them to be glad to meet and catch up, but not close enough for Brunetti to really know about her life. In fact, most of what he knows he's gleaned from celebrity magazines. The first few chapters are told from Flavia's point of view, giving what feels like an authentic picture of the life of an opera star, on stage and off. She has a family – two children and an ex-husband – but her career means she is often on the road, and we get a good feeling for the loneliness she sometimes feels once the glamour of her performance is over. She can be over-dramatic at times, to Brunetti's annoyance, and this can mean that people think she's exaggerating. But Brunetti soon comes to believe that her fears are well grounded.
These books have a slightly old-fashioned air about them – no bad thing, in my opinion. Brunetti's family life is a happy one and the interludes with them add some lightness to the overall tone. The depiction of Venice feels as if it's stuck in a time-warp from thirty or forty years ago but perhaps Venice really is that out of date. Sadly, I've never been there. However, the way the police operate comes over as distinctly amateurish at times, with them having to find out how to requisition CCTV footage, etc., and the idea that the only person who can use the computer properly is the Vice-Questore's secretary is surely unbelievable. However, the tensions between the various officers give an indication of how much this society is still dependant on patronage rather than merit. And Brunetti himself is a thoughtful detective, relying on brain rather than brawn to solve his cases.
There is a slight whodunit element to the book but it's more about the why than the who really. The plotting is excellent and the characterisation of the main players is very strong. The pace is fairly leisurely, rather like the pace of life of Venice itself, but it never flags in what is quite a short book. And as it heads towards the finale both pace and tension ratchet up. In the last book in the series, By Its Cover, I felt the ending let it down rather. Quite the reverse in this one! A true thriller ending, as dramatic as an opera itself, it had me racing through the last pages as it came to an exciting and satisfying conclusion. Most enjoyable. I'm sure fans will love this one, and it would also be a good introduction for someone coming new to the series. If I ever get time, I'll go back and read the twenty-two I've missed...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Grove Atlantic.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
March 13, 2015
The latest books in this long police procedural/mystery series set in Venice, Italy, have read less like novels and more like novelizations of TV episodes. Falling in Love is no exception. The construction of the book is like an episode: we meet the victim and see an incident, later the policeman is called in and he investigates, an action elevates the threat, and that threat continues until the exciting climax comes and the policeman leads the shaken woman home.
What we don't get is Brunetti acting in any way to save the day or the victim. I think the story could have existed, with very little change, without Brunetti being involved at all, which is quite odd. If you are a diehard Brunetti fan, you will get your scenes with his family, his co-workers, his boss, his parents-in-law, and scenes of Brunetti wandering the beautiful streets and bridges of Venice. We even have the requisite comment:
"We live in Paradise, don't we?"
However, we spend much of the book in the mind and life of the opera singer, Flavia. We learn much about the life of an opera diva in Falling in Love , which I received as a review-copy. The catch phrases "Too much information" and "More than I wanted to know" popped into my mind while reading this book. But if you are an avid opera fan, you may find those parts of the book interesting.
Flavia was an abrasive character introduced in the first book in the series, and who made a return in a later book. Her back story is more hinted at than mined in this story, making some of the references by the character confusing if you have not read the previous two books.
Quickly, she is a bisexual woman with an ex-husband and children, who had to give up her lesbian lover in order to not lose custody of her children during her divorce. Her references to her past lesbian relationships are odd, to say the least, dismissing them as something akin to a hobby, "having given that up".
Most of the narration in the book is in third-person limited, but there is some omniscient narration, too. The point-of-view is quite often Flavia's, but more often Guido Brunetti's. Through Flavia's eyes, in the beginning of the book, we see Guido's trademark affection for his wife, his sense of humor and his self-deprecating attitude. When we switch to Brunetti's point of view, we get to see how extremely observant he is, and how quickly he can read people.
The British single quotes in place of double quotes may annoy some readers. And the abrupt ending will disappoint fans, just as it did in the previous book in the series; the readers never gets to learn how the culprit managed the crimes.
Please visit my full and illustrated review at Italophile Book Reviews.
http://italophilebookreviews.blogspot...
What we don't get is Brunetti acting in any way to save the day or the victim. I think the story could have existed, with very little change, without Brunetti being involved at all, which is quite odd. If you are a diehard Brunetti fan, you will get your scenes with his family, his co-workers, his boss, his parents-in-law, and scenes of Brunetti wandering the beautiful streets and bridges of Venice. We even have the requisite comment:
"We live in Paradise, don't we?"
However, we spend much of the book in the mind and life of the opera singer, Flavia. We learn much about the life of an opera diva in Falling in Love , which I received as a review-copy. The catch phrases "Too much information" and "More than I wanted to know" popped into my mind while reading this book. But if you are an avid opera fan, you may find those parts of the book interesting.
Flavia was an abrasive character introduced in the first book in the series, and who made a return in a later book. Her back story is more hinted at than mined in this story, making some of the references by the character confusing if you have not read the previous two books.
Quickly, she is a bisexual woman with an ex-husband and children, who had to give up her lesbian lover in order to not lose custody of her children during her divorce. Her references to her past lesbian relationships are odd, to say the least, dismissing them as something akin to a hobby, "having given that up".
Most of the narration in the book is in third-person limited, but there is some omniscient narration, too. The point-of-view is quite often Flavia's, but more often Guido Brunetti's. Through Flavia's eyes, in the beginning of the book, we see Guido's trademark affection for his wife, his sense of humor and his self-deprecating attitude. When we switch to Brunetti's point of view, we get to see how extremely observant he is, and how quickly he can read people.
The British single quotes in place of double quotes may annoy some readers. And the abrupt ending will disappoint fans, just as it did in the previous book in the series; the readers never gets to learn how the culprit managed the crimes.
Please visit my full and illustrated review at Italophile Book Reviews.
http://italophilebookreviews.blogspot...
January 1, 2015
Book 24, in the Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
The mystery brings back Italian Soprano Flavia Petrelli to Venice to sing the lead role in Tosca. Fans of this series will remember we first met her in “Death at La Fenice”, and later when she reappeared in “Acqua Alta”. In this latest our Diva gets overwhelmed by the worship of an obsessive fan that trails her everywhere and inundates her with yellow roses and expensive gifts. Flavia gets very concerns for her safety when people around her are found injured and asks Guido Brunetti, a long-time friend, to get to the bottom of this mystery.
I am a huge follower of this author so I knew “Falling in Love” would have a slow pace and be a crafty mystery without car chases or gruesome murders. It would also titillate us with a leisurely ride along the Venice canal with many descriptions of this seductive city great lagoons and luscious taste and smell. Ms. Leon has always made room in her books to make us savour all of the city’s charms and delicacies. A mystery would be boring without a good theme and some suspense, Ms. Leon has fictionalized events she read in the news or experienced in life and has sprung fascinating stories where the truth gets distorted for our enjoyment. Of course Guido with all his ingenuity and assisted by colleagues at their best track down the suspect and the culprit is found and all ends well.
Once again this latest is a great read and a wonderful addition to a terrific series.
My thanks to NetGalley and to Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to read this book
The mystery brings back Italian Soprano Flavia Petrelli to Venice to sing the lead role in Tosca. Fans of this series will remember we first met her in “Death at La Fenice”, and later when she reappeared in “Acqua Alta”. In this latest our Diva gets overwhelmed by the worship of an obsessive fan that trails her everywhere and inundates her with yellow roses and expensive gifts. Flavia gets very concerns for her safety when people around her are found injured and asks Guido Brunetti, a long-time friend, to get to the bottom of this mystery.
I am a huge follower of this author so I knew “Falling in Love” would have a slow pace and be a crafty mystery without car chases or gruesome murders. It would also titillate us with a leisurely ride along the Venice canal with many descriptions of this seductive city great lagoons and luscious taste and smell. Ms. Leon has always made room in her books to make us savour all of the city’s charms and delicacies. A mystery would be boring without a good theme and some suspense, Ms. Leon has fictionalized events she read in the news or experienced in life and has sprung fascinating stories where the truth gets distorted for our enjoyment. Of course Guido with all his ingenuity and assisted by colleagues at their best track down the suspect and the culprit is found and all ends well.
Once again this latest is a great read and a wonderful addition to a terrific series.
My thanks to NetGalley and to Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to read this book
November 4, 2017
Okay, so I am launching a re-reading of this whole series. Found this one at the library, totally out of sequence, but I enjoyed it anyway. Such a creepy story, especially for a singer. I don't want to add spoilers but stalking is a truly un-nerving thing, and although it's possible to guess how this one is going to be resolved, it's still well handled and the final confrontation scene is...tense...
Even if you don't much like the opera Tosca, you'll have fun following the characters' varying points of view about the opera. And Flavia's descriptions of fans lining up at stage doors...and the real unglamorous WORK side of opera. As Eileen Farrell used to say, the most essential thing for a dramatic soprano is a good comfy pair of shoes...
Leon's gift for creating characters from states of mind pops up in delightful ways throughout these books. Here, Brunetti is being totally ignored by his family...until his daughter Chiara looks up like the sun coming out, and "Irritation packed its bags, opened the door and, pulling impatience along by its sleeve, began the long walk downstairs."
Even if you don't much like the opera Tosca, you'll have fun following the characters' varying points of view about the opera. And Flavia's descriptions of fans lining up at stage doors...and the real unglamorous WORK side of opera. As Eileen Farrell used to say, the most essential thing for a dramatic soprano is a good comfy pair of shoes...
Leon's gift for creating characters from states of mind pops up in delightful ways throughout these books. Here, Brunetti is being totally ignored by his family...until his daughter Chiara looks up like the sun coming out, and "Irritation packed its bags, opened the door and, pulling impatience along by its sleeve, began the long walk downstairs."
December 13, 2014
Donna Leon returns to the world of opera in her latest mystery featuring Commissario Brunetti. Flavia Petrelli, last seen in Death at La Fenice, is in Venice, singing the title role in Tosca. All audience members see is the adoration heaped on her after each performance. But Flavia knows that somewhere she has a fan whose love has curdled into an obsession that turns the roses showered upon her from tokens of love to symbols of danger. Shaken, she turns to Brunetti for help. Filled with striking images both of the backstage world of opera and Venice, this is a stellar entry in one of my favorite mystery series
July 20, 2015
I enjoyed this latest Donna Leon novel, as I am an unconditional groupie of Commissario Brunetti. Reading this book felt like getting back together with an old friend after a long separation.
April 18, 2024
Not one of my favorites of the Commissario Guido Brunetti books, but I have enjoyed so many of them that this one book will not deter me nor should it you.
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