Drawing Conclusions: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery [Hardcover]

 

 

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I'm a bit stunned to realize that "Drawing Conclusions" is the 20th book in Donna Leon's series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti of Venice, Italy; I've been reading this series since its first "chapter," "Death at La Fenice," but I hadn't noticed how many years had passed since that first tantalizing breath of the air and world of Venice that she so wonderfully evokes. Anticipating the delights of a new Brunetti story has been a fixture in my life for decades now, and I've yet to be disappointed. Briefly, "Drawing Conclusions" concerns the death of a still-active retiree, only brought to the attention of the police because the neighbour who finds her body calls them rather than the nearest hospital. As it happens, the death was caused by a heart attack, and the woman had a known heart condition for which she was taking medication, so it would seem to be a natural death; only both Brunetti, the senior officer on call at the time of the report of death, and Rizzardi, the medical examiner summoned to the site, notice the slight bruising on the woman's shoulders, not enough to cause harm but perhaps an indication that a woman with a heart condition might have been frightened to death, and of course that detail bothers Brunetti enough that he cannot just walk away....This entry in the long-running series is about getting old, being old and struggling with what that means. And neither Donna Leon, nor her lead character Guido Brunetti, is prepared to ignore the realities of age, or the consequences of actions in the past. Highly, highly recommended. (You *can* read this book without having read the 19 that came before it, but for the richest experience of the book, you need to know all of the relationships, long-term, of the series characters with each other; most of all, beginning at the beginning and going forward gives you the exquisite joy of meeting, and coming to know and understand, that complex man, Guido Brunetti.)

First Sentence: Because she had worked for decades as a translator of fiction and non-fiction from English and German to Italian, Anna Maria Giusti was familiar with a wide range of subjects.

When a woman finds the body of her neighbor, Comm. Guido Brunetti is called to the scene. The medical examiner pronounces the cause of death to be a heart attack, but Brunetti has questions created by the blood from a wound on the victim's head and a bruise near her throat. A search for the truth leads Guido to a home for the elderly, but it takes the assistance of Insp. Vianello and the talented Signorina Electtra to learn the truth surrounding the victim's life and death.

There are many reasons to love Ms. Leon's books. From the very first page, you are drawn into the story with no desire to leave it until the final line.

Leon creates such a definitive sense of place you feel you are by Brunetti's side. The love both the author, and thus the character, have for Venice is apparent yet not idealized. They are aware of the flaws and decay which surrounds them, while realizing the irony of the city's physical decay adding to its perceived charm. Her description of meals always leaves me hungry.

Brunetti's relationship with Paola creates a solid core to both Brunitti's character and the story. The dialogues between them bespeak a long marriage between two people who love, respect and understand one another as often exemplified by the humor in their conversations. One characteristic which makes Brunetti such a good policeman is that he accepts the possibility of 'less tangible phenomenon.' In this case, it is feeling the 'traces of a troubled death' in the victim's apartment that causes him to investigate further in spite of the examiner declaring the cause to be a natural death. Including such details as Brunetti's view of faith adds to our understanding of the character.

The somewhat enigmatic Signorina Elettra Zorzi is brilliant and clever and someone from whom no information is safe. You also feel she would be a dangerous person to annoy as her revenge would be subtle yet effective. Leon does not slight the supporting characters either. Even the most minor player is fully developed and memorable.

Even the strongest opening, the most evocative sense of place, and the most natural dialogue can't support a book without a compelling plot. No worries here. There are interesting observations on the differences between Italians from the North and South as well as a fascinating insight of battered women and the private system of safe houses to protect them. There are intriguing ethical and legal questions to make you think. And there are truths; some simple, but truths nonetheless, about that which is really important and the lengths to which one will go to protect it.

If you're looking for car chases and fist fights; look elsewhere. 'Drawing Conclusions' is a wonderfully written book that will stay with you after closing the cover.

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS (Pol Proc-Comm. Guido Brunetti-Italy-Cont) ' Ex
Leon, Donna ' 20th in series
Atlantic Monthly Press, ©2011, ARC ' Hardcover ISBN: 9780802119797

"You shall come to the grave at a full age,
As a sheaf of grain ripens in its season." -- Job 5:27 (NKJV)

In Drawing Conclusions, Donna Leon moves away from her usual focus on the corruption of Italian officials to follow a slight track of clues to uncover hidden crimes of abuse. I applaud this shift in focus as well as the delicacy with which she engages in her story. I found Drawing Conclusions to be one of the best books in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series.

At the home of a deceased woman, Guido Brunetti is troubled by marks on the dead woman's body. The medical examiner's ruling of death by heart attack leaves our intrepid investigator without grounds for an official inquiry. But naturally, if one is not busy, perhaps one can simply poke around a bit. And with Signorina Eletra's ability to electronically visit places that are supposed to be closed to the public, perhaps something can be learned. Tiny tendrils of questions arise in the novel based on finding things that don't seem to belong. But . . . in the end, it all makes sense.

In recent years, many mystery writers seem to be falling into the trap of creating more monstrous villains, greater and more far-fetched crimes, and adding lots of violence and action. As a result, the pleasures of unraveling a mystery are mostly lost. Sometimes less can be more, as Drawing Conclusions ably demonstrates. I was impressed by the delicate touches in the story telling such as a number of places where important clues were simply included in an inventory of what Brunetti observed at the crime scene. You are left to draw your own conclusions, which I found refreshing in this overwritten age of mystery novels.

I don't want to spoil your fun, so I won't go into more details.

Brava, Ms. Leon!

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