Death at La Fenice by Donna LeonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I first read this book after 2000, but I don't recall when. I own many of Donna Leon's books but not this one. So I surmise it was one of those mass paperbacks I borrowed from the library, then returned it overdue because I could barely finish it before the 3 weeks was up. I probably didn't. This month, I borrowed the ebook from the library (yay for ebooks and no more fines!) because I want to start reading the series over again. I have zero memory of it. I had trouble remembering Brunetti's name and had to redo my visualization because I assumed I remembered it from reading so many of Leon's books years ago. Bad assumption.
Excellent writing. Highly visual, although the map isn't that great. It's very detailed and shows many things -- except the buildings and squares she mentions! Thank goodness for Google Maps and Google Streetview. It really helped with my visualizing since Venice doesn't work like most cities. Actually, her descriptions and the way Brunetti moves around the city made me pine to return to Venice. I only visited it briefly.
The characters are drawn in depth. The conversations and thoughts feel natural. And the mystery is so well hidden that, although I picked up on whodunnit, I lost it in distractions that followed the clues I noticed. Ah well. The why of it, though, I didn't get an inkling until it was revealed. Rather satisfying that.
The novel feels like a warm hug, a comfortable place with nice people, a place where you'd want to hang out and listen to their stories. A write-in-5-minutes review.
View all my reviews
Comments