A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
April 2012
On Sale: April 17, 2012
304 pages ISBN: 0802120237 EAN: 9780802120236 Kindle: B007P5WE5M Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List
Donna Leon’s best-selling Commissario Guido Brunetti series
has won her legions of passionate fans, reams of critical
acclaim, and a place among the top ranks of international
crime writers. Brunetti, both a perceptive investigator and
a warmhearted family man, is one of the treasured characters
of contemporary mystery fiction. Through him, Leon has
explored Venice in all its aspects: its history, beauty,
food, and social life, but also the crime and corruption
that seethe below the surface of La Serenissima.
When the body of a man is found in a canal, damaged by the
tides, carrying no wallet, and wearing only one shoe,
Brunetti has little to work with. No local has filed a
missing-person report, and no hotel guests have disappeared.
Where was the crime scene? And how can he identify the man
when he can’t show pictures of his face? The autopsy shows a
way forward: it turns out the man was suffering from a rare,
disfiguring disease. With Inspector Vianello, Brunetti
canvasses shoe stores, and winds up on the mainland in
Mestre, outside his usual sphere. From a shopkeeper, they
learn that the man had a kindly way with animals.
At the same time, animal rights and meat consumption are
quickly becoming preoccupying issues at the Venice Questura,
and in Brunetti’s home, where conversation at family meals
offers a window into the joys and conflicts of Italian life.
Perhaps with the help of Signorina Elettra, Brunetti and
Vianello can identify the man and understand why someone
wanted him dead. As subtle and engrossing as the other
Commissario Brunetti tales, Leon’s Beastly Things is
immensely enjoyable, intriguing, and ultimately moving.
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