The Venetian police always seem to have too much time on
their hands and too much crime to investigate. Donna
Leon's long-running series about Commissario Brunetti does
nothing to resolve this apparent contradiction. Faced with
increasing burglary figures, the Mayor seeking to have a
family scandal covered up and corruption in the local
police, her family man detective goes in pursuit of missing
identity papers for a suddenly deceased deaf and mute man
who worked in a laundry.
Brunetti has long been German-born Leon's vehicle to expose
corruption in Italian society. In THE GOLDEN EGG two
senior police have this discussion:
"The treasurer of a political party steals thirteen million
euros, and the politicians are hysterical about illegal
immigration," he said tiredly.
"He offered to give five back," she said with careful
honesty.
The beauty and chaos of the water-filled city comes to the
fore as always; people talk on telefoninos while taking the
vaporetto launch to work, the birds chase lunching tourists
for crumbs, the men sit sipping white wine or espresso as
they look out over the palazzo and exchange information.
But women have been raped by police when they reported
robberies, while football stars exchange e-mails offering
to fix games for large amounts. Leon doesn't have to invent
crimes. Italy provides them daily.
Characters are always at the forefront and we stroll across
the island city with Brunetti and a variety of police
officers, from the Sicilian girl to the local police launch
driver, interviewing doctors, widows, grieving mothers and
sullen shop-owners. We enjoy the golden light of sunset on
the campo and feel the first chill of autumn. The constant
talking to one elderly person after another and fishing for
official documents on computer about the events of the
sixties and seventies do get tiring in this tale. However
to understand the past is to understand the present of this
case. And interwoven is the current case of the factory
which burned down after a hotel chain expressed interest in
acquiring the property.
THE GOLDEN EGG is in the style of Leon's recent works; no
action, no operatic tragedy, just a mean and self-serving
misdeed. As with many crime authors, I would like to see
this one turn her talents to another character, another
city, and refresh her talent. But when Venice sells so many
books for her, why would she? Read this one for a gentle
and rich appreciation of the culture of this city. If you
have not read any of the series, I recommend starting with
the much earlier 'Friends in High Places'. You'll be
addicted.
In The Golden Egg, as the first leaves of autumn begin to
fall, Brunetti’s ambitious boss, Patta, asks him to look
into a seemingly insignificant violation of public vending
laws by a shopkeeper, who happens to be the future daughter-
in-law of the Mayor. Brunetti, who has no interest in
helping Patta enrich his political connections, has little
choice but to ask around to see if the bribery could cause
a scandal.
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