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A review by nancyflanagan
Trace Elements by Donna Leon
5.0
Occasionally, I read reviews from other readers of the Brunetti series--and frequently, they say things like 'time for Donna Leon to hang it up' or 'Leon has run out of ideas.' I haven't read the entire series (only 5 of 29) but the last two I read (also the last two she wrote) are really fantastic. The earlier books are simpler, perhaps. More cop-like. Bad people get found out and arrested and Brunetti doesn't spend as much time musing, on the pages, about human nature or good and evil.
There are plenty of series that do that, and only that: plot a crime, solve the crime (either with the lead character uncovering clues, or the reader knowing whodunit and watching the protagonist figure it out), a little epilogue of what happens to the bad guys--they're killed, they're jailed, they get away. There aren't many plot options in a police procedural. What makes the Brunetti series so delightful is what the reader imagines the completely Venetian approach to crime-solving to look like: working around ever-present corruption and political favors, going home every day for lunch and perhaps a siesta, the compact nature of the city and its residents.
There were several unique and beautifully written scenes in this book--the death of a young woman trying to reveal something important before she dies, the corruption of the private health care system ('you'd think we were America,' Brunetti remarks)--and the absolute entitlement of privileged men, who think the system works only for them. All of these lead to a crime--a murder--and a unique and vexing moral dilemma for Brunetti. There's a side plot (speaking of entitlement) that merely hints at another moral dilemma.
This is masterful plotting, augmented by masterful backstory (as Brunetti thinks of how his wife, Paola, says that men hate women). The summer heat (and the Venetian distrust of Arctic air-conditioning) is so prevalant that it's a character in the story. Leon's writing, as always, is intelligent. You cannot read a Leon book quickly or without re-reading some paragraphs, to collect the subtleties--the glance, the items of clothing, the kindness of a shopkeeper--that add to the story she's telling.
This was a good one. Recommended for those who like ambiguity.
There are plenty of series that do that, and only that: plot a crime, solve the crime (either with the lead character uncovering clues, or the reader knowing whodunit and watching the protagonist figure it out), a little epilogue of what happens to the bad guys--they're killed, they're jailed, they get away. There aren't many plot options in a police procedural. What makes the Brunetti series so delightful is what the reader imagines the completely Venetian approach to crime-solving to look like: working around ever-present corruption and political favors, going home every day for lunch and perhaps a siesta, the compact nature of the city and its residents.
There were several unique and beautifully written scenes in this book--the death of a young woman trying to reveal something important before she dies, the corruption of the private health care system ('you'd think we were America,' Brunetti remarks)--and the absolute entitlement of privileged men, who think the system works only for them. All of these lead to a crime--a murder--and a unique and vexing moral dilemma for Brunetti. There's a side plot (speaking of entitlement) that merely hints at another moral dilemma.
This is masterful plotting, augmented by masterful backstory (as Brunetti thinks of how his wife, Paola, says that men hate women). The summer heat (and the Venetian distrust of Arctic air-conditioning) is so prevalant that it's a character in the story. Leon's writing, as always, is intelligent. You cannot read a Leon book quickly or without re-reading some paragraphs, to collect the subtleties--the glance, the items of clothing, the kindness of a shopkeeper--that add to the story she's telling.
This was a good one. Recommended for those who like ambiguity.