Donna Leon must be up to about no. 30 of the Commissario Brunetti mysteries by now and that’s fine by me if this one, the 22nd in the series from 2013, is representative of the quality of the books she’s still cranking out. Here, in amongst the expected evocation of the public beauty of Venice and the ugly corruption of its officials, Brunetti grapples with a case of the death of a deaf mute and uncovers a conspiracy that raises questions about the nature of language and the ability of people to disappear from public life, sometimes against their will. Thoughtful, but briskly paced too.
No. 11 of 100 books I intend to read and review in 2020.
* * *
Patrick Sherriff, an Englishman who survived 13 years working for newspapers in the US, UK and Japan. Between teaching English lessons at his conversation school in Abiko, Japan, with his wife, he writes and illustrates textbooks for non-native speakers of English, releases Hana Walker mystery novels, short stories, essays and a monthly newsletter highlighting good fiction published in English about Japan. Saku’s Random Book Club is his latest project to spend more time with books.
Patrick Sherriff 