Death at La Fenice: (Brunetti 1) (A Commissario Brunetti Mystery)

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A suspenseful, professional-grade north country procedural whose heroine, a deft mix of compassion and attitude, would be welcome to return and tie up the gaping loose end Box leaves. The unrelenting cold makes this the perfect beach read. Before I get to the review part, can I ask a question of my Goodreads friends? I know some of you probably speak Italian, so can someone please tell me how to properly pronounce "Fenice"? With my years of French I automatically go with "Fe-nees", but I suspect the correct pronunciation might be "Fen-nee-che". Whenever I have to say the title out loud I'm never sure if I'm saying it right and always end up waffling between the two options. So it'd be nice if someone could tell me how to say it right. The worst crime novel I read.....and one of the worst books I've read. It's a caricature of a novel. It's so bad, I felt it is an insult to books- even the most trashy writing is way better and can at least be considered a guilty pleasure. Here you feel the guilt for reading this, but no pleasure. It's guilty torture. On some level, it fascinates me how someone can write this badly. It fascinates me more than the fact that this book got published and read. In a way, reading this book was educational. Being able to write this badly has to be an accomplishment of some sort. I've never seen anyone mess up...every possible aspect of the book. this low-key and humane Venice-set detective yarn surprised me. not so much at the solving of the murder mystery (although I was surprised), but at how it all came together in such an organic way. the emphasis on family, children, little girls... the importance of doing the right thing even if it is not necessarily the legal thing... no spoilers here, but the end really brought things together in a way that made perfect emotional sense. all of the small everyday moments, the details that aren't important to the case but are important to what is being said, what finally happens... the whole point of the book. I love a holistic novel.

The first book in the internationally bestselling Guido Brunetti detective series in which a high society murder leads Guido to investigate the darker side of beautiful Venice. When famed conductor Helmut Wellauer is found dead in his dressing room between Acts 2 and 3 of the of LA TRAVIATA at the La Fenicia theatre, Brunetti is assigned to investigate the murder by cyanide poisoning. A slow burner with a satisfying ending. Venice itself is as important a character in this book than any of the human ones. It is beautifully described without romanticising it. We’re shown the beauty and the ugliness in equal measure. There is little violent crime in Venice, a serenely beautiful floating city of mystery and magic, history and decay. But the evil that does occasionally rear its head is the jurisdiction of Guido Brunetti, the suave, urbane vice-commissario of police and a genius at detection. Now all of his admirable abilities must come into play in the deadly affair of Maestro Helmut Wellauer, a world-renowned conductor who died painfully from cyanide poisoning during an intermission at La Fenice.

Death at La Fenice is the 1st book in the exciting Guido Brunetti Series by Donna Leon, set in the beautiful, romantic, mysterious and unique city of Venice. He’s forced to make choices between what the law is and what he believes is right. And that’s where we see the side of Brunetti that makes him such a moral person.

Donna Leon is a master at developing irresistible characters, and her portraitures of Venice are done so well, that it was if I were there once again marveling at the antiquity and majesty of the city. Venice is a very old city, heavy with history, and proud of it. Among all the details of the streets, walls and huge windows, there was one thing that new nations do not have. The wearing down of the stone steps that have been there for centuries. The steps are worn down because so many people have walked this way. This was a powerful image. He immediately realizes that there’s a lot more about the victim than what he’s being told by the suspects …….his much younger wife and soprano, Flavia Petrelli and her lesbian lover, Brett Lynch and the people in his life who have been offended by his homophobic views. Brunetti also discovers Wellauer’s past as a Nazi sympathizer. As I said before, the author left a few things to the reader. She did not spell out everything. What she did mention more than a couple of times was Guido's totally carefree disposition to accept drinks from everyone. Mostly strangers. This was cultural, but then Italy is both the country of knifing and poisoning, so I was left wondering what was happening with those pegs. The chief of Guido was nicely made up. In more ways than one too. He is a narcissistic, impatient, stupid, selfish, and lazy officer who got his job because he knew the right people. I find it interesting that among all these characters, Leon made this minor one the best looking one in the book. The character, called Patta, is very vivid to me. I pictured a middle aged Brandon Quinn as him. I wasn’t blown away by this but it’s the first in a long series and so I assume they get better. I chose to read it only because I’m going to Venice in September and wanted to get in the mood! It’s very well written, however, and so I’ll probably be tempted to read more.This is the first time I've read the one that started them all. I can't remember when I read my first Commissario Brunetti mystery, but I loved them from the start. First and foremost, they are set in Venice and La Serenissima is most definitely a presence. From the vaporetti to the feral cats, Leon captures the essence of the city until you can almost smell the sea.

This is the shortest summary to a book that I have written. The plot is a simple detective story that is told through the eyes of Brunetti. That direction works wonders as we get his unfiltered thoughts on everything including Italy. Part of what makes this novel so intriguing is Brunetti and how he perceives the world around him. The lights dimmed, the hall grew dark, and the tension created by an ongoing performance mounted as the audience waited for the conductor to reappear on the podium. Slowly the hum of voices faded, the members of the orchestra stopped fidgeting in their seats, and the universal silence announced everyone’s readiness for the third and final act. Why bother using your head? Why bother explaining things or trying to find sense in them? It's that simple. People do things because they are either Italian or not. That explains everything! Why, Donna Leon, that's so simple it is....incredibly stupid. Or brilliant. That way you can get away with not using your head and still publish a novel. So, the joke is on the readers. A gripping first mystery, as beguiling and secretly sinister as Venice herself. Sparkling and irresistible.” — Rita Mae Brown Rustin, Susanna. “Donna Leon: Why I became an Eco-Detective writer.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 Apr. 2017.Death at La Fenice (1992), the first novel by American academic and crime-writer Donna Leon, is the first of the internationally best-selling Commissario Brunetti mystery series, set in Venice, Italy. The novel won the Japanese Suntory prize, [1] and its sequel is Death in a Strange Country (1993). As it happens the conductor was not loved by everyone in his orchestra, or even by those closest to him, which means the suspect list is lengthy and Brunetti will have to go through a tedious process of elimination. As Brunetti investigates, the Venetian architecture, and scenery is described in glorious detail. I have read @ ten of Donna Leon's books and this review reflects my opinion of most of them. Some have a slightly better story, a little more engaging than others, but for the most part, the books are about Brunetti, and about Venezia, and the Italian people. This has not stopped the books’ popularity in other countries; a German TV series featuring Brunetti began in 2000, called simply Donna Leon , and has continued to release two episodes per year. I was unable to find a copy of this show to watch it, but was interested to see that Julia Jäger, playing Paola, was nominated for an Adolf Grimme Award for her acting in the series. Based upon the trailer I found for the show, it looks like the series has tried to stay true to the novels, and if you enjoy watching foreign language murder mystery shows, you might like Donna Leon .

Summary: The first book in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series is very accomplished and a rewarding read. It's best read before the 24th book in the series as the later book doesn't give away the ending, but you'll know of one person who didn't kill the Maestro.The series features Commissario Guido Brunetti, family man, modest, moral, loyal and philosophical detective extraordinaire.