Thursday, February 14, 2008

#31 Reading

I just finished a book I bought in my holiday book shopping spree--Death at La Fenice, by Donna Leon. I love detective stories, so when I read good reviews of this one, I thought I would enjoy it. It was intriguing enough for me to want to stay up past my bedtime to read it, but I would've liked more subtle clues throughout the story leading up to the big reveal. Of course, if I'd figured it out, I might not have liked it as much. One of the reviews compares this series with Agatha Christie books, and I definitely see the resemblence. I read most (or all) of the Christie books growing up, and I'd like to try another Commissioner Guido Brunetti book, too.

Oddly enough, until I finished this book, I'd forgotten that I've read another La Fenice book--City of Falling Angels, by John Berendt. Berendt is the author of Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, which I loved, but he disappointed me a little bit with City. He does an excellent job at capturing characters, but the sense of mystery wasn't there for me in City like it was in Midnight. I'm hoping he writes another one about another city I'd love to visit soon.



From the publisher:


Beautiful and serene, Venice is a city almost devoid of crime. But that is little comfort to Maestro Helmut Wellauer, a world-renowned conductor whose intermission refreshment comes one night with a little something extra in it-cyanide. For Guido Brunetti, vice-commissario of police and detective genius, finding a suspect isn't a problem; narrowing the large and unconventional group of enemies down to one is. As the suave and pithy Brunetti pieces together clues, a shocking picture of depravity and revenge emerges, leaving him torn between what is and what should be right -- and questioning what the law can do, and what needs to be done.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Sounds like a fun read! Have you ever read the Sherlock Holmes series? They're really really fun, and a quick read too.