Description

Chosen as Star Pick in the Sunday Times Crime Club
Chosen as a ‘Best New Crime Novel’ in the Sunday Times

‘The series that has shadowed Brunetti for three decades is an epic achievement’ The Times
‘Leon’s books are a joy’ Guardian

When two young American women are badly injured in a boating accident, Commissario Brunetti’s eye turns to the two young Italians they were with, who abandoned them in the hospital. When one of the young men is found to be involved in more sinister night-time activities in the Laguna, Brunetti has to enlist the help of Italian institutions to get to the bottom of the mystery. But can Brunetti trust unfamiliar colleagues? Could there be another motive behind this horrible crime?

‘She is a truly fine novelist, period, and should be acclaimed as such’TLS

Publisher Review

The climax is nothing less than a trip - across the laguna - into the heart of darkness ... Leon's special skill is to splice glimpses of la dolce vita with acute analysis of moral and ethical dilemmas ... The series that has shadowed Brunetti for three decades is an epic achievement - in its own way quite the equal of Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time. -- Mark Sanderson * The Times * It's colourful and beautifully written. * Peterborough Telegraph * Needless to say, by venturing outside the comfort zone of his own prejudices, this deeply simpatico detective learns a lot about his city, his countrymen and himself. And so do we. -- Marilyn Stasio * The New York Times Book Review * Make way for the thirtieth novel in Leon's beloved, bestselling series about Commissario Guido Brunetti. * Crimereads * Leon's devoted audience may be shocked to realize that this latest Guido Brunetti novel is the thirtieth in the series, which only goes to show that sometimes abiding relationships never lose the shock of the new . . . Leon's beloved series shows no signs of aging. * Booklist *