Through a Glass, Darkly
A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
Donna Leon
Review: Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti mysteries are like finely cut gemstones. The storylines are multi-faceted, each side amplifying another, to produce a brilliance that is rare in detective fiction today. Through a Glass Darkly is the 15th mystery to feature Venice Commissioner of Police Guido Brunetti, and is a fine example of her body of work.
In Through a Glass Darkly, Brunetti must navigate more than just the canals of Venice to solve a series of puzzling mysteries: Was the night watchman's death accidental or murder? Was the dead man really concerned about the environment or simply trying to assuage his guilt over his daughter's illness? Are the Murano glass factory owners rivals looking for a competitive edge, or allies for some greater cause? Within this mystery, Leon also carefully and thoughtfully presents both sides to an environmental situation facing most metropolitan areas: What compromises are required to retain a local industry while safeguarding the health of the community?
The ending of the book also deserves mention. Whereas most authors would have felt compelled to continue writing, Leon wisely ends the book, letting the reader's imagination complete the story.
A new Commissario Brunetti mystery is always something to look forward to, and Through a Glass Darkly doesn't disappoint.
Acknowledgment: Atlantic Monthly Press provided an ARC of Through a Glass, Darkly for this review.
Review Copyright © 2006 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Selected reviews of other mysteries by this author …
Doctored Evidence
Atlantic Monthly Press (Hardcover), April 2004
ISBN-13: 9780871139184; ISBN-10: 0871139189
Drawing Conclusions
Atlantic Monthly Press (Hardcover), April 2011
ISBN-13: 9780802119797; ISBN-10: 0802119794
Location(s) referenced in Through a Glass, Darkly: Venice, Italy
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Through a Glass, Darkly by Donna Leon
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 0-87113-937-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-87113-937-5
Publication Date: May 2006
List Price: $23.00
Synopsis (from the publisher): On a luminous spring day in Venice, Commissario Brunetti and his assistant Vianello play hooky from the Questura in order to help Vianello’s friend Marco Ribetti, arrested during an environmental protest. They secure his release, only to be faced by the fury of the man’s father-in-law, Giovanni De Cal, a cantankerous glass factory owner who has been heard in the bars of Murano making violent threats about Ribetti.
Brunetti’s curiosity is piqued, and he finds himself drawn to Murano to investigate. Is De Cal the type of man to carry out his threats? By all accounts he is constantly angry, bullying suppliers and fuming against environmentalists. Then one morning the body of De Cal’s bookish night watchman is found in front of the blazing furnace. Could the old man have killed him?
Over long lunches, on secret boat rides, in quiet bars, and down crowded narrow streets, as the weather heats up and the flowers come into bloom, Brunetti searches for the killer. The dead man’s annotated copy of Dante’s Inferno, found at the scene of the crime, may contain the clues Brunetti needs to solve the murder as well as uncover who is ruining the waters of Venice’s lagoon. Will he unravel the poetic clues before the night watchman’s death is allowed to be forgotten?
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