Rating: 
Summary: Running out of steam... (SPOILER ENCLOSED)
Review: A less-than-successful Donna Leon mystery is better than just about anyone else's best, but I must say that "Uniform Justice" left me quite disappointed. The actual whodunit side of her novels has never been what Leon does well; she excels at creating atmosphere, and her characterizations are marvelous. (Brunetti and Signorina Elettra are two of my favorite mystery characters of all time.) In "Uniform Justice," however, the mystery is remarkably perfunctory. We all know that the young Moro didn't kill himself, and by mid-book we pretty much know why (if not by whose hand) he was killed. When we do find out, it's not that much of a suprise, nor is much done about it. Perhaps this is an aspect of the Leon mysteries that is beginning to wear thin for me: the Italian judicial system is so rife with corruption that rarely are the killers brought to anything remotely like justice. The books all end the same way, with no-one being punished, nothing being accomplished by Brunetti's investigation. So, what's the point? Part of the satisfaction of crime novels is the pleasure of seeing the wicked punished. When they never are, it leaves me, as a reader, feeling that the whole enterprise was something of a waste of time. With each new Leon novel I pick up, I resign myself to the fact that no matter whodunit, it won't really matter at all. So from page one my expectations are low. I would love to experience, just once, the "wow" I feel at the end of a Michael Connelly or Magdalen Nabb mystery. Leon seems to be entrenched in a formula. I suppose it's proven successful for her -- but not necessarily for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Si! Si!
Review: A mystery equal to if not better than Simenon's Inspector Maigret series, UNIFORM JUSTICE lives up to the author's well deserved reputation. Set in modern Venice, it is replete with translatable Italian (telefonino, Carabinieri, Signora, si), well rounded characters and a plot that moves, though a little slowly, with riveting intricacy.
Commissario Brunetti becomes involved with a young cadet's suicide and he finds himself up against a military obstinacy equal to Jack Nicholson's character in A FEW GOOD MEN. This mystery brings the reader into the Italian home, takes you to lunch (yum!) and lets you suffer the frustrations of a modern police officer in a very political world. I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Si! Si!
Review: A mystery equal to if not better than Simenon's Inspector Maigret series, UNIFORM JUSTICE lives up to the author's well deserved reputation. Set in modern Venice, it is replete with translatable Italian (telefonino, Carabinieri, Signora, si), well rounded characters and a plot that moves, though a little slowly, with riveting intricacy.
Commissario Brunetti becomes involved with a young cadet's suicide and he finds himself up against a military obstinacy equal to Jack Nicholson's character in A FEW GOOD MEN. This mystery brings the reader into the Italian home, takes you to lunch (yum!) and lets you suffer the frustrations of a modern police officer in a very political world. I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: First-rate
Review: Donna Leon is a first-rate mystery writer. Fans of the canned mystery novel, where nothing but the villains' names change need not apply. Commissario Brunetti is a fully realized protagonist -- full of idiosyncracies, strengths, weaknesses, etc. Her vivid depictions of supporting characters is also a refreshing development in a genre full of hacks.Most of all, her Venice is enthralling -- beautiful, mysterious, but also flawed and corrupt at the same time. Uniform Justice is a real treat -- really looking forward to getting into this series!
Rating:
Summary: Donna Leon triumphs again!
Review: Donna Leon's latest Commissario Brunetti case is one of her best!
From the opening pages, which quickly sets the tone, "Uniform Justice" is fast-paced,
extremely exciting, and quite gripping. It is difficult to find an author today who is better! A young cadet at an exclusive Venetian military prep school has been found hanged in his
dormitory. The school quickly has it proclaimed a suicide, but Brunetti knows otherwise.
He and his team of loyal members of Venice's police department quickly begin
their investigation--an investigation that, once more, leads us into the power structures of
"the Pearl of the Adriatic." Leon is never slow to touch up socially significant issues and she plows into this one at
gale force. "Corruption in Things Italian" seems to be her middle name and she pulls no
punches. One would imagine that the Italian military and even some of its other "sacred"
institutions will not view this book (nor her others!) in pleased frames of mind. Still, Leon
is one of the most popular American novelists read abroad today (in fact, even her recent
hard-bound copies are NOT published in the US for some really strange reason!). Again,"Uniform Justice" is Leon at her best and Brunetti doing what he does best--solving
murders. An excellent read!
Rating:
Summary: Leon's latest is simply fantastic!
Review: Donna Leon's twelfth Commissario Guido Brunetti novel does not begin with a bang; instead, it begins with an apparent suicide, a hanging. For all intents and purposes, the death of a young cadet at an exclusive Venetian military
school certainly must be a suicide. However, with the intellect, cunning, skill, and savvy of Leon and
Brunetti, what begins with a "simple" death soon works its way into an ugly, complicated, and
frightening murder in Leon's latest "Uniform Justice." The young teenager is the son of a prominent doctor and politician, termed "honest" by any
standard. The father's honesty serves as a fault, however, and soon causes him to resign from
parliament, particularly following his investigation of corruption in military procurement. The
"web of deceit" in such cases seems to spread just about everywhere. His "anti-military" stance
does not go over well, especially at his son's military school. Thus begins a series of cover-ups, lies,
and deception--the ranks of the involved quickly close. Not for the first time does Brunetti face the
"old school" of Venice. His task is formidable, but with the help of his wife Paola, his secretary
Signorina Elettra, and a few members of the department, Brunetti methodically and brilliantly
brings the case to its conclusion. Leon, for all the love she bears for Venice, where she's lived for a
number of years, continues to champion the cause of the just, the honest, the uncorrupt, the
innocent, all descriptives of just about any place but Venice. Still, politics and social injustices
aside, Leon continues to hold firmly her legion of fans with her inimitable style, plot designs, superb
characterizations, and general "good literature." "Uniform Justice" is not easily laid aside until it
is finished. One of Leon's strong suits is that she does not pretend that, when the final pages are read,
the world is then tied up nicely in a pretty bow and everything is okay. Romanticism in literature is
not Donna Leon; realism is alive and well and these themes permeate her twelve Brunetti novels.
Perhaps this is another reason she is so popular. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)
Rating:
Summary: Leon's latest is simply fantastic!
Review: Donna Leon's twelfth Commissario Guido Brunetti novel does not begin with a bang; instead, it begins with an apparent suicide, a hanging. For all intents and purposes, the death of a young cadet at an exclusive Venetian military
school certainly must be a suicide. However, with the intellect, cunning, skill, and savvy of Leon and
Brunetti, what begins with a "simple" death soon works its way into an ugly, complicated, and
frightening murder in Leon's latest "Uniform Justice." The young teenager is the son of a prominent doctor and politician, termed "honest" by any
standard. The father's honesty serves as a fault, however, and soon causes him to resign from
parliament, particularly following his investigation of corruption in military procurement. The
"web of deceit" in such cases seems to spread just about everywhere. His "anti-military" stance
does not go over well, especially at his son's military school. Thus begins a series of cover-ups, lies,
and deception--the ranks of the involved quickly close. Not for the first time does Brunetti face the
"old school" of Venice. His task is formidable, but with the help of his wife Paola, his secretary
Signorina Elettra, and a few members of the department, Brunetti methodically and brilliantly
brings the case to its conclusion. Leon, for all the love she bears for Venice, where she's lived for a
number of years, continues to champion the cause of the just, the honest, the uncorrupt, the
innocent, all descriptives of just about any place but Venice. Still, politics and social injustices
aside, Leon continues to hold firmly her legion of fans with her inimitable style, plot designs, superb
characterizations, and general "good literature." "Uniform Justice" is not easily laid aside until it
is finished. One of Leon's strong suits is that she does not pretend that, when the final pages are read,
the world is then tied up nicely in a pretty bow and everything is okay. Romanticism in literature is
not Donna Leon; realism is alive and well and these themes permeate her twelve Brunetti novels.
Perhaps this is another reason she is so popular. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)
Rating: 
Summary: Darker and darker
Review: Donna Leon's twelfth novel is a real murder mystery. And for a reader who dearly loves her earlier books, that is not necessarily a good thing. In UNIFORM JUSTICE, the gloom of winter, a young man's sinister death, a mean-spirited military academy, and the desperation of an honest man in a corrupt system all mix to form the general air of despair that pervades the book. In earlier Brunetti books there are many little rays of sunshine, comforting antidotes to crime and corruption. Yes, Guido Brunetti is always busy solving a nasty murder, but the romance and beauty of Venice; tidbits of Italian culture,art and history; the warmth of the Brunetti's family life; and, how could I forget, the delicious descriptions of Paola Brunetti's Italian cooking offer reminders that life is beautiful.
Not that I'll quit reading Leon! I am waiting in line for the next book(s)! But armchair travelers, beware. This book strays into darker and darker territory. You can still use your map of Venice to figure out where Brunetti is and what he sees,and you can still enjoy Paola's food, but it won't be quite as much fun.
Rating:
Summary: Uniform Justice out of is not Justified
Review: For whatever reason, Donna Leon has become almost hysterically anti-American with every book. Some of her asides about the United States are becoming both tiresome and unneccessary. If she wished to write political commentary books, then do so. But the obvious left-leaning rhetoric is become a bit of a bore as our Brit friends would say. As for the offer for her latest, "No, thanks."
Rating:
Summary: Uniform Justice out of is not Justified
Review: For whatever reason, Donna Leon has become almost hysterically anti-American with every book. Some of her asides about the United States are becoming both tiresome and unneccessary. If she wished to write political commentary books, then do so. But the obvious left-leaning rhetoric is become a bit of a bore as our Brit friends would say. As for the offer for her latest, "No, thanks."
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