Acqua Alta

Rating:
Summary: Mystery with Venetian atmosphere
Review:
I've enjoyed all the Donna Leon books I read this far, and "Acqua Alta was no exception. Her books are built upon two equally important characters, the Commissario himself and the city of Venice. When reading her books you feel like you almost can touch the Venetian atmosphere of mystery and romance.

The fifth book of The Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery Series takes the Commissario of the Venice Questura into the world of Art Theft when a friend since the murder case at La Fenice (Death at La Fenice) is attacked. The good Commissario is the kind of police we all would love to have to protect and serve us since he has his morals and priorities in order.


Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: Donna Leon writes a fascinating novel of intrigue and evil in the city of modern day Venice. You get a good plot, lots of food to think about, and a picturesque city of Venice described. I do get hungry everytime Inspector Brunetti goes home for his wife's lunch or dinner.

Rating:
Summary: Acquisition Fever
Review: I bought this after reading "Doctored Evidence," Donna Leon's latest book. I think beatings and violence in mysteries are overused and boring so I'm subtracting one star, but I enjoyed the atmospheric descriptions of Venice and am a fan of mysteries about the art world or Italy (so I also recommend Iain Pears' "art history-mystery" books). This novel portrays acquisition lust at its ugliest. I have added four more Donna Leon books to my amazon.com shopping cart.

Rating:
Summary: Another winner by Donna Leon
Review: I recently discovered this mystery writer and am backtracking to read all her books. She never fails to deliver a wonderful read. Her picture of Venice and its society and politics is piercingly honest and although she shows all that society's warts and corruption, there is a sense of objectivity and compassion in her telling and in her police commissario, Guido Brunetti. Brunetti is a full, well-realized character and his family gives him even more depth. Contrary to many mysteries, where all the loose ends are tied up and justice is served. Her stories often end with ambiguity and not necessarily with the bad guys getting their just rewards.

As an aside, his relationship and dealings with his superior, Patta, is worth the price of admission and give an even stronger, quite humorous picture of his control and tolerance.

Acqua Alta, the title, refers to the seasonal torrential rains of Venice and provides a backdrop to a tale of art, thefts and violence.


Rating:
Summary: Our Family's Favorite "Inspector Brunetti" Mystery
Review: Of the only 5 (out of the 13) Donna Leon "Inspector Brunetti" highly atmospheric Venetian mysteries that are readily available in the U.S. at popular prices, this newly available paperback is our family's favorite. Read the dramatic first chapter and you will be hooked all the way to the end, perhaps the most satisfying climax (and the most action) of all her Brunetti ouevre--though, true to Leon's vision of Venetian politics, still somewhat ambiguous and certainly not pat. (Note: it is helpful but not essential to have read "Death at La Fenice," the first Brunetti mystery, which is also easily findable in the U.S. in paperback and which introduces two main characters in "Acqua Alta.")

Rating:
Summary: Chatty exposition with no active plot development
Review: This story is all chatty exposition via dialogue interspersed with occasional kidnappings, beatings and hospitalizations. Characters say: "I did this, and then he said that and then I went there and came back here. . . ." and on and on and on.
All exposition with very few real "situations" or plot turns. Occasionally, the descriptions of Venice life are entertaining.