Reviews

In Leon's fifth Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery, the beating of renowned art historian Dotoressa Brett Lynch draws the contemporary Venetian police detective out of his warm and loving home and into the yearly onslaught of acqua alta, the torrential winter rains. Brett, an American who spearheaded a recent exhibition of Chinese pottery in Venice, lives with her lover, Flavia Petrelli, the reigning diva of La Scala. With his open mind and good sense, Brunetti finds himself more fazed by Flavia's breathtaking talent than by the nontraditional relationship between the two women. Brunetti's deliberate and humane investigation to uncover a motive for Brett's beating takes him to dark, wet corners of Venice and into a sinister web of art theft, fakery and base human desires. While there may be a whiff of stereotype in Brunetti's assumptions about a character of Sicilian heritage, the action builds to a dramatic and deeply satisfying climax. Intricate and intimate descriptions of Venetian life fill these pages and prove that Leon has once again created a high-stakes mystery in which the setting vibrates with as much life as the story itself. Agent, Susanne Bauknecht at Diogenes (Switzerland). (Sept.) Forecast: Last year's release of Uniform Justice, Leon's first U.S. novel since 1996, to great acclaim heralded a Leon revival in this country. This will help keep the momentum going. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Leon, author of four Venetian mysteries, returns with a fifth. All feature Italian police commissioner Guido Brunetti, and all are rich in local ambiance and intrigue. In Leon's latest tale the worlds of opera and art intertwine when an archaeologist, whose lesbian lover is an opera diva, discovers that an exhibit on Chinese ceramics is full of fakes. Set amid the background of winter flooding in Venice, Acqua Alta is a subtle study of emotion and character. Anna Fields does a masterful job with the rich Italian and Chinese vocabulary and provides an enjoyable narration, but her performance is marred by her impersonation of male voices, which seems forced and distracting. A sophisticated mystery; purchase where the author's works are popular. Recommended. -Ray Vignovich, West Des Moines P.L. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.