In the twenty-eigth novel in Donna Leon's bestselling crime series, Commissario Guido Brunetti is drawn reluctantly into an old friend's long-hidden mystery.
'Leon's novels are unshowy and imbued with the humanist outlook that makes Brunetti such an appealing character.' Sunday Times
A New York Times Bestseller
A Los Angeles Times Bestseller
A Library Journal Bestseller (Mystery)
Named One of the Year's Best Crime Novels by Booklist
An Amazon Best Book of the Month (Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense)
A Most Anticipated Book of 2019 at Crime Reads
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLD DAGGER AWARD
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The latest bestselling Venice crime novel from celebrated author Donna Leon
As a favour to his wealthy father-in-law, the Count Falier, Commissario Guido Brunetti agrees to investigate the seemingly innocent wish of the Count's best friend, the elderly and childless Gonzalo, to adopt a younger man as his son. Under Italian inheritance laws, this man would become the sole heir to Gonzalo's substantial fortune, something which Gonzalo's friends, including the Count, find appalling. For his part, Brunetti wonders why they're so intent on meddling in the old man's business.
Not long after Brunetti meets with Gonzalo, the elderly man unexpectedly passes away from natural causes. Old and frail, Gonzalo's death goes unquestioned, and a few of his oldest friends gather in Venice to plan the memorial service.
But when Berta, a striking woman and one of Gonzalo's closest confidantes, is strangled in her hotel room, Brunetti is drawn into long-buried secrets from Gonzalo's past. What did Berta know? And who would go to such lengths to ensure it would remain hidden?
Once again, Donna Leon brilliantly follows the twists and turns of the human condition, set against the ebb and flow of Venetian life.
