About Face (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery)

This book, like too many of Leon's books, is marred by her second-hand adoption of Italian regional prejudices long outdated in Italy; particularly her constant put-downs of Sicilians and other southern Italians. Perhaps this is why she chooses not to publish in Italy where such prejudice would be highly criticized. Meanwhile, her plots seem to grow thinner and less inventive.

While on vacation, I took the opportunity to catch up with Guido Brunetti. This was the 18th book in Donna Leon's series featuring the police detective who squires us through Venice's criminal underbelly. This one seethes with toxic waste and mob activity, with a soupçon of old money, connections and cosmetic surgery. I recommend this to those of you who enjoy detective novels with unconventional endings and foreign influences.

A superb story of murder. love, blackmail, and justice deferred. Brunetti at his best. The relationship between Brunetti and his father-in-law deepenspositively. The picture of Italian society. class distinctions, corruption is totally convincing.

Unlike the review I just wrote of Fatal Remedies, this book is vintage Brunetti/Leon. For all of the many Brunetti mysteries I've read, I would give them all a 5 (except Fatal Remedies). I only have about four more to go before I run out so I hope she keeps writing.

I like Leon's writing.

I love Donna Leon and the Venice she describes,

This novel contains the classic elements of a Guido Brunetti mystery that fans of the series have come to expect: the classic Venetian setting, Leon's concern for contemporary issues, sensitve handling of the characters. For someone just starting with her mysteries, this is not the best place to start ... but after 18 volumes, who would want to have the same characters re-introduced? I appreciated Guido's developing attachment to his in-laws in this volume.

For the first five or six Brunetti mysteries, I was totally hooked. The characters sparkled. The hero was flawed only by being entirely human. His loving family is believable. The continuing characters are endearing. Venice -- beautiful, charming and damaged -- is a character by itself. But I got the feeling, after reading my way through the series, that Leon is becoming increasingly disgusted by the failure of the Italians to cure what ails Venice -- corruption (senior police officials, building departments, tax collection) racism and, in this book (as in some others), pollution. It seems that with each new book her view is less accepting of the corruption that is undermining Venice and the narrative voice becomes more outraged. And this emphasis would be fine but for one problem that undermines each successive book. In About Face, the dumping of corrosive and medical wastes is a horror, as is the death of an investigator. The second theme is the destruction of a beautiful woman through plastic surgery. Perhaps Leon meant the second theme to be a metaphor for the slow destruction of Venice by its government trying to hide, rather than address, its serious problems. But the dual plots don't unfold but rather clunk along unbelievably--and forgettably. They are not intertwined successfully, there is almost no dramatic tension and resolutions lack suspense, clever detecting or even style. Plotting seems to be failing her more with each new book. I love mysteries, I love Italy, I love good characters, I love good writing and for a while there, Leon had it all, so I am especially sad that was originally a really good read has declined as the series progresses. The series reminds me of Elizabeth George, another series author I adored until she ran out of the inspiration that made her Lynley and Havers series so terrific. Much the same loss of spark seems to have overtaken Donna Leon and I could not be more sorry to see it go.