Fatal Remedies (Commissario Brunetti Book 8)

I've read about a third of this series and enjoyed every book, this one just a bit more than the others. The story allows for more character development of Brunetti and his wife as well as exploration of their marriage.

Long time readers of Donna Leon should enjoy her 2009 “Fatal Remedies, ”as it delves into the loving relationship of Guido Brunetti and his teaching wife, Paola, when she commits a crime by breaking a window in a travel agency which promotes sex tours. The story soon moves onto a murder by garotte, as Brunetti travels into the Veneto in his investigation, always relying on the ever-trustworthy, Signorina Elettra, at police headquarters. Brunetti, Leon’s contemplative, philosophical, Iliad reading detective, employs insightful deductive reasoning to ultimately solve the crime through cagey interviews and some revealing tape recordings. As always, Leon paints vivid, humane and colorful portraits of the characters who appear in this enjoyable mystery.

Donna Leon is certainly a very prolific writer, and my initial reaction after reading 2-3 of her Commissario Brunetti books was that her tendency to focus more on Guido Brunetti than on the plots might become tiresome after a time, since his character, as interesting as he is, might become too repetitive over time. However, and this book is an excellent example, the plot (a diva opera singer stalked by a fan), is equally dominant in driving the narrative, and that plot line, and infused with the wonderful personality, character traits, family interactions, and diligence of the Commissario never ceases to entertain. Since many of her Brunetti books have been bargain priced (i.e. $1.99 - $3.99) I have stocked many on my kindle, and intersperse them with other downloaded books such that I read about one Brunetti book a month. Very dependable - you can count on an enjoyable read. The Commissario is a very likable character, as are his close associates on the Venetian police force, but his intellect and lifestyle dominates. Love the character, love the writing, enjoy the plots, and love the series.

After his wife throws a rock through a window-to make a political statement-Brunetti is enraged and embarrassed.Although he doesn’t want her to go to jail, he decides to stay away from it, to teach her a lesson.Despite his efforts, Paola Brunetti is more than taught a lesson when the owner of the business is murdered in his home.And though the press hints that his wife may have caused the murder, Brunetti is still the best person to solve this case.So, up and down the Calles of Venice he travels, pondering, investigating and using his staunchest brain power to find the murderer of Pablo Mitri.Throughout the story we are given wonderful insight into the minds of the ordinary people of Venice as well as the criminals.

all good

It was not my favorite of this series, but I still had trouble putting it down. I had trouble with Paola’s lack of concern about the effect of her actions on his career….and possibly hers as well.

Up till now, the law versus justice conflicts between the Commissario and his wife Paola have been mostly theoretical. It's compelling to see them taking on real flesh here. I'll leave it at that!

I am tempted to think of this book as a particularly personal statement by the author. As a woman writing about a man, pretending to represent the mind of a very clever man, she calls on some issues important to her as a woman, even using Paola to make the point that a man can never really understand a woman's feelings about sex trafficking.That segues into a very cleverly plotted murder, with even more cleverness in Brunetti's solving of the murder.The book ends with a reflection on the ongoing conflict between good and evil. The most personal of her books I have read so far and also a very good story.

Paola is seriously angry with the concept of sec tourism to Thailand and displays this in a practical sense. I also get the feeling that this is something the author has strong feelings about and it gives the book a strong level of anger against such a terrible thing. It also shows how Brunetti can believe it's wrong but the law doesn't.A heartfelt book I think.

This, the eighth in the Brunetti series, has a genuine shock (well, for me, anyway) at the end of the first chapter: "the cheerful smile on the status of Goldoni seemed wildly out of place." And an even greater shock at the end of the eleventh chapter: Donna Leon sure knows how to jolt the reader who may have become too laid back about Commissario Brunetti and his work.Without wishing to give too much away, I had noticed how in almost every previous book in this series there had been a short paragraph, or even just a single throwaway line, about child-trafficking or child prostitution. But this volume seems to tackle the topic and trade head-on. But not until chapter 23 (of 28 in total) is the reason for the clever title of the novel made clear. The plot is up to its usual high standards, but would the Venice police really have been so behind the times in 1999 in knowing so little about computers and relying so much on Signorina Elettra?With references to a Donizetti opera, to the classical myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, to Gibbon - and even to Maximilian Schell - Donna Leon wears well her cultural credentials. And her knowledge of the Italian way of doing things and the Italian point-of-view is also well to the fore. For instance, Brunetti "sometimes believed that a person in Italy could be excused any horror, any enormity, simply by saying that it was done for tax reasons ..." And then, going home to lunch, "Brunetti shrugged. `There are days when I think everything's getting worse, then there are days when I know they are. But then the sun comes out and I change my mind.' " Ah the seductive pleasures of the Venetian lunchtime. Lucky Brunetti! Lucky Donna Leon!

This is a brave book by an author taking a step outside the conventions of a Venetian police procedural. Readers looking simply for more murky doings on the Rialto are challenged to ponder deeper issues.In a spasm of fully justified moral outrage, a crime is committed; on whose side is the upholder of the law? And what if the policeman and the perpetrator are husband and wife? Newcomers to the Brunetti family will find these are credible people wrestling with a dilemma in which both sides are evenly portrayed. Those who have come to empathise with the Brunetti household from earlier books will admire the honesty with which their emotions are explored here.All this sets up the second half of the book which satisfactorily deals with a related murder and the sturdy police investigation which solves it, but it is the profound issues which will linger in the mind. A notable achievement by an author growing in confidence.

Somehow I managed to miss this book while reading my way through Donna Leon's Venice novels. My gain - it was the perfect holiday read. I love her knowledge of Venice and it's society, organisation, stratas, politics, etc. All her books are so much more than just cops-and-robbers. Brunetti and his maturing family are a delightful background to the series, and all the staff at the Questura can be relied upon to live up to their reputations. The books always have a point to make about some particularly less desirable aspect of life, but they do so with humour and humanity, which is what makes them so special.

Donna Leon is a very good writer. Her character Inspector Brunetti is interesting and all books read so far have been enjoyable. Looking forward to reading all of her books. Great reads similar to the Maigret, Morse and Brother Cadfael novels i.e. great character writing relaxing reading.