Much crime fiction is transportable. Change the names of the streets, adjust the thermometer, translate the ciao's and the auf widersehen's and the seeya's and the actual mechanics of the plot will often work as well in Rome as they do in Boston or Berlin. But not with Donna Leon's novels. Venice is more than a backdrop; the culture of the city is integral to the fabric of the story. For sure there are other corrupt communities in the world but perhaps none quite like the claustrophobic backscratching that lies not far beneath the surface of La Serenissima. Donna Leon's understanding of that culture is profound; the strength of her books is that they never read like an undercover journalist's exposé; background and foreground are all one. Commissario Guido Brunetti seems only to half understand it himself. This is a very human policeman whose family environment is easy to recognise, underpinned as it is by warmth and love but still with its moments of unthinking hurt. Given that Donna Leon's touch is light and her prose unfussy, her success is no mystery. There would have been a fifth star for Friends in High Places but for the fact that it too is, almost literally, no mystery. Brunetti patiently unravels a crime that impinges on drug trafficking but ultimately stems from corruption in the civic financial offices. The Commissario is assisted by a handful of contacts better informed than he, not to mention a secretary whose ability to extract private financial and legal records almost instantly must be unique in Italy, never mind Venice. Yet the murderer who eventually emerges in the last thirty pages is no one who has figured in the previous three hundred. And if the shooting of a lawyer in Ferrara is ever explained, I fear I missed it. Donna Leon is no heiress to the whodunnit traditions of Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers, John Dickson Carr, Agathe Christie et al. That is not necessarily a fault but this tale takes life's natural untidiness a little too far. If not for the plot, enjoy it for the people and the place. They are certainly worth four stars.
FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES (Pol. Proc.-Comm. Guido Brunetti-Italy-Cont) – VG+Leon, Donna – 9th in seriesArrow Books, 2001, UK Hardcover – ISBN: 9780099269328First sentence: When the doorbell rang, Brunetti lay supine on the sofa in his living room, a book propped open on his stomach.Commissario Guido Brunetti’s lazy Saturday is interrupted by a visit from Franco Rossi of the Ufficio Catasto. There is a question about the legality of Guido’s apartment. Rossi’s fear of heights is apparent when Guido tries to take him out to the terrace so it makes no sense when Guido learns Rossi has died after falling from a scaffold. Brunetti’s case goes beyond the murder into moneylenders, drug dealers, greed and loveBrunetti is a wonderful character and very much alive for the reader. He is different from the normal protagonist in that his home life and strong relationship to his family is as much a part of the story as the crime. Leon’s writing is wonderfully poignant and descriptive whether it be to convey Brunetti’s love of his city or his frustration with the corruption on which it runs. There is a wonderful line where Brunetti’s points out the irony of how Italy being part of the EU is forcing Venice to be less corrupt. Her dialogue is true and audible. Leon has created a wonderfully twisty plot with lots of different threads, although some of them where a bit hard to put together. As an American, it’s not always easy to understand how things work, but the conclusion is a very satisfactory one. What I find most fascinating is the machinations Brunetti must employ to achieve justice that have nothing to do with the law. This is another great book in an excellent series.
What do You think about Friends In High Places (2001)?
I'm surprised to see some of the negative ratings here. Perhaps it's because you need to get to know the characters and appreciate the interplay between Guido, his wife, Paula, and his children. Or, it could be that some folks just prefer action-packed shoot-em-ups rather (I can appreciate those too) than character and place studies. I suspect if you like DeKok and Maigret these will really appeal to you.That being said, I really enjoyed Anna Fields reading this 9th in the series. Again, Italian corruption is prominent. The society seems riddled with bribery and everyone turns a blind eye. One character even says, "This European stuff will be the death of us. Soon no one will even take bribes anymore." [paraphrase] Guido himself is caught up in the corruption as he is told by an inspector that the plans and permissions for the addition to the building where his apartment is located cannot be found, and if the appropriate documents cannot be located then it will be impossible to verify that the construction (over 20 years old) met the historical guidelines and may have to be torn down.I have really enjoyed every one of Leon's books. I recommend them highly.
—Eric_W
Commissario Burnetti angst his way through the winding calles of Venice, and eats amazing lunches that his wife, Paola, a professor, who does not seem to work much. She shells fresh peas for lunch to make a risotto. He succeeds with a great deal of cunning and stress to find justice amidst a system buried with bureaucracy and under the shadow of bribes and the mafia. The background themes of this book are drug use by teens. A young official of planning and zoning questions Burnetti’s and Paola’s legal right to their apartment. He is found fallen from a building, and initially it is seen as an accident, but it is part of an effort to expose. Corruption in the planning and zoing department. There are intersecting murders, drug overdoses, patronage to get a high official’s son off the hook of selling drugs, manipulation of news, and the sideways arm of karma bringing justice. It is a bit turgid, i.e. “Burnetti walks here, looks here, stops there, eats this.” But his world of angst in finding justice and his love for all things Venetian is alluring.
—Annabelle
This installment included two different stories regarding corruption in the finance/loan sharking in Venice and drugs sold to young adults. It's two different and unrelated stories and this would have been much, much better if it'd focused on one story or the other. Patta's son is arrested for drug dealing and a young man dies of an overdose and another group of kids are killed/injured in a car accident - I suppose there was a connection but it was never really clarified. A building inspector dies after falling (or being pushed) from some scaffolding and there is a brief glimpse into the fact that loan sharking goes on. . .and there seems to be some interesting characters involved in this but we never meet them - except from a distance/third hand. Very odd.
—Shannon
