If you are already a fan of Donna Leon’s fictional creation, Commissario Brunetti, then this is definitely one of his best. If however, you are looking for a new crime author then do read Blood from a Stone, which is particularly timely. Two mysterious white men carry out a professional hit on one of the Somali traders who illegally hawk counterfeit luggage in a local square, and for some reason, Brunetti's superiors are remarkably keen that the case be left unsolved. But, Brunetti, has no particular gift for obedience to unreasonable orders and his conscience tells him he must solve the crime. As ever, Leon has her finger on the criminal pulse of life in Venice.
'Leon writes with great literary panache and evocative power about the world's most beautiful and mysterious city' Spectator On a cold night shortly before Christmas, an immigrant street vendor is killed in Venice's Campo Santo Stefano. The nearest witnesses to the event are the tourists who had been browsing the man's wares before his death, but they have seen nothing that might be of much help to the police. When Commissario Brunetti arrives on the scene, he finds it hard to understand why anyone would murder an illegal immigrant. They have few social connections and little money; in-fighting among them is the obvious answer. But once Brunetti begins investigating this unfamiliar Venetian underworld, he discovers that matters of great value are at stake. 'Donna Leon has a wonderful feel for the hidden evils that lie below the façade of the magical city' The Times
