Give Unto Others (A Commissario Brunetti Mystery)

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I feel I've been on vacation to Venice with an insider's guide to its people every time I read a Brunetti novel. Some people are still wearing masks, there is talk about the lack of tourists and closed businesses, people hesitate to touch other people the way they would in normal conversations, the hospitals have restrictions, but other things are business as usual. But otherwise this is both more of the same (the Falieris, as usual, know everyone) with Brunetti's little team of Elettra, Vianello and Claudia rallying round to do an off-the-books investigation, and not enough of the ingredients we have come to love. Yet his clients seem benign: an optician, a restaurateur, a charity established by his father-in-law.

There's now a cascade of money as life begins again but even 125,000 deaths have not put an end to greed. There is often the vague sense of wrong doing, not necessarily of a life threatening nature but rather of a threat to society. From a few installments back, for me the series stopped being about the crimes and more about the characters and seeing how they adapt to the new times, and this time Brunetti and company are in a post pandemic Venice that is slowly going back to its old self.Despite the odd quibble, I do hope Brunetti continues in his mix of present day and time warp, but I would like some move away from their parents for those poor adolescents. It is carefully woven to keep the reader on edge as various individuals are put under his careful scrutiny with the help of his friends. You'll meet old friends but still connect with all the characters even if you've not met them before.

Fraud, and the lax Italian laws that accommodate it, may be at the center of this narrative, but the issues at its heart are human rather than legal: loss, aging, and the ways in which time plays on our character, for good or ill. A woman Brunetti knew from his childhood seeks him out, allegedly to help figure out what is happening with her adult daughter. But I'll be hoping that Brunetti is back to pondering the classics as he sorts through ethical dilemmas. As always, Brunetti is highly attuned to (and sympathetic toward) the failings of the humans around him. The subleties in this one, based on Ms Leon's acute powers of observation and understanding of the human mind, were terrific.However, I think readers of the series have come to expect that alongside the detective story there will be references to his family. Is the effort to raise funds for a hospital in a poor country legitimate or a tax fraud, and should the investigation be handed over to the financial arm? His inner monologue is often engaging, and his philosophical musings, for example about the similarities between pickpockets and those claiming pandemic handouts, are insightful.

Brunetti allows old loyalty to draw him into an “unofficial” investigation, which slowly - very slowly - begins to uncover possible malfeasance.

It’s a question Commissario Guido Brunetti must face and ultimately answer in Give Unto Others, Donna Leon’s splendid 31st installment of her acclaimed Venetian crime series.

What can I say about Donna Leon and her wonderful creation, Venetian detective Brunetti, that hasn't already been said? I enjoyed "Give Unto Others", despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that there was no murder and very little crime. So overall this felt rather slight to me even though the 'crime' speaks volumes - and I found the plotting rather holey, not least the perpetrator and their actions. If you have not experienced this world, so exotic and yet so familiar, you can pick up literally any volume in the series and begin a comfortable entry into Brunetti’s Venice. The reader has watched his children grow and mature, seen his relationship with his wife Paola define and deepen and eaten many a mouth-watering meal around their kitchen table.Brunetti takes a look and finds little: one client is an optician, another Fenzo`s father-in-law, whom he helped establish a charity, another the owner of a restaurant. It is clear that this is a warning against Brunetti looking into the situation that was brought to his attention.