Captivating and thought provoking, as always. I love Donna Leon’s novels. I love the conviction that, in a corrupt and greedy world, there are good people, doing kind things, and with a deep sense of decency and morality. I love her use of language; I love her descriptions of convoluted thought processes; I love her description of a happy and loving family who discuss issues and enjoy delicious meals. Of course, I also love her descriptions of Venice and she is responsible for me learning Italian. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I have enjoyed every other book written by this talented author. There was a time when I was horrified by the seeming corrupt nature of Venician politics and bureaucracy. Sadly, now, it all felt very close to home.

Donna Leon's latest in the Commissario Guido Brunnetti series is an intelligent, slow burn, meandering unofficial investigation led by Brunnetti, in which he ropes in fellow Questura colleagues, Claudia Griffoni, Lorenzo Vianello and the woman from whom very little can be hidden, secretary Signorina Elletra Zorza. Venice is depicted in detail, a beautiful city emerging from the damaging pandemic, with the morgue of closed down shops, the suppression of tactile human contact that so characterises the Italian manner of relating to people, and the bored youngsters forming 'baby gangs'. Elisabetta Foscarini, Guido knew her as a child, they were neighbours, who he has occasionally glimpsed on the streets through the years, asks him to look into her son-in-law, Enrico Fenzo, an accountant married to her daughter Flora.

Guido is given very little to go on, only that Fenzo told Flora that they could be in danger. Feeling that he owes loyalty to Elisabetta's mother, who had been kind to him, he agrees to help and that there will be no police records kept. The smart close knit police team hone in Fenzo's accountancy business, thinking that it's good place to start, looking at his clients, but they hear little but praise for him. They move onto a South American charity that Fenzo had helped Elisabetta's husband set up, the Belize nel Cuore, providing a hospital and medical services to the poor, a charity that was founded with a retired, ex-naval Vice-Admiral suffering from dementia. When Flora's veterinary clinic is vandalised and her dog hurt, the police are called to the scene, putting their team inquiries for the first time on a formal police footing.

Leon gives us a glimpse into Brunneti's past, his memories of events and people that are not what they appear to be, and which his brother is to throw a far different perspective on. Some of the highlights of this addition to the series are the insightful pictures provided of class, dementia, the way that charities can be seen and utilised in society and the parallels to be found of the experience of Covid and the police investigation. I found this to be an engaging and engrossing read, I particularly liked the way it dawns on Brunetti that he would have been better served if he had looked through the eyes of a police officer and been more questioning, rather than accepting matters at face value, which leaves him and his team open to being manipulated. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

As is often the case when I start a new Donna Leon novel, I find myself almost slightly bored by the seemingly insignificant story line during the first 20 % of the book but am amazed at the same time at her precise observations and careful description of human psyche and behavior.

“Give onto Others” is no exception, the favor Commissario Brunetti does for his former neighbor Elisabetta in looking into something seemingly private and unimportant around her daughter’s life branches out into all directions leading nowhere. Only in the middle of the book, when her daughter’s veterinarian office is vandalized, does Brunetti step into action and the book gathers speed when he decides to look into his neighbor’s family background and motive.

I like Donna Leon’s subtle way of developing an often non bloody but psychologically astute plot. And of course there are always scenes of Venice, food, drink, Brunetti’s family and colleagues and reflections on Italy’s or Venice’s shortcomings which always makes for a fine, escapist reading time. It is a bit like visiting friends.

What a joy to be back in Venice with Commisario Brunetti. There is something comforting being back in a place we have physically been unable to visit for so long and despite reminders that the Pandemic is still with us, that Brunetti is his usual reliable self. He is asked to do a favour for an ex-neighbour ‘off the books’ which begins a tortuous trawl through hard to find information, aided by his colleagues. Venice as always is as much a subject as any character and despite the length of the series, the magic is still there. A character with Alzheimer’s is sensitively drawn and the writing as intelligent as always. I loved it.
Thanks to Randon House UK and NetGalley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

Donna Leon is the Venetian queen of crime fiction; this latest book in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series is somewhat more understated than previous because as with with current novels it is set in the current pandemic world. However, the global situation is subtly dealt with and does not dominate. The book focuses on a seemingly unimportant argument between a couple but a mother-in-law is determined to know what is going on…and so unfolds the story and an intriguing premise of corruption and deceit. As ever Brunetti approaches his crimes with an incredibly calm approach and brings forth his knowledge of the human condition and the world of the classics in literature. Another great addition to a highly enjoyable series

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance copy of Give unto Others, the thirty first novel to feature Commissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice police.

Brunetti is approached by an acquaintance from his schooldays, Elisabetta Foscarini, asking for unofficial help in a vague matter of her son in law and daughter being in trouble, something to do with his work as an accountant, maybe?

I thoroughly enjoyed Give unto Others, which I found more engrossing and cleverer than some of the recent entrants in the series. It is typical Brunetti, give him a hint of malfeasance and he’s ready to enlist his usual helpers to unravel the problem. Suffice to say they use their usual methods, potentially illegal hacking and asking around, to probe deeper and uncover some uncomfortable truths about money the Venetian way, although it’s probably not only the Venetian way.

I really like this series and I think this encapsulates it perfectly. The nebulous nature of what they are investigating, the ambiguity of what is said and the ways to read between the lines, the twist in what they are doing and why and the uncertain outcome of their work. I know, none of it sounds particularly cheerful or encouraging, but I found it engrossing for both the glimpse it gives of the Italian mindset and life and the unexpected way the novel twists from one thing to another with unintended consequences. It’s a neat irony.

Give unto Others is a clever novel that I have no hesitation in recommending as a good read.

As reading about Venice is the closest most of us have been to La Serenissima in these Covid times, thank goodness for Donna Leon. This series is never less than entertaining, even though the plots don't grip in the way of most contemporary crime fiction. Nevertheless it is comforting that Guido Brunetti and his colleagues are reliably solid and Venezia is described in such wonderful detail.

I have enjoyed the Brunetti books I have read, but for me this one wasn’t all that good.

Brunetti is approached by a woman who knew him and his family long ago, asking his “advice”; she is worried about her daughter because of the behaviour of the daughter’s husband. Brunetti allows old loyalty to draw him into an “unofficial” investigation, which slowly - very slowly - begins to uncover possible malfeasance.

Frankly, I found it something of a slog, certainly for the first two-thirds. It seems to take Brunetti an age to spot some pretty obvious pointers, there is almost no Brunetti family life and even Venice itself didn’t seem the essential character it usually is and I found the descriptions of it a bit laboured and familiar. Donna Leon has always been good at character depiction and rounded description, but there’s a difference between that and a lot of superfluous verbiage; here there is far too much of the latter, I think. There are some long, tortured metaphors, likening the case to a pinball machine and then to the pandemic, for example, which I found frankly absurd, and I think if I'd read just once more about Brunetti waiting for answer in silence with yet another laboured explanation of why he didn’t speak, I might have said some rude words. Later, things picked up a little as Elettra, Vianello and Claudia become more involved in the off-the-books investigation, but in the end the denouement didn’t convince and relied on what I thought was some pretty thin psychology.

I did finish the book, with a little skimming, but I found it a disappointent. It’s not bad, but it’s not that great either, I’m afraid.

(My thanks to Hutchinson Heinemann for an ARC via NetGalley.)

"Brunetti's pace had slowed as he thought about the similarity between this disease and Elisabetta's story. Get told what seems a simple event, and soon it's expanding out of control; understand the basic facts, until a new variant appears. Believe you've found the source, only to stumble upon new information that changes everything. Conclusions vanish, explanations fail. Stop being attentive, and the next day there are new victims."

It's only on reaching this statement at 93% that it becomes clear that this is Leon's Covid novel. Sure, she's noted how social distancing has been particularly emotionally stressful in a culture that takes kissing, hugging and touching even strangers and bare acquaintances for granted; and reported the small personal tragedies of independent bars, restaurants and shops closing across Venice. But this is one of the slower, least satisfying of a series I usually love and it seems that the story has been purposefully created in order to get to this analogy with Covid which feels rather pompous and is not particularly accurate ('the source'? 'explanations fail'? 'new information that changes everything'?)

It's potentially an interesting story based on not a legal crime, but a moral and ethical one. And one of the victims offers up a hard-hitting portrait of a family dealing with the consequences of dementia that is as emotionally powerful as Leon has ever been.

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. Sadly, Paola hardly appears and says very little and we don't even see Brunetti's family, usually a source of much warmth and light-heartedness.

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. Still, it's always fun to be in Brunetti's company even if this isn't a showcase book in the series.

Give Unto Others is the latest tale from Donna Leon about her hero Commissario Guido Brunetti from the Venice section of the Italian State Police. This is her 29th novel starring Brunetti which would present a challenge to many Authors but from my judgement, having read all Donna Leon’s books, this is every bit as fresh and vibrant as the first and a real joy to read. As with all the other books, Venice is the setting but really acts as the main character. You learn a lot about the history, tradition and characteristics of its people and a lot of detailed geography as Brunetti navigates the narrow streets, hopping on and off the water taxis or charges to a crime scene on a Police launch. Brunetti is a smart and cunning detective who is well educated in the Classics but grew up in a very poor family. His wife, Paola, is an English Literature Professor at the local University and she is very close, as is Guido, with her parents who were both born into old aristocratic Venetian families. This contrast of lifestyles in the different Venetian social classes is always present in Leon’s writing and a constant source of angst for Brunetti, a deep philosophical thinker who is also compassionate, sentimental and often drawn to others despite what they may represent.
In addition to the history, philosophy and social comment there are, of course, crimes to be solved! As with her characters, Leon’s plots are complex and well crafted. In Give Unto Other, Brunetti is asked for help by a former neighbor from his childhood who suspects her Son in Law’s actions have put her Daughter in danger. He and his colleagues pursue an enquiry without official sanction but what he suspected was a minor domestic issue soon broadens into something much larger and somewhat difficult to control.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to review this book.

I love Donna Leon, and I love Venice. love of Venice came first and then I saw her once in a bookshop and started reading her books. This is the latest book happening in post-Covid world, and she once again proves what a master story-teller she is.

What a gripping thriller.

This was a very disturbing but good read.

Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish and could not get enough of.

This is a must read for anyone who enjoys a good thriller!!
Absolutely loved the characters, the plot, the tension -  impossible to put it down.
Certainly recommended!

Another treat from Donna Leon; and highly recommended.

All the usual characters are there, plus people from Brunetti's past in a tale set against the pandemic. Brunetti agrees to do a 'favour' for a friend which becomes more complex when vandalism occurs. As always with these novels there is a real sense of the real Venice.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for an ARC.

A Fluid Hand…
The thirty first, no less, in the Commissario Brunetti series of mysteries finds Bruno, perhaps, willing to bend rules. It’s fair to say that things are about to become rather complicated. As ever, written beautifully with stunning description and a fluid hand. A satisfying, slow burn for Bruno fans and a worthy addition to this superlative series.