Synopses & Reviews
Donna Leon’s bestselling mystery novels set in Venice have won a multitude of fans for their insider’s portrayal of La Serenissima. From family meals to coffee bars, and from vaporetti rides to the homes and apartments of Venetians, the details and rhythms of everyday life are an integral part of this beloved series. But so are the suffocating corruption, the never-ending influx of tourists, and crimes big and small. Through it all, Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti has been an enduring figure. A good man who loves his family and his city, Brunetti is relentless in his pursuit of truth and some measure of justice.
In Earthly Remains, the twenty-sixth novel in this series, Brunetti’s endurance is tested more than ever before. During an interrogation of an entitled, arrogant man suspected of giving drugs to a young girl who then died, Brunetti acts rashly, doing something he will quickly come to regret. In the fallout, he realizes that he needs a break, needs to get away from the stifling problems of his work.
When Brunetti is granted leave from the Questura, his wife, Paola, suggests he stay at the villa of a relative on Sant’Erasmo, one of the largest islands in the laguna. There he intends to pass his days rowing, and his nights reading Pliny’s Natural History. The recuperative stay goes according to plan until Davide Casati, the caretaker of the house on Sant'Erasmo, goes missing following a sudden storm. Now, Brunetti feels compelled to investigate, to set aside his leave of absence and understand what happened to the man who had become his friend.
Earthly Remains is quintessential Donna Leon, a powerful addition to this celebrated series.
Review
"Like the foregoing Guido Brunetti novels, Earthly Remains is a rewarding novel. The descriptions of the Venice laguna and its islands are enticing, the character of Guido is drawn with finer detail, and the tale it tells is of the most serious import." Washington Times
Review
"You become so wrapped up in these compelling characters, that I think you could go through all 25 [Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries] this summer...Each one is better than the last." Louise Erdrich, PBS Newshour
Review
"Donna Leon’s novels about Venetian detective Guido Brunetti never disappoint, and Earthly Remains is no exception...[A] gentle, elegiac tale." Adam Woog, Seattle Times (April’s Best Crime Fiction)
Review
"As deftly as Leon weaves mysterious past and shocking present, this leisurely paced book’s greatest rewards, as is usually the case with her work, are reflective...[Brunetti] is, through thick and thin, great company — and a pretty good crime solver as well." Lloyd Sachs, Chicago Tribune
Review
"When she’s writing about her beloved Venice, Donna Leon can do no wrong. And Earthly Remains, her new mystery featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti, is one of her best...[A] socially aware and intensely felt series...Leon...once again earn[s] the gratitude of her devoted readers." Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Donna Leon is the author of the highly acclaimed, internationally bestselling Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series set in Venice, Italy.
The winner of the Crime Writers’ Association Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, among other awards, Donna Leon lived in Venice for many years and now divides her time between Venice and Switzerland.