I can never put down a book by Donna Leon until I've finished it. This is no exception. Commissario Brunetti does something a bit daft to protect a colleague, but it turns out well- he gets sick leave which he uses to vanish to a fairly isolated island in the Venetian lagoon to try to eliminate the huge build up of stress brought on by his job. Rowing turns out to be the answer, rowing with an old friend of his father, who was a proficient oarsman.

His new friend dies in a storm. A horrible accident? Suicide? Murder. The answer lies in one of the themes that Leon often promotes in her books- potential environmental disaster, and political corruption. I can say no more. Just read this book, and find out for yourself. ( )

Earthly Remains is written by Donna Leon. The title is #26 in Ms. Leon’s highly acclaimed Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery series.
The plot begins in an almost idyllic fashion with Guido taking some ‘time off’ from his police duties and spending time on an outer island community surrounded by the sea and nature. He wants to pursue rowing and reading and relaxing.
The ending is very different and very sad. Again, a puzzle, a mystery, is dissected and resolved - to a point - but justice and peace for the living is elusive.
***** ( )

Earthly remains—a cautionary tale!

A young girl has died in hospital. Antonio Ruggieri, aged Forty-two and a lawyer from an influential Venetian family, who gave the girl the pills, has come to the Questura for an interview. He’s slick, assured and speaks disrespectfully about the girl.
His assistant Pucetti is angered and makes a move he shouldn’t. Staging a heart attack to stop Pucetti brings about other problems that Brunetti hadn’t considered.
Brunetti takes time off and spends it out on the laguna at the end of Sant’Erasmo at a villa of Paola’s Aunt Costanza.
Caretaking the house is Davide Casati, a famous rower who rowed with Brunetti’s father. Casati takes Brunetti rowing and shows him his bees out beyond on the laguna. The bees are dying.
Not long after this Casati is found, in his boat dead presumably injured when caught in a storm
Brunetti investigates. Things are not as they seem, but where is the proof.
It seems to me Leon looks at the injustices perpetrated by the powerful and then continued by those who don’t look at the costs with this novel
A girl dies. Why?
Casati dies. Why?
Bees are dying. Why? This last very much defines the story as we look to the past, investigate the now and are fearful for the future!
A very different Brunetti tale. Brunetti is internalising things. He’s worn down and much given to philosophising about his beloved Vienna, the nature of man and consequences.
I found this Guido Brunetti story looks at who the the man is, and in doing so, we learn more bout our favourite Venetian commissario.

A Grove Atlantic ARC via NetGalley. ( )

Commissario Brunetti inadvertently gets himself medical leave and Paola bundles him off to an aunt's vacant villa on a nearby island. And it will surprise no one that after a few days the man he has associated with has gone missing and is found dead. It's the unhealthy environment. ( )

Coming back to Commissario Brunetti is like coming back to an old friend. Now that I've been to Venice, I can picture where he is. This one ended on an ambiguous note. Hmm. ( )