Death and Judgment

A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery

By: Donna Leon

Narrated by: David Colacci

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

A truck crashes and spills its dangerous cargo on a treacherous road in the Italian Dolomite mountains. Meanwhile, in Santa Lucia, a prominent international lawyer is found dead aboard an intercity train.

Suspecting a connection between the two tragedies, Commissario Guido Brunetti digs deep for an answer, stumbling upon a seedy Venetian bar that holds the key to a crime network that reaches far beyond the laguna. But it will take another violent death in Venice before Brunetti and his colleagues begin to understand what is really going on.

Death in Venice: investigate more of Guido Brunetti's cases.

©1995 Donna Leon (P)2009 BBC Audio

Critic reviews

"Leon isn't well known is this country, but she should be. She's a superbly gifted writer whose stories are complex and filled with charm, humor, and intelligence." ( Booklist)

Grim

First half very entertaining. Second half deals with very grim issues and no resolution. Fine if that’s what you like but I can’t face another book like this. So it will be one and done for this series for me. Excellent narrator.

Escape to Northern Italy if you dare...

Love the narration of this book, you can see the streets of Venice and Padua as the story is read. The book itself was well done, I was immersed in the story from the start. There is murder, human trafficking and stolen innocence. Step into the pages of Northern Italy for a short while.

Guido Does It Again

The case is solved, but I found that this reader (listener) must keep guessing as the puzzle is not easily solved. I have read so many of Donna Leon's books, and never get tired of the lifestyle in Venice that is described. I enjoyed the case very much!l

startling but sadly true

well written and compassionate. will read more by this author. hats to think thus is all too real

Disappointing narration

I’ve listened to Donna Leon books in German and now in English. The German narration is so much better than the (American) English that I found it hard to enjoy the story.

Edgy

Set during a period when Italy was experiencing a high level of corruption within the justice system, I found it difficult to watch honorable men try to do their jobs in a career fraught with corruption. On top of that, the subject matter of this book was horrific, and that didn't include the murder part. Some readers may find that parts of it could be a trigger for them. This was not a comfortable book to read and the ending was unsatisfying to me in particular. Maybe because it was too close to the reality of that time. If you like a book that is particularly gritty in its telling, you may like this one. The author is adept at drama. The narrator brings the characters to life.

Not my favorite

So dark and less compelling in termsvf motivations. As grimly unsatisfying as these cases probably are in real life. Next!

Love this series

Great stories and fabulous characters. I love the family interactions and the Italian culture. Not a fan of how Leon denigrates Sicilians though.

Had to remind myself this was only fiction

A truck meets with a terrible accident in the snowy Dolomites, and spilling out of it's bowels among the cargo of wood are also strange mannequins... but the mannequins are bleeding, which must mean they are real women. The horror of this accident is only a small presage of more to come.

Commissario Guido Brunetti is put on the case of the murder of a prominent lawyer, shot dead on an intercity train. Then an accountant and business associate of the lawyer also turns up dead, and Brunetti starts suspecting the connection might be an international prostitution ring. His 14-year-old daughter Chiara offers her help as an apprentice investigator; she's been to school with the murdered lawyer's daughter and may be able to unearth some clues. But no one is prepared for the extent of the horror she uncovers in the process, least of all Chiara herself, and Brunetti can't forgive himself for unwittingly exposing his beloved daughter to such monstrous crimes.

I’ve read several novels in the series and knew that Leon tends to combine an insider's view of Venice and the comforts of the inspector's home life with the vilest of crimes and conspiracies, but the nature of one of the crimes committed against women in this particular instance were so evil that I was quite shocked. But in the end, Brunetti is a man with a conscience and in comforting his daughter, he also comforts his reader; heinous crimes won't go away, but love and kindness are also here to stay. Recommended, but this ones necessitates a solid stomach.

Best at 1.25 speed

So many great reviews for the Guido Brunetti series, and I was having trouble staying/being interested....then I added a little speed to the narration (1.25) and found that really made a difference. I really enjoyed Death and Judgment at the increased speed!