Blood from a Stone

At times this was the sterotypical contemporary detective story with corny novel/audiobook devices like Italian accented English (to make us believe we are following "authentic" Venetians in the storyline) and Italian phrases and cuisine thrown in to make us further feel an "exotic" setting -- BUT, overall, it was superior to most in that genre. Superior, that is, if you are looking for a mystery/ detective listen with a reasonable storyline and no graphic sex or violence, as I do. What raises this to a four star listen is 1. the excellent narration and 2. the presentation of a social justice issue (conflict diamonds), well addressed in the guise of fiction without being pedantic.

These are a novel and author I would never have downloaded had it not been for the free first chapter to capture my interest. I will download more of Leon now, especially since a couple of her well-rated listens are so well-priced.

The narrator does such a good job that it is a pleasure to listen to this book. It's well written and one gets a nice sense of Italy. It is slow, and there isn't much action, but I still liked it.

Another great book from my favorite mystery author.

One of her best! Detective Guido Brunetti is someone you'd love to have espresso with!

Can't seem to get stated with this one and have tried twice. Its a snoozer.

The narrator was excellent and the flavor of Venice is great. At times the dialog between the detective and his family was drawn out and canned feeling. Might be ok for a book but too much drag for audiobook.

The reader was very good. The book was like watching cement dry. I can't believe there's a whole series of these with centralized character. I almost gave it up 3 or 4 times and decided to make it to the end. Total disappointment and I would not recommend this book or series to anyone. I've never read a more boring murder mystery.