Donna Leon continues to expand and expound on her detective's sensibilities in her new book.
It appears to be a straight forward whodunnit until the layers are peeled back and we are left with multi- faceted story lines.
Brunetti's playful interaction with and growing respect for Signorina Elettra may be a teaser for future story lines.

In Donna Leon's 28th Brunetti mystery, Count Orazio Falier urges him to investigate his best friend Gonzalo Rodríguez de Tejada, who plans to adopt a much younger man as his son, making him the heir of his considerable estate. Although in an awkward position, Brunetti agrees to investigate. When Gonzalo dies, followed by the murder of one of his oldest friends, it seems clear than Gonzalo's plans have set a plot in motion.

As usual with her latest novels the mystery takes a back seat (the murder doesn't happen till about 70%). Even if the police investigation is almost null, it's always a pleasure coming back to these beloved characters and the city of Venice.

Thanks to Grove Atlantic for and ARC via Netgalley.

Once I started reading I just couldn't put it down. I've read many of Donna Leon's books but stopped reading then a while back because they became somehow stale. But with this one I can see that she's got back her mojo. Her description are crisp, her delivery almost perfect and all my beloved characters are back in top form. The Inspector, the father-in-law, the children, the wife and the magnificent secretary, they are all gloriously depicted in this wonderful book by a master storyteller.

This is a novel about silence: the importance of thinking before speaking. It is about greed and indifference to it. As always, it is about love.

Brunetti's friends are aging. Men he has cherished all his life are growing frail and cantankerous. They are dying.

At the end of his long life, Gonzalo Rodríguez de Tejada, a wealthy art dealer, decides to reward his lover by adopting him as his son, a stratagem that skirts Italian inheritance law. Love, lust, beauty and desire, what better ingredients for a murder?

Unfortunately the plot and the murderer are instantly clear. That didn't bother me because I read Donna Leon for the thoughtful writing and her images of Venice. If you like suspense you won't be pleased here.

4 stars.
Another pleasant addition to the Guido Brunetti series. He is asked to privately investigate a companion of an old friend by Guido's father in law. There is a murder and a long buried secret. There is only one murder and little violence. I recommend this book to Donna Leon/cozy mystery fans.
One quote: "Like most Venetians, he was accustomed to swimming in the swirling forth of information and misinformation that flowed through so much of dairy life;..."
Thanks to Grove Atlantic for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.

If you come to this wanting primarily a crime novel then you might well be disappointed - someone is killed, but you'll have to wait till about 60% of the way through the book for that to happen. For those of us, though, who enjoy Leon's depiction of characters and relationships that won't be a problem.

I'd say that this is a book which thinks about the question of family: what makes one, what happens when someone tries to artificially create one, what bonds tie people together making them a kind of quasi-family. As context, Guido is reading Euripides' The Trojan Women and uses it as a conduit to think about the ways in which families are destroyed through war or through corrupt political regimes, and the resultant vulnerabilities of its members.

To offset this view, we have the lovely Brunetti family: the warmth, the humour, the subtle signs of care that holds that family together. The book opens with a plea from Guido's father-in-law, their brittle relationship now in the past.

With an interesting insight into Italy's inheritance laws, this is - once again - an easy but engrossing read. Leon's prose and story just flows seamlessly and even if the police case is wound up somewhat perfunctorily, I still enjoyed this hugely.

Guido Brunetti stories always hold me attention. Donna Leon really pulls us into her world in Venice. Guido's father in law, Count Falier calls upon Guido to investigate his best friends adopted son and whether he is trying to get his inheritance early. oh keep reading! You will not want to put this books down.

I received my review copy from the publisher via Netgalley. The comments are my own.
This is a mellow intelligent story set in present day Venice, Italy. Of course Venice has a charm all of its own and the unique atmosphere is effectively captured in this book. A map of Venice would be helpful to follow the action as the characters go about their daily activity.
The book opens with an interesting human interest story. Gonzalo is a wealthy elderly gay man who risks alienating his longtime friends by legally adopting a man 40 years his junior. This will result in the man's considerable fortune passing to the young man virtually intact, free of mandatory bequests to his siblings from whom he's been estranged since his youth, except for a sister. They are strict Catholics and homophobic.
Commissario Guido Brunetti of the state police is asked by his father-in-law, Gonzalo's best friend since boarding school days, as a favour intervene and dissuade him from following through with the adoption. Once done, the adoption would irrevocable should the relationship not work out as planned. The old man dies suddenly of natural causes and it turns out that he adopted the man despite all the protestations.
The new son is portrayed as a grasping and shallow fortune-hunter. Readers do not get to know him as he plays little direct role in the story. Most of what is known is learned third hand through informed observers.
Following Gonzalo's sudden death, another long time friend arrives in Venice to arrange for a memorial service, but she is murdered the day she arrives. This presents Brunetti with a murder to solve, which he does, in his usual elegant fashion.
It's an enjoyable story. Its strength is Brunetti and his world: Venice, his family and friends At police headquarters, there's his boss the ambitious Vice-Questore Patta, who actually calls upon him for a favour, and the all-powerful Signorina Elettra Zorzi, Patta's secretary, Without her nothing would get done, her absence on vacation brings things to a halt at the police headquarters.
Strongly recommended.

Another atmospheric tour of Venice with our introspective inspector Guido Brunetti. We continue to see the rich and powerful manipulation of the levers of power.

I usually enjoy Donna Leon’s Police Commissario Brunetti’s novels. They always provide me with a look at life in Venice through the eyes of an an unusual police official. Leon’s Commissario is a well-read man of the classics, happily married to very wealthy and connected wife, who appears to be a great cook. All the usual characters make an appearance and there is a good deal of quiet, soft humor poked at authority and elsewhere. There are also some really interesting thoughts; “taking a look at one’s unconscious motives and prejudices was like walking barefoot in cloudy water: you never knew whether you were going to step on something disgusting or bang your toe into a rock.”

But this one left me adrift wanting more. The story opens with Brunetti being tasked by his father-in-law to do some digging into his dear friend’s recent questionable behavior. Brunetti wants no part of it but without his research and interference there is no story. What seemed like a very long wind-up delivered a very short punch and even shorter ending. My best description is the story lacked depth and felt unfinished. Three and a half stars and looking forward to the next installment.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for a copy

Another great entry by Donna Leon. A great cast of characters that feels like family and wonderful narratives about life in the beautiful city of Venice. May be read as a stand-alone but readers will want to savor the entire series.

What a delight to read such a beautifully written novel.This is the first time I have read a Commissario Brunetti book and I now have 27 more to catch up with!

The descriptions of Venice are accurate and idyllic and the book was far more about the characters than the crime itself that is not revealed until three quarters of the way through.

This was a calm, pleasant and thoughtful read which provided a lovely contract to the frenetic nature of so many thrillers that I have read recently.

Very highly recommended.

This is a Brunetti's story where the omicide happens almost at the end of the book and still I consider it one of the best I have read this far. I am even thinking about reading Eschilo as he did in the novel, just to get again this feeling of his life in Venice, where everything is different even if nothing changes. I liked this book a lot, but it is not your usual thriller....

Questa storia che come al solito vede come protagonista Brunetti, si articola intorno ad un omicidio che avviene nel finale, ma resta uno dei migliori romanzi della Leon che ho letto fino ad ora, sto anche riflettendo se mettermi a leggere Eschilo come lui, in modo da riassaporare quella sensazione di una Venezia dove tutto cambia, ma niente é diverso. In sintesi questo libro mi é piaciuto anche se non si puó considerare un giallo standard.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

Gonzalo Rodriguez de Tejada, an older gentleman from Spain, is determined to adopt a young man. His best friend is Count Orazio Falier, the father-in-law of Commissario Guido Brunetti. Concerned for his friend, the count asks a reluctant Brunetti to discover what he can about the young man, who stands to inherit all of Gonzalo’s possessions. Gonzalo comes from a wealthy family, but he also amassed a fortune as a cattle rancher in Chile and later as an art consultant in Venice. With no family of his own, he has taken Attilio, the young man, under his wing. His friends, however, fear that Attilio is an opportunist. Through contact with the lawyer handling Gonzalo’s affairs, Brunetti learns that the adoption has already been completed and shelves the information that he found.

Gonzalo suddenly dies of natural causes. After his burial in Spain, a friend who knew him in Chile arrives in Venice to arrange a memorial Service. She is found murdered in her hotel room shortly after her arrival and with little to go on, Brunetti re-opens his investigation into Attilio. This murder occurs well into the books but it is not just the mystery that has Leon’s fans returning for another visit with Brunetti. The pages are filled with the sights, sounds and flavors of Venice. Whether sitting at the dinner table with his wife Paola and his family or sipping a glass of wine as he considers his own friendship with Gonzalo and what he meant to his family, it is easy for the reader to observe the scene and experience a sense of comfort and familiarity, making this book a delight to read.

One of the many things I like about Donna Leon is that despite having written so many books in this series, she still comes up with fresh ideas for plots. She reminds us that Venice is ‘home’ to a real population, not just a screen set to be gawked at by tourists. There are lives being lived there, & careers being worked. It is so easy to slip back into the familiar company, ‘though they can still surprise as well. I want to read the book in a sitting, & yet I want it to last much longer... It is such a pleasure being back in Venice! (May Donna Leon - & Commissario Brunetti – never retire .)

Venetian Commissario di Polizia Guido Brunetti is not your run-of-the-mill detective. He neither smokes nor drinks excessively, and is polite to his family, colleagues, and acquaintances. In Donna Leon’s “Unto Us a Son is Given,” Guido’s father-in-law, the wealthy and aristocratic Conte Orazio Falier, asks Brunetti to look into the private affairs of Falier’s close friend, Gonzalo Rodriguez de Tejeda. Much to il Conte’s chagrin, Gonzalo, who is eighty-five and openly gay, has decided to adopt a man more than forty years his junior. The octogenarian insists that he is motivated by nothing more than loneliness and a desire for love. Furthermore, he argues, is it really anyone else’s business what he does with his substantial wealth?

Another matter is one that Guido’s boss, Vice-Questore Patta, wants cleared up. Patta’s downstairs neighbor has an obnoxious eight-year old son who is extremely rude to Signora Patta, going so far as to call her despicable names, kick her groceries down the stairs, and even bang his schoolbag into her. Can Guido enlist the help of the brilliant Signorina Elletra Zorzi, an incomparable computer genius and formidable researcher, to find out more about the boy and his parents? The father, who is well-connected, refutes Signora Patta’s claims that his child is a menace and must be disciplined.

As fans of this series undoubtedly know, Brunetti is not a workaholic. He often sleeps late; eats delicious lunches and dinners prepared by his devoted wife, Paola; relies on Signorina Elletra to do most of his digging (she is arguably one of the most capable detectives in the book); and spends much of his leisure time reading and chatting with Paola. Guido is easygoing and an intellectual who relishes the ancient Greek and Roman classics. He is also compassionate, highly educated, a student of human nature, and savvy in his dealings with witnesses and suspects. Moreover, he usually manages to sidestep the machinations of his inept and duplicitous superiors.

This is a deliberately-paced novel in which the author demonstrates the consequences of greed, lust, anger, and selfishness. Another of Leon’s themes is the contrast between close-knit and loving relationships and those that are destructive and abusive. There are a few twists along the way, but the thin plot generates little suspense, and the conclusion is unsurprising. As always, Leon vividly describes the sights and sounds of Venice, alludes to the city’s social mores, and reminds us of the vast gulf between the affluent citizenry and those who barely get by. “Unto Us the Son is Given” is a light snack that is sometimes tasty, but ultimately leaves us wishing for more substantial fare.

When an aged gay man decides to adopt a young protege so he can inherit under Italian law, old friends are aghast. One old friend is Commissario Guido Brunetti's father-in-law, who opens this 28th in Donna Leon's picturesque Venice mystery series asking the police officer to look into the situation.

Readers not familiar with the series should have no trouble starting here. Old fans will be happy with a gourmet dinner prepared by Brunetti's professor wife, Paola, and dinner table banter with their children, Raffi and Chiara. Both friends and enemies at the police station have a scene, most especially secretary Signorina Elettra Zorzi, from whom no computer secrets can hide.

As Brunetti learns more and more about the life of the adoptive father, the reader's viewpoint constantly refocuses. The story is an enjoyable read with a surprising conclusion.

When is a crime fiction novel not a crime fiction novel? When there’s no crime, of course. Well, like this book. Except finally a crime is revealed after nearly three quarters of the story has been told. Is this a problem? Not in the least, such is the nature of this series that the crime itself is often a side issue, the main focus being a broader theme affecting the inhabitants of Venice. The star of the show is Guido Brunetti, a senior police officer in the city. Correction – the star is really the city itself, its people, customs and idiosyncrasies.

This time Guido is approached by his well-to-do father-in-law with a personal request concerning a close friend. The resultant, seemingly innocuous, task ends up opening a whole can of worms. Social custom amongst the Venetian elite, Italian inheritance tax laws, the rights and wrongs of adoption and sundry other topics are touched on. Brunneti, meanwhile, seeks enlightenment and solutions amongst the Greek Classics.

The little rituals involving food and drink pepper these books. Coffee and wine are consumed regularly, the latter often in the course of a working day. The characters are well known by now (this is, after all, book 28 in the series) but the relationships have grown and matured. There’s love for each other and for the city, sadness too in the inevitable decline seen in bricks and mortar and human flesh.

These stories are reflective and seem to move slowly but they are rich in atmosphere and the prose is expertly assembled. And there’s always a twist, a surprise lurking amongst the pages. I love these books and my reading year would be incomplete without the latest episode. I always feel warmed after finishing the most recent offering, but a sense of sadness pervades too for it will be twelve months before I can seek solace with these people once more.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, atmosphere, and characters. I would recommend the book to friends and family for their reading pleasure.

I love this series with a passion and I find nothing to dislike about this excellent novel. Brunetti is such a great character and his friends, family, coworkers and acquaintances are now old friends to longtime readers. This may be Brunetti's 28th adventure but I don't tire of him. The new case is closer to him than usual, since it involves his father-in-law's best friend. As always, nothing is clear-cut and Brunetti really tries to look at people's actions with compassion and without judgement. His relationship with his wife Paola is especially touching, realistic and what all married couples should strive for. When she leaves him a thermos with his favorite tea for when he returns from a murder scene really touched me. The case is maybe a little predictable but it's Brunetti's patience and persistence that help him find the culprit. In any case, the procedural part of these beautiful novels is more of a background. The dialogues are droll and always bring a smile to my face. Reading one of Brunetti's adventures is like spending an afternoon with someone you like immensely.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Grove Atlantic!