Death at La Fenice

Description

The first installment in the critically acclaimed crime fiction Commissario Brunetti series by bestselling author Donna Leon. 'A splendid series . . . with a backdrop of the city so vivid you can almost smell it.' The Sunday Telegraph Winner of the Suntory Mystery Fiction Grand Prize __________________________________ The twisted maze of Venice's canals has always been shrouded in mystery. Even the celebrated opera house, La Fenice, has seen its share of death ... but none so horrific and violent as that of world-famous conductor, Maestro Helmut Wellauer, who was poisoned during a performance of La Traviata. Even Commissario of Police, Guido Brunetti, used to the labyrinthine corruptions of the city, is shocked at the number of enemies Wellauer has made on his way to the top - but just how many have motive enough for murder? The beauty of Venice is crumbling. But evil is one thing that will never erode with age.

Donna Leon was named by The Times as one of the 50 Greatest Crime Writers. She is an award-winning crime novelist, celebrated for the bestselling Brunetti series. Donna has lived in Venice for thirty years and previously lived in Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Iran and China, where she worked as a teacher. Donna's books have been translated into 35 languages and have been published around the world. Her previous novels featuring Commissario Brunetti have all been highly acclaimed; including Friends in High Places, which won the CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, Fatal Remedies, Doctored Evidence, A Sea of Troubles and Beastly Things.

Praise for Through A Glass, Darkly: Venetian life, and Brunetti's model marriage, are as entertaining as the working out of the whodunit. A joy from start to finish. * Evening Standard * 'One of Venice's greatest contemporary chroniclers... The smells, flavours, sights and sounds all come flooding to life. Even though the first crime doesn't happen until well over halfway through, but this doesn't dampen its page-turning appeal... Once again, Leon has her finger on the pulse.' -- Henry Sutton * Daily Mirror * Operatic brilliance... Donna Leon appears to have the knack of keeping her Venice-set Brunetti books as fresh as paint. Through A Glass, Darkly, like all her work, has the exuberance of a Puccini opera. * Independent * A wholly absorbing read. * Sunday Telegraph * Praise for Blood From A Stone: 'The fabulous Donna Leon' Antonia Fraser in the Spectator