The great thing about Donna Leon, is that while you know largely what you'll get, with characters that you're reacquainted with as if they're old friends, the stories they're involved with are sufficiently distinct and different to hold your attention

This is the 29th Brunetti novel. As with all of her previous novels Donna Leon not only gives us a crime drama, but we see the social changes which are happening within the world at large. Leon looks at climate change and the consequences of tourism in Venice. So, lets look at the novel. Brunetti and his colleague Claudia Griffoni are asked to visit a local hospice. A dying patient wishes to speak to the police about her husband who has recently died in a road accident. However, she believes her husband was involved in something suspicious and his death was not accidental. Brunetti and Griffoni promise the dying woman that they will investigate. They find themselves looking into a private company who are involved in measuring the contamination levels of Venice's water supply. As I mentioned earlier there is always so much more to a Brunetti novel, Leon uses Brunetti to comment upon the problems and issues Venice faces, the over tourism, how the city can be protected for future generations, the social consequences of the free movement of Europeans, the rise in crime and his reflection upon what the past. What I do notice with more recent Brunetti novels is that he has become more world weary and we don't always get a a satisfactory ending, which is after all what life is like! I can't recommend the Brunetti novels enough, they remain a treasure within the crime genre.

Another great novel from Donna Leon. Set in Venice, it was good to be reacquainted with Commissario Guido Brunetti and Claudia Griffoni, his colleague. When a dying woman in a hospice requests to speak to the police, Guido and Claudia visit the woman but what did she want to tell them ? You will have to read this novel to find out. Although this book is part of a series, it reads well as a standalone and maintains Ms Leon's high standards. Due to this author's amazing storytelling, the reader actually feels as if they are in Venice experiencing the scenes, smells and landmarks. If you have never read a Donna Leon book, give it a go as I would highly recommend it.

Donna Leon has yet created another fantastic novel, not just in the thriller level but in the emotional level, growing along with Guido and his family and friends is just a pleasure! Must read!

It's my first read in this series, I liked the characters and the atmosphere of the plot, but the plot itself is not new nor the idea of corrupted scientists, true I couldn't guess the end so it was a nice ride toward it, all in all I enjoyed the book and might read more of the same series.