Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #301167 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Last seen in Blood from a Stone (2005), Commissario Guido Brunetti investigates a murder on Murano, the famed island of glassmakers, in Leon's assured 15th mystery starring the cynical yet diligent Venetian policeman. Has a worker, found singed to death in front of a blazing furnace, been killed because of his environmental activism? Or is this a family feud between the factory's owner and his "green" engineer of a son-in-law? As usual, Leon educates the reader about the charms and corruptions of Italian life (the sensuality of the architecture and food, the indolence and stagnation of its bureaucracies), besides presenting a crash course in 21st-century glass-making. Every character, every line of dialogue, every descriptive passage rings true in a whodunit that's also travel essay, political commentary and existential monologue. And the middle-aged, happily married Brunetti remains unique—an everyman who's also extraordinary: "During his early years as a policeman... people still argued about whether it was right or wrong to use force during an interrogation.... Now they argued about how much pain they could inflict." (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
David Colacci's performance brings an unhurried elegance to Leon's unique detective, Commisario Guido Brunetti. He creates a Venice you can feel in your bones, "cold and damp in winter and hot and damp in summer." Colacci's interpretation of each well-drawn personality is as fresh as the first day of spring, the day Brunetti and his assistant, Vianello, try to help eco-protester Marco Ribetti. Later, a murder at Ribetti's father-in-law's glass factory has Brunetti hunting the killer. Dealing with political corruption, toxic waste, and clues found in Dante's DIVINE COMEDY, Colacci shifts from unaccented narration to a wide range of completely believable Italian accents, never missing a beat, never overstating or slipping into obvious stereotype. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Leon's Guido Brunetti novels have been justly celebrated for their nuanced portrayal of Venice and their character-driven emphasis on human relationships. Both of those attributes are displayed nicely in her latest effort, the fifteenth in this long-running and much-loved series. When police commissario Brunetti and his assistant, Vianello, help out one of Vianello's friends, who has been arrested in an environmental protest, they find themselves embroiled in a family feud involving the friend's wife and her father, the owner of a centuries-old glass factory on the nearby island of Murano. No actual crime takes place until the novel is nearly half over, and even then, the death of a night watchman at the glass factory appears accidental. More than ever in this series, the emphasis here is not on mystery--the bad guy is obvious from the beginning--but on ambience and character. Leon delves deeply into the fascinating world of Murano glassmakers, and as always, she lingers lovingly over Brunetti's family life and the commissario's abiding empathy with everyone he encounters. Satisfying as always, but the lack of an engaging mystery plot leaves a bit of a hole this time. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Ambition, Anger, and Greed in Murano's Glassmaking Industry
Since I started reading this series, I've been waiting with much interest for a mystery based on artistic glass making on Murano. Venice is well known for its glass, even if many pieces are now made in Asia and only sold in Venice or on Murano.

I remember like it was yesterday visiting Venice for the first time and being told that a glass maker would send a boat to take me to Murano so I could look over the glass. I liked riding around in the fast boats so this was an easy deal.

We headed out with a great flourish. Once there, we were treated like royalty and watched an artisan making objets d'art from molten glass. Inside the store, we were assured that many good values were available. I was especially impressed by the sculptures based on Picasso's style.

We bought a few items and were sent back by vaporetto. I guess we didn't spend enough to get a fast ride back. But it was fun!

Donna Leon portrays a darker view of Murano despite setting her story on leisurely spring days when everyone wants to play hooky from work. As the book opens, we find that an engineer concerned about the environment has married the daughter of a Murano glass maker who has a great desire to harm his son-in-law rather than let him near the family business. To help out the engineer, Marco Ribetti, who is a friend of Vianello, and Ribetti's wife, Commissario Guido Brunetti does a little informal investigating to see if there is a chance of real danger to Ribetti.

In the process of learning more about the angry father-in-law, Brunetti meets a very upset night watchman who has been made crazy from grief due to the slow development of his twin daughter. Everything seems fine until the night watchman turns up dead . . . having been roasted overnight next to a raging glass furnace he was supposed to tend.

Everyone is satisfied it's an accident, except Brunetti, who investigates on his own.

For those who like to find an intriguing murder in the first chapter and a steady progress towards finding out who did it, Through a Glass Darkly will be frustrating. This book is more about being a Venetian than it is a murder mystery.

If you've been reading this series for sometime, you know that Venetians are very fond of money and distrustful of their government. They even speak a dialect of their own with one another rather than deign to speak Italian.

Donna Leon wants to make the point that even if you are surrounded by corruption and incompetence, there are some forms of corruption and incompetence that are more desirable than others. She is probing the gray areas that are mostly black. I thought it was pretty well done if you have read at least five of the earlier novels in the series.

But what made the book come up above average for me was one of her best endings. I won't say more but be sure to stick with the book so you have a chance to see how she resolves this story.

If you want a straight murder mystery, I suggest you pick another book.