Good Reads / Community Library Notes
EARTHLY REMAINS
Donna Leon
Review by Priscilla Comen
EARTHLY REMAINS
Donna Leon
Review by Priscilla Comen
Earthly Remains by Donna Leon is Leon’s most recent book about Commissario Guido Brunetti. Leon always depicts him as enjoying a delicious dinner with his intelligent wife and two energetic adult children. He often goes out for a glass of grappa with his colleague Vianello, or chats with his secretary Elettra. She knows how to get information from the Internet that Guido needs.
In this tale, Brunetti needs a rest from police work and goes to a neighboring island to stay with David Casati. He rows on the laguna with David, a good man who raises bees. Brunetti notices severe burns on Casati’s back and becomes curious about their cause. Casati finds his bees are dying in the laguna area, and is disturbed by this. After Casati’s mysterious death in what appears to be a boat accident during a severe storm, Brunetti goes with his colleague, Miss Griffoni, to interview two men in a posh retirement home who had worked with Casati when they were young. After much encouragement, the injured men tell Brunnetti and Griffoni that their employer had dumped toxic chemicals into the laguna. Casati didn’t report this to the government, but Ponzi, who lost both legs in a terrible explosion and fire, used that information to get into the posh nursing home at his employer’s expense.
Author Leon goes in depth into the current issue of contaminating the land and damaging human lives. What will Brunetti do with this information? Will he reveal what the injured men have told him about bribing their company to gain access to a comfortable life? How did Casati really die? He was capable at rowing on the laguna and should have known a storm was coming. Will Brunetti find answers as he reads Pliny’s history of civilization? Find this intriguing book on the new mystery shelf of your community library.
In this tale, Brunetti needs a rest from police work and goes to a neighboring island to stay with David Casati. He rows on the laguna with David, a good man who raises bees. Brunetti notices severe burns on Casati’s back and becomes curious about their cause. Casati finds his bees are dying in the laguna area, and is disturbed by this. After Casati’s mysterious death in what appears to be a boat accident during a severe storm, Brunetti goes with his colleague, Miss Griffoni, to interview two men in a posh retirement home who had worked with Casati when they were young. After much encouragement, the injured men tell Brunnetti and Griffoni that their employer had dumped toxic chemicals into the laguna. Casati didn’t report this to the government, but Ponzi, who lost both legs in a terrible explosion and fire, used that information to get into the posh nursing home at his employer’s expense.
Author Leon goes in depth into the current issue of contaminating the land and damaging human lives. What will Brunetti do with this information? Will he reveal what the injured men have told him about bribing their company to gain access to a comfortable life? How did Casati really die? He was capable at rowing on the laguna and should have known a storm was coming. Will Brunetti find answers as he reads Pliny’s history of civilization? Find this intriguing book on the new mystery shelf of your community library.