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Book Summary and Reviews of Beastly Things by Donna Leon

Beastly Things by Donna Leon

Beastly Things

A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery

by Donna Leon

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  • Published:
  • Apr 2012, 288 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

When the body of man is found in a canal, damaged by the tides, carrying no wallet, and wearing only one shoe, Brunetti has little to work with. No local has filed a missing-person report, and no hotel guests have disappeared. Where was the crime scene? And how can Brunetti identify the man when he can't show pictures of his face? The autopsy shows a way forward: it turns out the man was suffering from a rare, disfiguring disease. With Inspector Vianello, Brunetti canvasses shoe stores, and winds up on the mainland in Mestre, outside of his usual sphere. From a shopkeeper, they learn that the man had a kindly way with animals.

At the same time, animal rights and meat consumption are quickly becoming preoccupying issues at the Venice Questura, and in Brunetti's home, where conversation at family meals offer a window into the joys and conflicts of Italian life. Perhaps with the help of Signorina Elettra, Brunetti and Vianello can identify the man and understand why someone wanted him dead. As subtle and engrossing as ever, Leon's Beastly Things is immensely enjoyable, intriguing, and ultimately moving.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. [D]espite that powerfully evoked sense of calamitous inevitability, [Leon] leaves us here with a small but moving moment of hope, a sense that acts of kindness, from both humans and animals, are our only salvation." - Booklist

"Leon deftly blends police procedural with philosophy and existential speculation. Her intimate descriptions of Venice, where she has lived for 30 years, lend color." - Publishers Weekly

"The death of an inoffensive veterinarian takes Commissario Guido Brunetti once more into the heart of the human beast." - Kirkus Reviews

This information about Beastly Things was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Donna Leon Author Biography

Photo: Regine Mosiman

Donna Leon is the author of the international best-selling novels featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti, all of which have been critically acclaimed. The winner of the CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, among other awards, Leon has lived in Venice for about thirty years.


Commissario Guido Brunetti series order to 2017

  1. Death at la Fenice, 1992
  2. Death in a Strange Country, 1993
  3. Dressed for Death, 1994, first published as The Anonymous Venetian
  4. A Ventian Reckoning, 1995, first published as Death and Judgement
  5. Acqua Alta, 1996, first published as Death in High Water
  6. Quietly in Their Sleep, 1997, first published as Death of Faith
  7. A Noble Radiance, 1998
  8. Fatal Remedies, 1999
  9. Friends in High Places, 2000
  10. A Sea of Troubles, 2001
  11. Wilful Behaviour, 2002
  12. ...

... Full Biography
Link to Donna Leon's Website

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