The Golden Egg: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery (The Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries, 22)

For one thing, this 22nd Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery is not a Questura case. It's a story that evolves from Paola Falier Brunetti's concern and curiosity about the death of the boy from the Brunetti family's dry cleaners whom they'd seen there for years, standing in the back room, folding things and always looking so sad. Most customers knew him as "The boy who didn't speak" and assumed he was a relative of the proprietors, and that he was not only deaf but probably also mute. No one seemed to know his name. At Paola's urging, Brunetti starts looking into what had happened and soon finds that the dead boy/man did have a name and a cold and taciturn mother he lived with. Was his death accidental or intentional? And if intentional, was it suicide or murder? No way to tell.

Brunetti also finds that nowhere in the public records is there any evidence this boy/man had ever existed. That conundrum piques the interest of some of Brunetti's Questura colleagues. Just as this story is quite a bit different from what we're used to, so too are the supporting roles. Brunetti's sidekick, Vianello, gets involved for awhile, then drops out of the picture. Everyone's favorite computer hacker, Elettra, has relatively little to do here, as does Patta, who thinks Brunetti's still out investigating a case he's already solved. Meanwhile, we get to spend quite a lot of time getting to know Foa and Pucetti a lot better. Then, about halfway through, comes a nice surprise when Commissaria Claudia Griffoni, the only female detective at the Questura, who was introduced five or six books ago and hasn't been seen since, takes over the sidekick role usually played by Vianello.

As for the story itself: Unusual, to say the least, absolutely fascinating, populated with some exceedingly odd characters and told in a somewhat more leisurely style than we're used to. And, in the end, the Bad Egg'll get one whale of a comeuppance. Highly recommended for series fans. Probably not the best choice for newbies.

Here's a chronological Brunetti book list, as of March 2014: "Death at La Fenice," "Death in a Strange Country" "Dressed for Death," "Death and Judgment," "Acqua Alta," "Quietly in Their Sleep," "A Noble Radiance, " "Fatal Remedies," "Friends in High Places," "A Sea of Troubles," "Willful Behavior," "Uniform Justice," "Doctored Evidence," "Blood from a Stone," "Through a Glass, Darkly" "Suffer the Little Children," "The Girl of His Dreams," "About Face," "A Question of Belief," "Drawing Conclusions," "Beastly Things." "The Golden Egg," and "By Its Cover." (Please note: Should you ever come across "The Anonymous Venetian," "A Venetian Reckoning" or "The Death of Faith" know that these are not new Leons; they're just the British titles of "Dressed for Death," "Death and Judgment" and "Quietly in Their Sleep.")

There are few pleasures in life more satisfying than a well-written mystery. An added pleasure is if the setting is an exotic and intriguing place you would like to visit. When you read, your mind gets to travel. This series takes you to Venice. The book opens with Detective Brunetti and his family playing a word game over dinner at their Venetian home. Words, and the power of them, is a theme Brunetti muses upon throughout this story.

A young deaf and dumb man, who worked at the dry cleaners which Brunetti and his wife frequent, is found dead of apparent suicide. The Brunettis wonder: what would compel a young disabled person to kill himself? Had something changed in his life? Or is something more sinister at play? Brunetti investigates the incident out of principle and sympathy, to honor the young man's life.

While the plots in this series delight, you may read as much for the aesthetics of the books. The fine writing, savory Italian food, descriptions of Venetian scenery and even the atmosphere of thought and attitudes pervading Venice by its citizens are as enticing as the story. As the author has lived in Venice for the past 30 years, there is real insight. It's an insider's view of someone who lives in Venice, reads the local newspaper, and talks to the citizens daily. The pace in this story has the leisurely pace of an Italian meal. Brunetti travels throughout Venice, and you travel with him. You see the beauty and sublimity of Venice through his eyes.

Mystery readers enjoy this series like a fine wine, or tasty Italian tiramisu. Warning: Brunetti and his family seem to have dessert after every dinner - you may want to buy an Italian pastry to enjoy along with this book so you won't feel deprived. This newest entree by Leon should please her readers as they once again join Detective Brunetti in investigating a mystery in his enigmatic and beguiling Venezia.

I've read a lot of Donna Leon's books, mostly because I like the Inspector and his family and the descriptions of life in Venice. But this book was an unpleasant experience, the ending almost felt like Leon had moved from mystery to the horror genre.

The deep pessimism and corruption of Italian government, the lingering air of despair due to the ecological pollution of the city, these heavy clouds you have to plod through for the thinnest of mystery stories are getting me down.

It's too bad, because Donna Leon is a good writer and she can paint beautiful word pictures and multi-dimensional characters.

I feel there's a similarity between her and Louise Penny with her Montreal policeman, more hopelessness, more heavy despair with the forces that be. Part of the similarity is I want to like both these intelligent and talented authors but instead they are too weighted, repetitive, and almost suffocating in their styles

Who's left? Camielleri maybe, he's able to be funny although the plots are all very much the same.

Maybe that just leaves Reginald Hill as a man of high literary standards, good plots, sly humor, and a wide ranging highly intelligent mind giving us his mixed view of our times.

Oh well, I'm always looking.

I have been a big fan of Danna Leon but was very disappointed in this book. It may have been able to be adapted into a short story. The book was very slow and boring more like a soap opera.Next book I will wait until more reviews. I have read all of her books but maybe it is time to retire Guido. I know the she has a disdain for the Catholic Church but in this book she shows a real disdain for the citizens of Venice. Very disappointing.Boring ,boring,boring!!

I feel this book was a little self-serving and indulgent on Donna Leon's behalf. I've always enjoyed her style of writing and story plots but feel this one was disjointed at best. Leon's love for Baroque opera is apparent but all she does is name drop without any explanation. I don't mind learning while I read but I'd like there to be some context there to understand. She also drops Italian phrases without indicating their meaning. She wrote as if everyone who reads this book both understands opera and Italian.

Okay, so many people don't read Leon's books for the plot. They like the setting, the "feeling" of Italy, and the character studies. But these are mysteries and you have to expect the author to take a little bit of care with the plot and to take care that there are no gaping plot holes.

I read this book and was incensed afterwards about the many idiotic gaps.

Spoiler alerts ahead?! (Sorry, but I don't know of any other way to call out the author's mistakes...)

1) The young man was NOT deaf? Really? For 40 years no one ever noticed him react to a loud noise? C'mon!
2) After we are introduced to the King of Copper, it is completely obvious who the father is. To everyone but the police it seems who require a few more chapters. Sigh...
3) The father shows absolutely NO interest in his son? He pays for his upkeep, but NEVER visits him? How convenient...for the plot.
4) Can anyone imagine a mother so cruel to keep her completely normal son locked up for 12 years? That's beyond the pale.
5) And not one neighbor ever reports anything out of the ordinary with this mother and son? Are we supposed to believe that this is how Italians really would behave.

Sorry, but after reading this book, I was very disappointed. The author was, pure and simple, LAZY.

I have read 18 books by Donna Leon and this was clearly not her best effort. The plot was feeble and the book was very slow especially in the first 200 pages. Would not recommend this book.

Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series of police procedural novels, set in modern day Venice, offer well written insight into human behavior and political corruption. To me, the mysteries themselves are secondary to just spending some time with the Commissario with his intellectual and witty insights and delightful family and friends. I think Leon could write a description of Brunetti doing something mundane, like shopping at a big box store, and it would still be delightful to read.

Brunetti investigates the seemingly accidental overdose of sleeping pills by a disabled man, and is troubled by the lack of any official record of the man's existence. With neighbors unwilling to talk to the police, Brunetti sets to work to peel away the layers covering decades of secrets. Like most mystery series, this one would be best read in order but The Golden Egg would work as a first foray in to the series.

While this book will please those who just can't get enough of the absolutely perfect family that Guido Brunetti has according to Donna Leon, I really felt that her writing here was getting pretty formulaic. She still writes some beautiful sentences, with intriguing ruminations on the nature of evil and the darker side of Italian life, but I felt she was bored writing yet another scenario in which the entire Brunetti family could be morally righteous and ever vigilant. The plot was too thin to be compelling.

annoying and slowmoving. uninteresting characters. same characters interviewed pover and over again with same results. previous books were ok, but will not buy this author again. i wonder where all the 4-star ratings came from. can't rely on amazon ratings any more......