By Its Cover

Donna Leon s critically acclaimed, internationally bestselling Commissario Guido Brunetti series has attracted readers the world over with the beauty of its setting, the humanity of its characters, and its fearlessness in exploring politics, morality, and contemporary Italian culture In the pages of Leon s novels, the beloved conversations of the Brunetti family have drawn on topics of art and literature, but books are at the heart of this novel in a way they never have been before.One afternoon, Commissario Guido Brunetti gets a frantic call from the director of a prestigious Venetian library Someone has stolen pages out of several rare books After a round of questioning, the case seems clear the culprit must be the man who requested the volumes, an American professor from a Kansas university The only problem the man fled the library earlier that day, and after checking his credentials, the American professor doesn t exist.As the investigation proceeds, the suspects multiply And when a seemingly harmless theologian, who had spent three years at the library reading the Fathers of the Church, turns up brutally murdered, Brunetti must question his expectations about what makes a man innocent, or guilty. Best Read [ By Its Cover ] by [ Donna Leon ] – kino-fada.fr I like these books, but I m beginning to tire of Leon s increasing tendency to phone them in This one concerns the theft and or destruction of ancient, priceless books and manuscripts, a subject that should be close to my heart Brunetti s apparent ignorance of the subject and his skillful questioning of those involved so he can make himself smart is handled well and gives the reader at least a smattering of knowledge But there s nothing deep to this one Leon presumes we all know all the I like these books, but I m beginning to tire of Leon s increasing tendency to phone them in This one concerns the theft and or destruction of ancient, priceless books and manuscripts, a subject that should be close to my heart Brunetti s apparent ignorance of the subject and his skillful questioning of those involved so he can make himself smart is handled well and gives the reader at least a smattering of knowledge But there s nothing deep to this one Leon presumes we all know all the background of the cast, gives us very little motivation for anything or anybody, offers some flip remarks about the in depth, inbred crime rampant in modern day Venice, offers enchanting descriptions of Venetian scenery, throws in a few mentions of food the hallmark of previous volume...In this 23rd book in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series, the Italian policeman investigates the destruction of valuable old manuscripts and the murder of a former priest The mystery can be read as a standalone The Biblioteca Merula in Venice has experienced a terrible desecration a number of valuable old books have been stolen and others have had pages cut out When Commissario Guido Brunetti investigates, Dottoressa Fabbiani the chief librarian tells him an American scholar, Dr In this 23rd book in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series, the Italian policeman investigates the destruction of valuable old manuscripts and the murder of a former priest The mystery can be read as a standalone The Biblioteca Merula in Venice has experienced a terrible desecration a number of valuable old books have been stolen and others have had pages cut out When Commissario Guido Brunetti investigates, Dottoressa Fabbiani the chief librarian tells him an American scholar, Dr Joseph Nickerson, had been reading the cut up books Brunetti also learns that another ardent reader, former priest Aldo Franchini, has been coming to the library for years to read Fathers of the Church Before long Brunetti discovers that Nickerson s credentials were falsified and that Franchini has been murdered He also learns that book theft has become rampant in the country, with valuable tomes disappearing from libraries across Italy While investigating the murder and thefts Brunetti learns a bit a...Perhaps I m simply tiring of Donna Leon s formula, but I found this book to plod along in a too predictable fashion It has all the expected things of a Commissario Brunetti mystery, including descriptions that make one see Venice through Brunetti s eyes His interactions with his family and the too clever Signorina Elettra, along with his love of Venetian food and Italian history are just rehashes of things that have happened in every other book in the series In short, there was simply nothing Perhaps I m simply tiring of Donna Leon s formula, but I found this book to plod along in a too predictable fashion It has all the expected things of a Commissario Brunetti mystery, including descriptions that make one see Venice through Brunetti s eyes His interactions with his family and the too clever Signorina Elettra, along with his love of Venetian...It s set in Venice Much time is spent thinking about drinking coffee or actually drinking coffee Much of the rest of the time is devoted the consumption of delicious meals The crime Well that s all about books It ticks most of my boxes what s not to like I look forward each April to the latest instalment of Donna Leon s ruminations on the foibles and customs of this wonderful city, all dressed up as a detective novel The crime always pays second fiddle to Venice and its people, and it s It s set in Venice Much time is spent thinking about drinking coffee or actually drinking coffee Much of the rest of the time is devoted the consumption of delicious meals The crime Well that s all about books It ticks most of my boxes what s not to like I look forward each April to the latest instalment of Donna Leon s r...If Italy is the capital of the slow food movement, then Donna Leon fits right in with her Brunetti series which takes place in Venice Like her other books, this one opens slowly as the reader puts one piece of the puzzle in after another There are so many delicious asides such as nearly a whole page devoted to Brunetti s gray suit Then there are the domestic scenes with his wife, Paola and their two children The book takes place in the spring This was, for me, very appropriate As If Italy is the capital of the slow food movement, then Donna Leon fits right in with her Brunetti series which takes place in Venice Like her other books, this one opens slowly as the reader puts one piece of the puzzle in after another There are so many delicio...I do love Guido Brunetti, but get increasingly tired of Leon s inability to get background information conveyed by any means other than making him appear a simpleton with the need to ask his wife, his relatives, Signorina Elettra, and victims for information about Venice that any Venetian over the age of 5 would know Apparently she has decided that dialogue beats exposition any day of the week, even if it s ridiculous to think Brunetti doesn t already know these things.On the ...I love the Commissario Brunetti stories I look forward to a new book the way children look forward to Christmas morning My expectations for Donna Leon are high, so that s perhaps why I was disappointed here The book feels flimsy in comparison to the others in the series The characters are flat, the story less developed, and the ending, well, I won t give it away, but I was left dissatisfied There were few references to food, and rather than drooling over her lush descriptions of Paola s I love the Commissario Brunetti stories I look forward to a new book the way children look forward to Christmas morning My expectations for Donna Leon are high, so that s perhaps why I was disappointed here The book feels flimsy in comparison to the others in the series The characters are flat, the story less developed, and the ending, well, I won t give it away, but I was left dissatisfied Th...Donna Leon s love of books and literature has shone in her Inspector Brunetti mysteries, especially through the character of Brunetti s wife, Paola In By Its Cover, books as objects are at the heart of the story s mystery.Because this is a Brunetti story, in which differences matter, a distinction is made between books as art objects and the text contained on the pages of those objects For rich collectors, the objects havevalue For the Brunettis, who live a book strewn life in which Donna Leon s love of books and ...Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy How can you NOT like a Donna Leon Commissario Brunetti novel They are great books, and like it s predecessors, By It s Cover does not disappoint.The story takes us into the Biblioteca Merula, a prestigious Venetian library Commissario Brunetti gets a call from the librarian that several books have been vandalized, pages cut out of them The books are priceless historical books, and the library is devastated at what s happened At first it seems like Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy How can you NOT like a Donna Leon Commissario Brunetti novel They are great books, and like it s predecessors, By It s Cover does not disappoint.The story takes us into the Biblioteca Merula, a prestigious Venetian library Commissario Brunetti gets a call from the librarian that several books have been vandalized, pages cut out of them The books are priceless historical books, and the library is devastated at what s happened At first it seems like solving the mystery might not be hard it seems like an American who has been working with the books, must be responsible for the thefts But things get murkier when they discover that the American doesn t exist, nor does he hold a position at a prestigious American university, as his credentials had stated Who is this guy, a...One of the better entries in this series Someone is stealing rare books and slicing illustrations from others in the Merula library Suspect turns out not to be who he claims to be in spite of impeccable identification an American professor doing research Then follows the murder of another long time patron a man who sits in the library all day reading Church Fathers Good mystery with some facts about rare books and their market As a retired librarian, I had to read this one A quick, One of the better entries in this series Someone is stealing rare books and slicing illustrations from others in the Merula library ...

• English
• 22 July 2019
Donna Leon
• Hardcover
• 237 pages
• 0802122647
• Donna Leon
• By Its Cover