About Face
Amazon.co.uk Review
Does the idea of a trip to Italy appeal to you? Do you want something a little less anodyne than strolling in the Mediterranean sun and consuming too much pasta and vino? Do you hanker, perhaps, to experience a touch of the corruption that most Italians wryly admit is endemic to much to their country’s superstructure? The American crime writer Donna Leon, then, is the perfect travel agent for you. She has given readers metaphorical passports to her adopted country for quite some time now, and her Commissario Brunetti novels are one of the glories of the current crime fiction scene. In her new book, About Face, a police associate of Brunetti, Guarino, leads the Commissario into a dangerous imbroglio: Mafia influence over businesses in the Marghera district is growing ever stronger, and when the MD of a trucking firm is killed in his offices, Brunetti’s colleague concludes that the murder is tied into to the clandestine transportation of refuse. But things are complicated when Brunetti observes that Guarino is behaving in a very strange, atypical fashion – and the resourceful copper has multiple mysteries on his hands.
In the Brunetti universe, insidious double-dealing spreads its tendrils into every aspect of Italian society, but there is always a glimmer of hope, usually represented by Donna Leon’s intelligent and tenacious copper. Commissario Guido Brunetti is the man to root out the evils of his often benighted society. About Face is not, perhaps, Leon at her considerable best – the customary voltage is more muted — but there’s more then enough Brunetti magic here to keep admirers happy and sated. –Barry Forshaw
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A very disappointing book from Donna Leon. Some of her previous novels are excellent and other suffer from the same weaknesses as this one – perhaps she relies too much on her reputation and gives too little time to her plotting and writing style. When she is good she is very, very good and when she’s bad she’s . . . .
Rating: 2 / 5
This was bought for my husband’s birthday, so my review is second hand. However, he found “About Face” not as satisfying as earlier books in the series. Too many literary references for non Latin scholars. Perhaps a touch of self-indulgence creeping in.
Rating: 2 / 5
As usual for Donna Leone, this book is just SO UP TO DATE AND FANTASTIC !!!!
Rating: 5 / 5
How very disappointing this book is. For those fans of the earlier stories, this one bears no comparison.In this book, we lack some of the fullness of the people around Brunetti,who play such a valuable part of the story,and create such a vivid scene, and as a result the story falls rather flat. Perhaps we are building up to Guidos’ retirement!
As the Commissario Brunetti gets older and more jaded in attitude towards his life with police, it seems the stories do to, and this one was bordering on the dull. We know that justice won’t be metred out;it never is, but this was all too vague, too inconclusive and simply made the whole story seem rather pointless. The garbage issue, whilst making for politically correct reading, isn’t particularly interesting, and ends up simply being depressing.
We were treated as usual to the family life, the meals,and the discussions,but even this fails to bring the book to life.
Rating: 1 / 5
Bought as a gift for my Mum! She loves the book, but says that if you’ve been to Venice for real, you’ll have a better sense and view of the setting for the book….notwithstanding that, the characters do become exposed through the story-lines through the book…..
Rating: 5 / 5