Though a mystery story, Donna Leon's writing immerses you in the every day lives of her characters and the City of Venice - it is almost as though Venice is a character as well. The main character, Commissario Guido Brunetti, is a man with an impeccable moral compass, navigating not only the canals of Venice as he solves crimes, but also the Byzantine and often corrupt system in which he has to work. The interplay between Brunetti and his family and work colleagues brings the story to life and makes you feel like they are your friends and colleagues as well. The solution to the mystery is surprising, but the main attraction for me is learning about the larger issues societal that the murder reveals. In this book you also learn about the ancient art of glass making in Murano, an island in the Venetian Lagoon.
'Leon...has once again, apparently effortlessly, produced a wholly absorbing read.' Sunday Telegraph
It is a luminous spring day in Venice, as Commissario Brunetti and Inspettore Vianello take a break from the Questura to come to the rescue of Vianello's friend Marco Ribetti, who has been arrested while protesting against chemical pollution of the Venetian lagoon, only to be faced by the fury of Marco's father-in-law, owner of a glass factory on the island of Murano.
But it is not Marco who has uncovered the guilty secret of the polluting glass foundries of the island of Murano, nor he whose body…
Though a mystery story, Donna Leon's writing immerses you in the every day lives of her characters and the City of Venice - it is almost as though Venice is a character as well. The main character, Commissario Guido Brunetti, is a man with an impeccable moral compass, navigating not only the canals of Venice as he solves crimes, but also the Byzantine and often corrupt system in which he has to work. The interplay between Brunetti and his family and work colleagues brings the story to life and makes you feel like they are your friends and colleagues as well. The solution to the mystery is surprising, but the main attraction for me is learning about the larger issues societal that the murder reveals. In this book you also learn about the matters pertaining to theft of precious books and manuscripts - something that I was familiar with when from my colleagues in Washington DC at the Library of Congress and National Library of Medicine. It is an issue that plagues libraries around the world that house precious ancient books and manuscripts.
'The multiple award-winning Leon has lost none of her talent for weaving intrigue, and the atmosphere of Venice is as beguiling as ever.' Living North
A Washington Post Bestseller A New York Times Bestseller A Seattle Times Best Mystery and Crime Novel of 2014 __________________________________
By Its Cover is the much anticipated twenty-third instalment in Donna Leon's bestselling crime series, where Commissario Brunetti is better than ever as he addresses questions of worth and value alongside his ever-faithful team of Ispettore Vianello and Signorina Elettra.
When several valuable antiquarian books go missing from a prestigious library in the heart of…
I loved the historical aspects of this book, which describes a real club that Agatha Christie formed with GK Chesterton. When she tried to bring in 3 of her female mystery writer colleagues, the majority members who were men balked. The approach of the 4 women to gaining credibility and even admiration in an otherwise closed men's club of mystery writers was admirable. Their experience is one that I certainly experienced coming up through the ranks of medicine and scientific research, where we women had to prove ourselves to be accepted and lauded. The plot is also excellent and so is the solution to the murder. The characterization of each of the women writers and their interactions was compelling.
INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER AND INDIE BESTSELLER!
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie―a thrilling story of the five greatest women writers of the Golden Age of Mystery and their bid to solve a real-life murder.
London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery…
Readers have shared that the book should be called Well At Life, as it provides science based solutions for creating environments wherever you live, work, learn or play, to help you flourish, stay resilient and be well. Drawing on her pioneering research, Esther M. Sternberg, MD, shows how to design any workspace—at home, the office, or anywhere in between—to enhance both physical and emotional wellbeing. Staying healthy at work has never been more top-of-mind than it is today. But staying healthy isn’t the same as staying well. Staying well at work isn’t just about the germs and toxins that impact how we feel physically or even make us sick; it’s also about the many aspects of the environment that affect our stress levels, mood, focus, and productivity. Whether you work in a traditional office or a corner of your bedroom, healthy workplaces need not be a luxury. Well at Work reveals how to design these spaces for wellbeing across the seven domains of integrative health: stress and resilience, movement, sleep, relationships, nutrition, spirituality, nature and the air we breathe.
