Blood from a Stone, Donna Leon
Blood from a Stone, Donna Leon
1 Rating(s)
List: $25.95 | Sale: $18.16
Club: $12.97

Blood from a Stone

Author: Donna Leon

Narrator: David Colacci

Unabridged: 9 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/01/2007

Synopsis

On a cold Venetian night shortly before Christmas, a street vendor is killed in a scuffle in Campo San Stefano. The closest witnesses are the tourists who had been browsing the man's wares before his death—fake handbags of every designer label. The dead man had been working as a vu cumpra, one of the many African immigrants purveying goods outside normal shop hours and without work permits. Commissario Brunetti's response is that of everybody involved: Why would anyone kill an illegal immigrant? Once Brunetti begins to investigate this unfamiliar Venetian underworld, he discovers that matters of great value are at stake. Warned by Patta, his supervisor, to resist further involvement in the case, how far will Brunetti be able to penetrate the murky subculture of Venice's illegal community?

About Donna Leon

American author, Donna Leon, has settled nicely into a series of crime novels set in Venice, Italy entitled, Brunettixote. The novels feature the fictional character of Commissario Guido Brunetti.

Leon was born in 1942, and eventually lived in Venice, Italy for over 30 years. She was an English literature lecturer for the University of Maryland in Europe (Italy), and worked on a military base in Italy for several years, before she became a full time writer. She moved to Zurich, Switzerland, and also had a home in a smaller Swiss village.

The novels have been translated from English into several foreign languages, but for some reason the author did not approve them being translated into Italian. German television has shown 22 Commissario Brunetti episodes that they produced for broadcast.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Alex is The Romance Fox

Blood From a Stone, Donna Leon’s 14th Guido Brunetti mystery novel deals with the problems Italy is facing with illegal immigrants. Commissario Brunetti investigates the murder of an illegal African street vendor.The story is set at Xmas time in Venice so we get a look into the local fest......more

Goodreads review by Eric_W

(Audiobook) Donna Leon's books are more than just police procedurals books that take place in Venice. They always, in my experience, deal with an issue confronting Italy and there's always a sub-current of corruption. In this book, she tackles the difficult subject of street peddlers, quasi-immigran......more

Quotes

“Stunning novel…Leon combines an engrossing, complex plot with an indictment of the corruption endemic to Italian society.”

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“David Colacci’s narration adds nuance to Leon’s subtlest textual hints…Contemporary Italy, holiday time, violence, and crime all blend to make this a sure win for new Brunetti fans and a must for old friends.”

AudioFile

“Crime fiction for those willing to grapple with, rather than escape, the uncertainties of daily life.”

Booklist (starred review)

“Leon’s most adroit balance of teasing mystery, Brunetti’s droll battles with his co-workers and higher-ups, and intimations of something far deeper and darker behind the curtain.”

Kirkus (starred review)

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List