Death in a Strange Country

373 pages

English language

Published Oct. 28, 2005 by Penguin/Grove Press.

ISBN:
978-0-14-303482-7
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4 stars (7 reviews)

Second book in the Guido Burnetti series. Brunetti is a commissario (detective superintendent) in the Italian State Police, stationed in Venice and a native of that city. From Wikipedia: "Early one morning Brunetti is confronted with the body of a young man fished out of a fetid canal. All clues point to a mugging, but robbery seems too convenient a motive. Then something incriminating is found in the dead man's flat, which points to the existence of a high level cabal, and Brunetti becomes convinced that somebody is taking great pains to provide an easy solution to the crime."

9 editions

Review of 'Death in a Strange Country' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Difficult to rate. The writing is definitely worth a 4, but I settled on a 3 just for my own enjoyment level. Should be a 3.5, I guess.

It's an incredibly bold choice to reveal to us the outline of what was really happening, but also make it more than clear that there was never going to be any real justice in this situation, that Brunnetti may have managed to save the friend he made and clear the toxic waste out of one little area close to his home, but the toxic waste is still going to kill someone else, just in a different area. The book is about government corruption, and as such it's very realistic and very depressing. I respect having it end like that, but it isn't what most readers want out of a mystery and I hope that some of the other books in the series …

Review of 'Death in a Strange Country' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Loving this series! Brunetti has really grown on me. Decent, stand up cop. Lawful good, dogged, and a good husband. What's not to like?

This time, Commissario Brunetti is investigating a murder. A body is found floating in a Venice canal, stabbed. Turns out it is an American solider from a nearby base. Guido is on the case, although they would rather he just let it go. But he can't, because you can't just change your alignment. He sticks with it, and in the end he pisses off his superiors and he solves the case, naturally.

Good series with well-plotted mysteries and interesting characters. 3 stars.

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Subjects

  • Brunetti, Guido (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
  • Police -- Italy -- Venice -- Fiction
  • Americans -- Italy -- Fiction
  • Venice (Italy) -- Fiction