Lynne D. (dewfactor) -
Helpful Score: 2
Although I have enjoyed every single one of Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti novels, this one stands out from a solid crowd of winners as her best work. Because Leon avoids easy answers and neat endings, the sense of satisfaction (or justice) at the end of her mysteries is usually somewhat tempered and can leave you feeling ambivalent about the denouement. Friends in High Places is a grand slam, well-written all the way through, with fewer insights into Brunetti as a father but more of him as a husband, more of him as a native Venetian, and a closer look at Signorina Elletra, all of which are superb.
If I weren't so dedicated to PBS, I would keep this book forever! But I loved it so much, I have to share it.
If I weren't so dedicated to PBS, I would keep this book forever! But I loved it so much, I have to share it.
Charlene (ATraveler) -
Another excellent Donna Leon. This one peeks into the world of money lenders, government coruption and drugs with a hint of the mafia. She writes with confidence and clarity which make sher story believable as well as reflective of reality.
Susan G. (SusanG) -
Another tour through the internal politics of Venice, Italy guided by Commissario Guido Brunetti. A quick read and absorbing as always.
If you love the Brunetti mysteries by Donna Leon, you'll like this book too. I have read all the books by Donna Leon to date and love them! Each is set in Venice, Italy and is about a mystery that Commissario Guido Brunetti solves. Leon evokes not just the layout of Venice, but mentions restaurants, shops, etc. that Brunetti and his family frequent. Venice is another character, so to speak, in the book.
In this novel Brunetti is visited by a young bureaucrat investigating the lack of official approval for the construction of Brunetti's apartment years before. What began as a red tape headache ends in murder when the bureaucrat is later found dead after a mysterious fall from a scaffold. Brunetti starts an investigation that will take him into the unfamiliar and dangerous areas of drug abuse and loan-sharking and will reveal, once again, what a difference it makes in Venice to have friends in high places.
Another review:
Leon tell the story as if she loves Venice as much as her detective does, warts and all. The plot and subplots unfold elegantly; beauty and the beast march hand in hand, and the result is rich entertainment." - The Sunday Times (London)
In this novel Brunetti is visited by a young bureaucrat investigating the lack of official approval for the construction of Brunetti's apartment years before. What began as a red tape headache ends in murder when the bureaucrat is later found dead after a mysterious fall from a scaffold. Brunetti starts an investigation that will take him into the unfamiliar and dangerous areas of drug abuse and loan-sharking and will reveal, once again, what a difference it makes in Venice to have friends in high places.
Another review:
Leon tell the story as if she loves Venice as much as her detective does, warts and all. The plot and subplots unfold elegantly; beauty and the beast march hand in hand, and the result is rich entertainment." - The Sunday Times (London)
Loved this book. The author's descriptions of Venice and its citizens makes you feel like you know the city. Commissario Brunetti reminds me of Chief Inspector Gamache in the novels by Louise Penny......brilliant, lovable, and flawed.
Carole V. (gmavawter8) reviewed Friends in High Places (Guido Brunetti, Bk 9) on + 2 more book reviews
I LOVE Donna Leon's way of expressing motivations and thoughts without coming right out and saying it! Friends in High Places was just another example of her fabulous writing!
In this ninth foray into Venetian politics and crime, Donna Leon's writing really shines. Guido Brunetti and his family are involved in a problem -- Was their apartment legally constructed after the war? The young man who brings the bad news is soon killed.
Brunetti wants to handle the problem himself; he does not want to use the 'people in high places' that he knows (specifically his father-in-law, the Comte or the Contessa). When the problem arises, in no way does Guido or Paola consider going to the bureaucracy directly -- but look to other machinations to make the problem to go away.
The characters are memorable and the situations seem so much taken from the headlines. Guido is "Everyman" -- trying to do the right thing under impossible odds. This series just seems to get better.
Guido Brunetti
1. Death at La Fenice (1992)
2. Death in a Strange Country (1993)
3. The Anonymous Venetian (1994) aka Dressed for Death
4. A Venetian Reckoning (1995) aka Death and Judgment
5. Acqua Alta (1996) aka Death in High Water
6. The Death of Faith (1997) aka Quietly in Their Sleep
7. A Noble Radiance (1997)
8. Fatal Remedies (1998)
**9. Friends in High Places (1999)
Brunetti wants to handle the problem himself; he does not want to use the 'people in high places' that he knows (specifically his father-in-law, the Comte or the Contessa). When the problem arises, in no way does Guido or Paola consider going to the bureaucracy directly -- but look to other machinations to make the problem to go away.
The characters are memorable and the situations seem so much taken from the headlines. Guido is "Everyman" -- trying to do the right thing under impossible odds. This series just seems to get better.
Guido Brunetti
1. Death at La Fenice (1992)
2. Death in a Strange Country (1993)
3. The Anonymous Venetian (1994) aka Dressed for Death
4. A Venetian Reckoning (1995) aka Death and Judgment
5. Acqua Alta (1996) aka Death in High Water
6. The Death of Faith (1997) aka Quietly in Their Sleep
7. A Noble Radiance (1997)
8. Fatal Remedies (1998)
**9. Friends in High Places (1999)
