Beastly Things
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4.4 • 81 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times bestseller: The police investigate the death of a veterinarian in Venice, Italy in this “swiftly paced” mystery (The Seattle Times).
When the body of man is found in a canal, damaged by the tides, carrying no wallet, and wearing only one shoe, Guido Brunetti has little to work with. No local has filed a missing-person report, and no hotel guests have disappeared.
The autopsy shows he had suffered from a rare, disfiguring disease. A shopkeeper tells Brunetti that the man had a kindly way with animals. Finally, the victim is identified as a much-loved veterinarian—and Brunetti’s quest to find the killer will take him on a harrowing journey . . .
“All her trademark strengths shine in this swiftly paced, sophisticated tale of greed versus ethics.” —The Seattle Times
“Written with such delicacy and emotional force that we can’t help but be reminded of Greek tragedy.” —Booklist, starred review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In bestseller Leon's complex, contemplative 21st Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery (after 2011's Drawing Conclusions), the Venetian police inspector must identify a man found stabbed to death and floating in a canal. Unusually, the victim suffered from a rare disease that disfigures the body and is linked to alcoholism, though the pathologist determines he wasn't a drinker. Brunetti soon discovers that the man was a veterinarian, Andrea Nava, who also worked part-time at a slaughterhouse inspecting the health of the animals brought in by the local farmers. Despite his recent separation from his wife after a tryst with a co-worker, Nava appears to have been a compassionate human being. But when Brunetti visits the slaughterhouse and begins to examine how it operates, the inspector comes to some unsettling conclusions about the murdered man, the motive, and his own life. Leon deftly blends police procedural with philosophy and existential speculation. Her intimate descriptions of Venice, where she has lived for 30 years, lend color.
Customer Reviews
One of her best
Witty and touching
Well written
A good man is murdered. Bad people pay their due. And the author depicts a beautiful and moving funeral mass. There are no snide remarks about the Catholic rite. Well done.