I always look forward to sitting down for a few hours in the company of Commissario Guido Brunetti. I look forward to the time he spends with his wife and his children (the latter don't show up this time). I enjoy listening in as he works with his friends and colleagues Vianello & Griffoni, and with computer wizard Signorina Elettra. The story is almost incidental. But this one, a post-pandemic tale is as usual a good one. It involves a former neighbour who comes and talks - unofficially - about some concerns she has about the business in which her husband and son-in-law have been involved. As ever, layers unpeel to reveal dark secrets and shenanigans. Tricky moral questions arise for Brunetti to wrestle with. How involved should he be? No, I'm not going to say any more. If you're a Donna Leon fan you'll be keen to read this whatever I say. If you're not yet - hurry up! Grab whichever of this series you can get hold of. I've been hooked for twenty years. I'm sure you will be too. ( )

Give Unto Others is written by Donna Leon.
“What role can or should loyalty play in the life of a police inspector? It’s a question Commissario Guido Brunetti must face and ultimately answer in Give Unto Others, Donna Leon’s splendid 31st installment of her acclaimed Venetian crime series.” (Amazon)

A brilliant philosophical puzzle.
Every title in this highly acclaimed series focuses on a general malady/issue/problem/crime and in every title Guido Brunetti uses logic, reason and philosophy to ‘solve’ the problem and find some sliver of justice or accountability.
We are on Book #31 now (31 out of 32 titles with #33 to be published in July 2024).

Issues/problems/crimes include, but are not limited to, stalking, the treatment of women, senility & dementia, medical issues, criminality, deceit, pollution, the environment, theft, corruption, wealth, water, safety, human trafficking, fishing, greed, jealousy, academia, opera, immigrants, military academies, religion, accounting, charity scams, police & policing methods, & computer hacking.
a superb title and superb series ***** ( )

https://www.instagram.com/p/C1f6YfsLvpG/

Donna Leon - Give Unto Others: Her most brilliant one yet, weaving psychological manipulation and self-victimization into a compelling narrative (this is much more enthralling then that sounds). #cursorybookreviews #cursoryreviews ( )

Commissario Guido Brunetti agrees to do a favor for a former neighbor because her mother had been kind to his mother. Her daughter has confided in her that some unspecified danger threatens her husband and, by extension, herself. Her concern for her only child motivates her to seek out her old acquaintance in the Questura. Guido enlists the help of his colleagues Griffoni, Vianello, and Signorina Elettra to do some unofficial exploring. Their research soon leads them to a dodgy charity founded by the former neighbor’s husband. Will Guido and his colleagues finally pay the price for their off-the-books investigative methods?

I found this latest Brunetti novel less satisfactory than most of the series books that precede it. First of all, it’s not a homicide investigation. Secondly, Brunetti has had back-of-his-mind worries about his team’s unorthodox investigations throughout most of the series without these fears being realized, so why would it be any different this time? The tension feels exaggerated. The main thing this book accomplishes is to show that Brunetti is fallible, since he takes his old acquaintance’s story at face value and doesn’t suspect until very late that she’s been manipulating him all along. ( )

Fraud is the theme of this installment of the Guido Brunetti series - both financial and personal. Brunetti is confronted by a person from his past - a childhood neighbor, Elisabetta, asks him as a favor to try to find out what is wrong with her son-in-law and why her daughter should be frightened and feel threatened. Since Elisabetta's mother was kind to him as well as his brother and mother, he makes an effort to see if there is something that could be wrong. The deeper he and a few of his team delve, the more it appears that it is Elisabetta's husband that is the problem, not her son-in-law.

Ah, the tangled webs we weave when first we practice to deceive. It was very entertaining to watch as the frauds are exposed and the ramifications.

Not one of her best, but still good to see Guido in action. ( )

A neighbor from Bruno's childhood turns up at the Questura seeking Bruno's help in determining if her daughter might be in danger because of her son-in-law's job. It's an unofficial investigation but since Claudia sat in on the interview, they pursue it during a period of low crime. The author incorporates elements of the pandemic into the narrative. The son-in-law helped set up a charity for his father-in-law to provide help to a small Belize hospital. The daughter's veterinary clinic is vandalized, and they need to ask questions relating to that. It becomes apparent they need to bring the Guardia de Finanza into the loop, but how can they do this without somehow tarnishing their own reputations? They realize their questionable interviews all occurred after the break-in so they can claim the questions related to that. Before they can report, an article appears in the paper stating another person involved with the charity was under investigation for involvement in a possible charity scam. I would have preferred an official investigation so this one isn't my favorite, but the author manages to draw in the reader. I listened to the audio book. ( )

An unusual mystery, slow moving at first but builds up steam nicely, manages to portray the city of Venice and its people well. ( )

¿Qué papel puede o debe jugar la lealtad en la vida de un inspector de policía? Es una pregunta que el comisario Brunetti debe enfrentar y, en última instancia, responder en este caso cuando la distinguida Elisabetta Foscarini, una conocida de la infancia, le pide un favor. La madre de Elisabetta siempre fue generosa con su familia por lo que Brunetti se siente obligado a ayudarla y comienza una investigación privada para tratar de dilucidar quién puede estar amenazando a la familia de su hija. Sin embargo, hasta ahora hay pocas pruebas concretas: ¿por qué querrían hacerle daño a una veterinaria y a un contable que trabaja para una organización benéfica? El commissario está a punto de dejar correr el tema, atribuyéndolo a una preocupación maternal exagerada, cuando se produce un ataque y el caso toma un giro muy oscuro. Brunetti se verá forzado a pedir sus propios favores para avanzar con una investigación que inevitablemente se tornará oficial cuando descubra las dos caras de lo que parecía una venerable institución.

En el caso número 31 de su carrera Guido Brunetti se enfrenta, en una Venecia casi irreconocible por la pandemia, a los claroscuros de las ONGs mientras sobre el país vuelve a cernirse la sombra del crimen organizado, dispuesto a sacar tajada de la emergencia sanitaria.

Sinopsis: ¿Qué papel puede o debe jugar la lealtad en la vida de un inspector de policía? Es una pregunta que el comisario Brunetti debe enfrentar y, en última instancia, responder en este caso cuando la distinguida Elisabetta Foscarini, una conocida de la infancia, le pide un favor. La madre de Elisabetta siempre fue generosa con su familia por lo que Brunetti se siente obligado a ayudarla y comienza una investigación privada para tratar de dilucidar quién puede estar amenazando a la familia de su hija. Sin embargo, hasta ahora hay pocas pruebas concretas: ¿por qué querrían hacerle daño a una veterinaria y a un contable que trabaja para una organización benéfica? El «commissario» está a punto de dejar correr el tema, atribuyéndolo a una preocupación maternal exagerada, cuando se produce un ataque y el caso toma un giro muy oscuro. Brunetti se verá forzado a pedir sus propios favores para avanzar con una investigación que inevitablemente se tornará oficial cuando descubra las dos caras de lo que parecía una venerable institución. ( )

Unlike most of the series novels, this one does not start with a murder. Instead of that, an old acquaintance of Brunetti's mother comes to ask him for help with her daughter - the mother is concerned with what the son-in-law had said one day. Apparently it was a slow day/week for crime in Venice so he decides to help and even gets his usual collaborators (I mean favorite coworkers - Claudia, Vianello and Signorina Elettra) to help him. Before long a real crime is committed but things just do not add up - either in that crime or in the initial situation. So they keep digging... all the way down to the truth and its horror. If you thought that murder is the vilest crime, you may change your mind after this novel - humanity can be much more cruel than that.

It is a calm novel - Venice is still recovering from the pandemic, the tourists had not come back yet (which is both a relief and a concern for a city which relies on them) and the author chose to spend a lot more time in Brunetti's head than usual - we get details about his past (some we knew, some we did not from previous novels), we get his usual musings on the economy and Venice, we get more details than had become usual for the series about his family and their life. In a way, the book is too calm - it is not a thriller under any definition, it is barely a mystery. And yet, it works. I am not sure it can work as a standalone - most of the strong moments came from the connections to past novels and from knowing everyone. While the Brunetti novels can rarely work if you remove him and Venice, this one is especially impossible without them - even the crimes when they finally are revealed are Italian and Venetian and while not impossible elsewhere, won't work if removed to somewhere else. And their resolution needed the Brunetti style in more than one way - the imperfect Commissario who knows who he is and what he can (and cannot do) and who is first and foremost a Venetian.

A nice entry to a long running series - and now waiting on Leon to write the next one. Again. ( )

Brunneti s’endinsa en les llums i ombres de les ONG’s en un món fuetejat per la pandèmia.
A l’agost Elisabetta Foscarini, una dona que Brunetti feia anys que no veia, s’acosta al comissari per demanar-li un favor. La mare d’Elisabetta va ser molt generosa amb la seva família, així que Brunetti es veu obligat a investigar l’assumpte en privat i no com un cas oficial de la policia. El gendre d’Elisabetta, que és comptable, ha confessat a la seva dona que està involucrat en un cosa fosca i l’ha alertat que podria córrer perill.

Brunetti Does a Favour
Review of the Atlantic Monthly Press hardcover edition (March, 2022)

Give Unto Others starts with a simple premise. Commissario Brunetti is asked by a childhood acquaintance to look into the behaviour of her son-in-law, who is described as having said something to frighten her daughter. Brunetti takes it upon himself to make unofficial enquiries and enlists his most trusted allies: Inspector Claudia Griffoni, Sergeant Lorenzo Vianello and computer expert Signora Elettra Zorzi into the investigation. It is gradually revealed that there is indeed a crime behind the scenes, but that the reason for Brunetti being asked for a favour was more diabolical than initially thought.

See photograph at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Veneto_Venezia4_tango7174.jp...
A panoramic view of the Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice with the equestrian statue of mercenary Bartolomeo Colleoni on the extreme right. The history of the mercenary, the statue and the location are featured during "Give Unto Others." Image sourced from Wikipedia.

This was a comfortable return to Brunetti World with all of its regular touchstones. The outside world has moved on and there are references to a post-pandemic situation where some are reluctant to wear masks or are forgetful about it. Wife Paola is still teaching at the university and kids Chiara and Raffi are still in school (after 30 years!!). The timeless Brunetti household is an oasis from any turmoil of the outside world, where Brunetti can curl up with his favourite classical Roman or Greek literature and consult Paola for her opinion on his current case. It is a cozy world which is only occasionally interrupted by the criminal or ethical problems of those outside it.

Trivia and Links
Donna Leon discussed Give Unto Others in a March 12, 2022 online interview with the Poisoned Pen Bookstore which you can watch on YouTube here. The book is mis-titled in the video description as Give Unto Death.

There is a really fascinating interview with author Donna Leon at ItalianMysteries.Com even if it was done 18 years ago. She discusses all sorts of background to the books and characters and also gives the reason that she won't allow the books to be translated into Italian (and it wasn't because she feared criticism by her neighbours in Venice).

Give Unto Others as the 31st book of the Commissario Brunetti series is unlikely to be filmed, as the long running German TV series wrapped up after 26 films with the episode Stille Wasser (Quiet Waters) (2019) based on book #26 Earthly Remains (2017).

An English language summary of the German language Commissario Brunetti TV series (2000-2019) is available at Fictional Cities (Spoilers Obviously, although often the films differ from the books). As explained in the above interview, the TV-series was a German production as the books took off in popularity the most in the German speaking countries of Europe as Leon's publishing agent was Swiss-German and knew that market the best. ( )

An old acquaintance of his Mothers comes to him fearing her son in law is in danger. As a kindness Brunetti investigates and finds things are not what they seem. Better plotted than most recent ones. Still Venice and graft again. ( )

Commissario Guido Brunetti is approached at work by a woman he had known as a youngster when their families were neighbours; the woman is concerned about her daughter, whose husband had been acting strangely and perhaps violently toward her, but she does not want a formal police investigation. Because the woman’s mother had been kind to his own mother decades ago, Brunetti agrees to look into the matter privately, although he brings in a few of his colleagues who can check certain things better than he alone could. As troubling information comes to light, Brunetti must decide how to handle the case while protecting himself and his colleagues from charges of illegally using police resources…. The thing about Donna Leon’s Brunetti books is not the particular case or cases he might be working on (although those are all fairly plotted and interesting), but rather the philosophical cast of mind of our main character, who reads classical Latin treatises for fun and whose depth and breadth of understanding of the inner workings for Venetian society is matched by his curiosity toward and caring for the human condition in all its vagaries and faults. “Give Unto Others” is the 31st book in this long-lived series, and we actually learn quite a bit about Brunetti’s past for once; I’m not sure I ever even knew he had a brother, for example! Very highly recommended - but really, start with “Death at La Fenice” and carry on through the series consecutively, it’s really the best way to approach this series. ( )

This latest in Leon's Brunetti series is current enough to take place during the covid pandemic, which of course is wreaking havoc on Venice tourism. Brunetti is contacted in confidence by a distant childhood friend who is vaguely concerned that her adult daughter has been placed in danger by her husband's actions. With little to go on, and working somewhat outside of normal channels, Brunetti and his staff uncover the clues and piece together the situation without much fanfare. As usual with Leon's mysteries, Venice plays a major part and sets a lovely stage for Brunetti's work. ( )

Soon after the Coronavirus hit, the Brunettis realized it would attract scamers trying to get money for services not provided or losses not experienced. Companies would be created to fail as a way to be bailed out. Distance and masking changed personal relationships. “Icy formality had been imposed upon them all, and Brunetti realized how much he missed the soft, caressing humanity of the past.”
The daughter of a former neighbor who had been good friends with his mother and his family when he was a child stopped at Commissaraio Guide Brunetti’s office. Her family had lived in a large apartment in the building where his father was the handyman. They lived in a small, basement apartment.
She thought her daughter was in danger and was suspicious of her son-in-law, an accountant. Brunetti wondered or not they should take the case because he was asked to because of their former relationship, not because it was or might be a criminal matter.
If he asked about the son-in-law, the story would spread like an infection. Gathering information: “Long before computer chips could collect someone’s personal data, their neighbors did. The neighbors and friends knew the reasons..., while the chips could provide only written records. “Sooner or later, it would pass to a person who was peculiarly at risk from the disease. Some were struck down; others paid legal doctors to find a cure.”
As Brunetti observes, solving this case is like playing a pinball machine with information being bounced all around while trying to score as many points as possible.
While fraud is the basis of the case, the vandalism of the daughter’s veterinary hospital gives probability to the danger.
In addition, Signorina Elettra’s desk was being bugged.
As usual, Donna Leon’s story plot moves smoothly and gently. The characters are believable and familiar. The ending is not predictable.
Tidbit: People claimed to believe in things because they had learned them long ago, even if they no longer believed in them but had nothing else to believe in. ( )

Why do we read Donna Leon? For the mystery? Not really. We read for her insight into the hearts of her characters and for the deft way that Brunetti and his team make their way forward through the thicket of politics, crime, family, and memory that is Venice. This is perhaps not the most thrilling Brunetti ever but I found it particularly affecting, especially the initial chapters. Then, when the truth is revealed, these initial chapters and the emotional response evoked, are especially – what is the word I want here? Poignant? Telling? Sad? You read it and tell me.

I received a digital review copy of "Give unto Others: Commissario Brunetti 31" by Donna Leon from Grove Atlantic through NetGalley.com. ( )

When Commissario Guido Brunetti is contacted by his childhood neighbour, he is a bit perplexed and does not know what to do. Elisabetta Foscarini is worried about her daughter Flora. She does not provide any real details but Flora's husband Enrico Fenzo makes her feel uncomfortable. The accountant has helped her husband Bruno to set up a charity but then suddenly left the project to take care of other clients. Her feeling might stem from Fenzo's business contacts but she cannot really nail it down. Brunetti promises to look into the matter even though he is not convinced of any threat. Since life has become slow in Venice due to the pandemic, he and his team have got the time to investigate the matter. Just when the start digging, Flora's veterinary clinic is vandalised and some animals are seriously harmed. Soon after, clever Signorina Elettra finds some remarkable facts about "Belize nel Cuore", Bruno del Balzo's charity.

Not a classic murder investigation for the Venetian Commissario. However, Donna Leon cleverly integrated the pandemic into the plot which slowed down life in the Italian city due to the lack of tourists. Thus "Give Unto Others" differs quite from the other crime mysteries in the series but in my opinion, it is a lot more complex and interesting since it is not that obvious where the investigation will lead to and the characters, too, have a lot more depth.

What brings Elisabetta to Brunetti is quite vague at the beginning, neither does she really know where her uneasy feeling comes from nor does the detective know where exactly to start and to look. As it turns out, things are not what they seem and people have motives they successfully hide for a long time thus exploiting others reach their questionable aims.

Rapidly, the story develops into a financial crime novel which is complicated on the one hand, and, on the other, tells you a great deal not only about people but also about legislation. At the end, you have learnt a lot of things you actually did not really want to know and again, the thin line between legal and illegal reveals itself to be quite flexible depending on the point of view: what is morally questionable might be perfectly legal.

A thought provoking crime mystery that, again, I thoroughly enjoyed. ( )

I like Ms. Leon, don't get me wrong but this novel, due to be released a few months, seems like a non-starter. No murders, not a lot of action, I'd call it more of a cerebral non-thriller.
That said, any book by Leon with her lovely descriptions of Venice make for a pleasant literary vacation.
Thank you NetGalley, publisher and author for allowing me access to this novel. ( )

Donna Leon’s I latest Brunetti novel was a Christmas gift I gave to myself. Although not to be published until March, I received a copy from NetGalley early. I was saving it until closer to the publication date, but on a particularly bleak day leading up to Christmas. I just had to read it.

I love this series…the writing, the characters, the setting, the Venetian idea of justice.
What a joy to read such a literate writer; and I think this may be her best. Yes, this is her 31st, and I have looked forward to and read all of them.

In this story, an old family acquaintance of Brunetti seeks his assistance. Leon writes in such a vividly descriptive manner that you feel you are actually in the room with characters. Interwoven throughout the story is the pandemic, along with Leon’s typically sharp observations. An illustration: Brunetti’s musing as to whether this “disease” infects all of our thoughts.

It was so nice to visit again with all the familiar players, stroll past familiar Venetian landmarks, stopping for a coffee along the way. For anyone new to Brunetti, this can be read as a stand alone, but why deprive yourself? Go back to the beginning of the series and enjoy getting to know all of these memorable characters. ( )

family, family-dynamics, fraud, friendship, investigation, class-consciousness, law-enforcement, Venice Italy, language, dementia, deceit****

It began as a collaborative non-official investigation into an old acquaintance's family matter at that person's request to Brunetti. Until it became necessarily official even though it needed to belong to the fraud/tax department. It all is happening in the time of changes everywhere due to the restrictions and isolations of the pandemia. The story is both realistic and complicated and covers such diverse topics as dementia, toxic personality, class issues, and even dialectical differences. Even though I got lost in the language issues, I really enjoyed this addition to the series.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )

This review originally appeared on NetGalley at this link... https://www.netgalley.com/book/238815/review/670189

Having heard much praise for Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti series set in Venice, I jumped at the chance of reading and reviewing Give unto Others, the thirty-first in the series, through NetGalley, and am thankful to the author and the publisher for the review e-copy.

Commissario Guido Brunetti is approached by Elisabetta Foscarini, an acquaintance from the days of his youth, with a personal matter that she wishes him to look into, without making it official. She suspects that her son-in-law—an accountant—is mixed up in something illegal that may have put his own life and that of his wife’s in danger, and wants Brunetti to find out the truth. Brunetti, out of a sense of gratitude towards Elisabetta’s mother, who had been kind to his own mother during a phase of acute poverty a long time ago, agrees to get involved. He also enlists the help of a few people he trusts in the Questura and gets to work, examining the accountant’s career and the work he had done three years ago for Elisabetta’s husband, Bruno del Balzo, helping to set up a charity involving a hospital in Central America. Meanwhile, somebody vandalises the veterinary clinic owned by Elisabetta’s daughter and hurts her dog in the process, thereby reinforcing Elisabetta’s concerns. As Brunetti and his team unravel layer after layer of the case, things turn too complex for them to handle and Brunetti has to strike a balance between his sense of loyalty towards his mother’s benefactor and his professional ethics.

Donna Leon, true to her reputation, paints a vivid, intricate picture of Venice, weaving it seamlessly into the narrative. She describes movingly the effects of the Covid pandemic on the city, the distressing signs of which are strewn about everywhere. Since this series has been running for a long time, the major characters and their interrelationships are quite well established, which felt a bit difficult to grasp for me, a first time reader. However, the story is quite readable as a standalone since the plot is unconnected to the previous ones. Brunetti and his team—especially Signorina Elettra with her magical ability to ferret out hidden information—are a fine set of people to be acquainted with. The plot is as laidback as a holiday in Venice and it moves on at a gentle pace.

But, stripped of the appealing setting and the intriguing characters, there is not really much to say about the plot. Though amusing to read, Brunetti’s detailed interactions with his family members, and his philosophical musings about his past and the history of Venice do not act to further the plot. As a result, Give unto Others reads like a journal of Brunetti’s life for the period when he works on Elisabetta’s case, a far cry from the gripping crime thriller I had expected. I enjoyed reading it for the fine central characters and the enchanting locales, but would have liked quite a bit more in terms of actual story. I may try one of the earlier novels from this series before making up my mind about reading more... ( )

My cover was different

pandemic, charities ( )