Give Unto Others

Die Autorin fasst die dunkle Seite des Spendengeschäfts in eine packende Geschichte. Sie zeigt Umwege und presönliche Verknüpfungen auf welche die Spannung bis zum Schluss hoch halten.

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.

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.

Ich mag die Reihe mit Commissario Brunetti von Donna Leon aus dem Diogenes Verlag. Muss aber auch sagen, dass die letzten Fälle nicht mehr so abholen konnten, wie sie es zu anfangs taten. Umso gespannter war ich, was mich dieses Mal erwarten würde. Und vorab: Wer einen rasanten Fall braucht, wird hier nicht glücklich. Ich möchte nicht sagen, dass die Handlung vor sich hin tröpfelt, aber sie überschlägt sich auch nicht und lässt uns atemlos innehalten. Dieses Mal ist die Story ruhig, was es für mich aber nicht schlechter macht, nur einfach anders. Und ich muss sagen, auch wenn ich das Gefühl hatte, dass Brunetti sich viel im Kreis drehte, so empfand ich es nicht als kopflos, sondern bedacht und dadurch als glaubwürdig. Ich mag seinen Charakter wirklich sehr und freue mich daher auf den nächsten Fall. Was ehrlich gesagt nicht immer der Fall war. Mit diesem Fall hat die Autorin es geschafft, mich wieder etwas besser unterhalten zu können als zuletzt. Ich war zwar nicht vollends überzeugt, aber dennoch hatte ich schöne Lesestunden. So darf es gerne bleiben. Von mir gibt es für diesen einunddreißigsten Fall vier Sterne.