If Leon's devoted readers have learned anything over the thirty-one previous installments in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series, it's that Venice can feel like a very small town, at least to its natives, whose knowledge of their fellow citizens forms an interlocking group of spider webs. That's the case here, after Brunetti agrees to ask an old school friend if the palazzo where she lives is for sale. He visits the palazzo and encounters the caretaker, a Sri Lankan man who shortly thereafter turns up murdered. In the course of Brunetti's investigation, the wispy path of those spider webs, each trailing simmering resentments in its wake, twists back to the 1980s and the activities of various Italian terrorist groups, and even to Brunetti's own student flirtation with radical politics. As always, Brunetti's sensitivity to the human factor in his work--apparent in his sense of responsibility to the victims and his empathy with nearly all those he encounters--is what draws the reader to care for this character in a way that is very different from how we respond to most fictional sleuths. Add to that the richness of Brunetti's domestic life--loving but never sentimental, defined more by a raised eyebrow than a rhetorical flourish--and you begin to see why this series occupies a very special place in the crime-fiction world.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Over several decades, Leon has built an adoring band of readers who can't get enough of Guido Brunetti and his family of colleagues and loved ones.

The torture murder of an undocumented Sri Lankan immigrant, whose body was dumped in a Venice canal, drives bestseller Leon's enjoyable 32nd outing for Commissario Guido Brunetti (after 2022's Give unto Others). The man had been living in a converted garden home behind a decaying palazzo, where Brunetti had met him the day before. Brunetti was inquiring whether the palazzo owned by a university professor was for sale. With no official record the man even existed, Brunetti taps into Venice's gossip chain and the memories of longtime residents to investigate. He comes to suspect that the death may be related to Italy's complicated history and politics. Along the way, Brunetti is reminded that Venice is basically a small town where "everyone... knows something about everyone." Brunetti's respect for his squad, coupled with his detectives' regard for him, plays a major part in the crime solving, while the portrait of his strong marriage and solid relationship with his family serves to reinforce his beloved character. As usual, the rich backdrop of Venice complements the well-designed plot. Leon shows no signs of losing steam. Agent: Susanne Bauknecht, Diogenes Verlag (Switzerland). (Mar.)

Investigating the death of an undocumented Sri Lankan immigrant, Commissario Guido Brunetti must rely on hearsay and books, found at the victim's tiny abode on the grounds of a university professor's palazzo, that concern Buddhism, the Tamil Tigers, and the political terrorists of 1980s Italy. In the end, Brunetti is reminded of Italy's complex history and the tarnished idealism of his youth. Leon was declared among the 50 Greatest Crime Writers of all time by both Time and the Times of London.