Noble Radiance FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
The appeal of Donna Leon's Italian-set mysteries is as universal as crime. That's why her tales of Commissario Guido Brunetti's investigations have been international bestsellers. In A Noble Radiance, the discovery of old bones during the renovation of the garden of a long-abandoned farmhouse offers a difficult challenge. After all, the property has been derelict for decades, holding its buried secret as time erased the clues to its origin. Then a signet ring is found at the site, tying the bones to the unsolved disappearance of the scion of one of the oldest and most respected families in Venice. Even in the hands of a brilliant investigator like Brunetti, it'll take more than one piece of evidence to give new life to a case that cold. Unlocking the mystery of what happened to the only son of Count Ludovico leads Brunetti into an investigation complicated by dark hints of international arms dealing and fatal family feuds. Donna Leon has created a detective whose investigative expertise is matched by his insights into human feelings -- a combination that offers a fascinating perspective on the terrible lengths to which emotions will drive people. Sue Stone
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Donna Leon has topped European bestseller lists for more than a decade with a series of mysteries featuring clever Commissario Guido Brunetti. Always ready to bend the rules to uncover the threads of a crime, Brunetti manages to maintain his integrity while maneuvering through a city rife with politics, corruption, and intrigue. In A Noble Radiance a new landowner is summoned urgently to his house not far from Venice when workmen accidentally unearth a macabre grave. The human corpse is badly decomposed, but a ring found nearby proves to be a first clue that reopens an infamous case of kidnapping involving one of Venice's most aristocratic families. Only Commissario Brunetti can unravel the clues and find his way into both the heart of patrician Venice and that of a family grieving for their abducted son.
Author Biography: Donna Leon has lived and taught in Iran, China, and Saudi Arabia.
FROM THE CRITICS
The New York Times
Despite the serious issues they raise, Leon's books shimmer in the grace of their setting and are warmed by the charm of their characters.
— Marilyn Stasio
Publishers Weekly
Providing insight into Venetian society through the lens of a gripping intellectual mystery, this atmospheric tale from Leon (Uniform Justice, etc.) finds Inspector Guido Brunetti investigating an aristocratic family with a shady past. When a rural landowner discovers the body of Roberto Lorenzoni, who was kidnapped two years earlier, Brunetti immediately suspects the victim's family. The Lorenzoni clan bears the legacy of betraying the Jews of Venice during World War II, and from these ashes, its members have created a thriving enterprise. Roberto's cousin Maurizio, who's next in line to inherit the family fortune and business, is the logical suspect, but Brunetti senses something more insidious at play. As he works his way through Italian three-course meals and family crises, he uncovers disturbing details about the Lorenzoni family. Leon deftly depicts the tensions between Brunetti and his ambitious Sicilian boss, as well as the irony of the justice system ("Imprisoned parricides receive fan mail; officialdom and Mafia dance hand in hand toward the ruin of the state"). Brunetti emerges as an intelligent, somewhat world-weary individual who believes in his cause if not the system itself. In short, he's the ideal protagonist for this culturally rich mystery. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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