Friends in High Places

When Commissario Guido Brunetti is visited by a young bureaucrat investigating the lack of official approval for the building of his apartment years earlier, his first reaction, like any other Venetian, is to think of whom he knows who might bring pressure to bear on the relevant government department. ''Leon tells the story as if she loves Venice as much as her detective does, warts and all. The plot and subplots unfold elegantly; beauty and the beast march hand in hand, and the result is rich entertainment'' Sunday TimesWinner of the Crime Writers Association Macallan Silver Dagger Award for FictionCommissario Guido Brunetti gets into trouble when Franco Rossi, a young bureaucrat, pays him a visit. Rossi is there to determine whether Brunetti''s apartment was built with official approval, and when Brunetti is unable to provide any documentation, he faces the prospect of both fines and the dismantling of his home. But when Rossi rings Brunetti at work, clearly scared, and is then found dead, Brunetti is drawn into an investigation that unveils a world of corruption, drug dealing and moneylenders. ''All Donna Leon''s novels are excellent in their evocation of place, while in Brunetti she has created a character who becomes more real in each book'' Evening Standard