When the body of an wealthy elderly woman is found, brutally murdered in her Venetian flat, the police suspect her maid, who has disappeared. As the runaway maid's train is leaving Italy for Romania, she is approached by the border police, runs away, and is killed as she crosses the tracks in front of an oncoming train. She has a considerable sum of money on her and her papers are obviously fake. Case closed. But when the old woman's neighbor returns from a business trip in London, it becomes clear that the maid could not have committed the crime. Commissario Guido Brunetti decides - unofficially - to take the case on himself. As Brunetti learns more of the victim's bad character, it appears that the crime may not be motivated by greed after all.
The detective’s humane police work is disarming, and his ambles through the city are a delight.” The New York Times Book Review
An elegant puzzle, as a character study and as a story of an officer’s need to reclaim truth in all its complexities from those who want to find easy answers to life’s, and death’s, perplexing mysteries.” The Washington Post Book World
Brunetti once again charms his devotees, and fans of Leon will not be disappointed as she crafts yet another expert mystery.” The Baltimore Sun
Though the case seems solved, Brunetti tries to uncover the real killer amid stifling heat and intra-office jealousy that is poisonous for him, but vastly entertaining to the reader.... Deeply satisfying and often very funny.” The Miami Herald
The sophisticated but still moral Brunetti, with his love of food and his loving family, proves a worthy custodian of timeless values and verities.” The Wall Street Journal
A good old-fashioned mystery. . . . But there is something more to [the novel] than a murder and a search for wholÓ¥