Quietly in their sleep

Donna Leon
Penguin Books

First book I have ever read of Donna Leon and her famous Venetian Commisario Guido Brunetti’s mystery series. And as in every great expectation there have been disappointments and charms. Among the last ones the powerful way of the author of creating an intriguing crime case almost from nothing, subtlety pulling you down through the great deal of bends and cul-de-sacs Donna settles down along the whole novel to create the proper atmosphere she thinks the story needs. It counts also the funny dialogues between Commisario and some of his co-workers (like the ones with his chief’s secretary, Signorina Elektra, about her hacker skills or the ones with Sergeant Vianello and his exercising habits after work). Or the charming scenes of Brunetti’s family affairs. But Donna´s novels are especially well known for their evocative descriptions of Venice. I am not saying Venice has no place in this novel, but not as much as I would have liked. At least not in the way landscape had in Anthony Mann’s westerns.

And what else could I expect from it if I chose it among all other Donna’s titles just because it was quite affordable in length? Along the little more than 250 pages of the paperback version I read, Brunetti runs an investigation he even doesn’t believe in, at least at the beginning, and which will lead him to face some of the most powerful forces of Catholic Church. Everything begins with the suspicions of a young nursing sister about the deaths of five of her patients at a local old people’s home. After the first inquiries he doesn’t found any criminal fact. But a few weeks later two events are going to change Brunetti’s mind: one of the deceased’s heir is found dead at his home apparently by natural causes, and someone has run over the former nun almost killing her. From this point on he focuses on discovering who is behind all of this even against his chief’s commands. All the citizen’s cynicism, liking on gossip, knowledge of corruption and fear of government and police that arises along the story is balanced by the loyalty of Commisario co-workers and the warmth of his family’s love. But above all of this lies the main point of the novel: the always difficult relationships between Catholic Church and laic society especially in countries like Italy or even Spain too. We can find this topic in Brunetti’s marriage (he a not very convinced catholic, she a fighting atheist), in Brunetti’s children religion teacher character who is found to harass young girls, in many of the investigation suspects and in the absurd presence of Opus Dei (which seems it has to appear in whatever story catholic religion has a role to play on the plot, never mind if good or bad). More over the plot ends without any criminal in jail, as if telling us there is no way, not yet al least, to fight against Church.

All the above taken into account I have to say I have read it with so much delight and interest that it is the english written book which I have finished fastest. So soon I finished it that I thought it was maybe too simple and so not so good. But as it happens with so many other things the simpler, the more difficult to achieve.