Friends in High Places - (The Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries) by Donna Leon (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published: London: William Heinemann, 2000.

Book Synopsis

"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." --The Sunday Times (London)

In Donna Leon's ninth novel featuring her celebrated protagonist, Commissario Guido Brunetti finds himself caught up in a typically Venetian problem: red tape over renovations. Visited by a young bureaucrat, Brunetti learns that, officially, his apartment does not exist. The extra floor that was added years before was never approved. But what begins as troublesome headache ends in murder when the bureaucrat is found dead after a mysterious fall from a scaffold. Brunetti starts an investigation that takes him into unfamiliar and dangerous areas of Venetian life, and shows him, once again, what a difference it makes to have friends in high places.

Review Quotes

Praise for Friends in High Places:

Winner of the Crime Writers Association Macallan Silver Dagger Award for Fiction

"Beautifully written and immaculately plotted, Friends in High Places is further proof still that Leon can do no wrong."--Scotsman

"Carefully plotted and full of colorful as well as sinister characters, this is crime writing of the highest order: powerful, relevant and all too full of human failings."--Guardian (UK)

"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. Friends in High Places is, however, by far the best, and marks a quantum leap forward."--Evening Standard (London)

"Leon's best so far . . . I don't think I could really understand a crime fan who didn't love Donna Leon."--Scotland on Sunday

"Leon is a skilful plotter . . . Brunetti is a nicely shaded creation, a moral man who is also all too human. Friends in High Places is a splendid read, clever and provoking."--Observer (UK)

"Friends in High Places [is an] elegant police procedural set in beautifully imagined Venice."--Sunday Times (UK)

About the Author

Donna Leon is the author of the highly acclaimed, internationally bestselling Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series. The winner of the CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, among other awards, Donna Leon lived in Venice for many years and now divides her time between Venice and Switzerland.