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    Dressed for Death: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
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    Dressed for Death: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
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    Dressed for Death: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
    Ebook370 pages4 hours

    Dressed for Death: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery

    By Donna Leon

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Commissario Guido Brunetti’s hopes for a refreshing family holiday in the mountains are once again dashed when a gruesome discovery is made in Margheraa body so badly beaten the face is completely unrecognizable. Brunetti searches Venice for someone who can identify the corpse but is met with a wall of silence. He then receives a telephone call from a contact who promises some tantalizing information. And before the night is out, Brunetti is confronting yet another appalling, and apparently senseless, death.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGrove Press
    Release dateDec 30, 2008
    ISBN9781555849009
    Unavailable
    Dressed for Death: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery

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    Reviews for Dressed for Death

    3.5/5

    424 ratings25 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The murder of an apparent transvestite launches an investigation that leads in unexpected directions. As Venice's Commissario Brunetti begins to uncover the corruption in high places that resulted in the murder, he resigns himself to missing his much anticipated mountain vacation with his wife and children. While Brunetti always finds a way to get to the truth, but truth doesn't always lead to justice in a society where appearance is everything.
    • 5/5
      Another fun/interesting mystery with Commissario Brunetti in Venice.
    • 4/5
      I'm really enjoying this series. Love the Venetian setting. Love all things Italian!
    • 3/5
      The anonymous Venetian starts off with another unidentified corpse - a man found beaten to death, dressed in women's clothes in an area of Mestre notoriously used by prostitutes. On that most traditional of all occasions for crime, the eve of the detective's planned holiday. But is it all that it seems? Well, no, obviously. But surely Brunetti's investigation isn't going to open up another tangled web of corruption in high places so soon after the last one? And surely even Brunetti wouldn't be so daft as to accept an invitation to a late-night rendezvous with an informant after the ones in the last two books ended so disastrously...?Leon's intelligent and lively style and the many unexpected touches of local detail she finds room for allow this book to be entertaining despite a rather predictable and pedestrian plot, but I'd rather hoped and expected that the series would be developing a bit more strongly by the time it got to the third book. If it carries on like this, I'm not sure that I shall.
    • 3/5
      Actually 2.5 Stars

      This mystery is set in Venice, Marghera, & Mestre, Italy.....

      What seems to be the body of a transvestite whore is found in under the bushes in the field behind the slaughterhouse with his face bashed in beyond recognition. Commissario Guido Brunetti is loaned out to work on the case as the local polizia are short staffed. Unfortunately, the investigation interferes with Brunetti's family vacation.

      While trying to identify the murdered man, Brunetti comes across a shady philanthropic church group, a questionable apartment rental group, a small odd bank, and he runs afoul of the Local (powerfully corrupt) Avvocato.

      Meanwhile Brunetti's boss is having marital troubles (his wife has run off w/ the local pornographer) and asks Brunetti for help.... in exchange for Brunetti's help his boss will request a warrant for the financial records of the Avvocato, the bank, & the philanthropic group.

      This is a riveting and well written story. There are parts at the beginning that contain too much description that could have been left out and the underlying violence is also not to my taste. I enjoy Brunetti's relationship w/ his family, especially his dialogs with his wife & her insights to things he misses. I'm not sure I will read another in this series.... it is a bit to disturbing for my taste.
    • 3/5
      An earlier one in the Commissario Brunetti series, we are introduced to smart and beautiful Elettra in this one. A body is found in a field behind a slaughterhouse, the person so violently beaten that there is no face to identify the person who later is found to be a transvestite. Without an identity and with just an artist's rendition of what the person might look like based on part of his facial structure and hair, Brunetti and team visit the red light districts of Venice to try their luck interviewing the prostitutes. The biggest challenge he has is finding a motive for the victim's murder and he takes us along with him on this puzzling journey as he interrogates, annoys and generally makes a few important people in the city nervous.
    • 4/5
      Another great episode of Commissario Guido Brunetti and his crew as they solve the murder of an alleged transvestite prostitute, and the criminal activities of a large non-profit involved in the murders. This is the 2nd of the series, and in this one we meet the Senorina Electra, Brunetti's secretary and admin assistant extraorinaire. More great scenes of Venice, and the surrounding area. More wonderful tempting descriptions of Italian eating , and a well developed plot with great characters.
    • 4/5
      This is the third in the Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series. The series just keeps getting better. In this book, the mystery is very well plotted, with plenty of twists and turns. Brunetti continues to be one of my favorite characters in mystery fiction - an incredibly smart detective with a gentle way of interacting with others. I am especially fascinated by his relationship with his wife Paola. Leon spoils her readers with beautifully written prose and weaves Venice into the novel like another character. Plot, character, writing, setting - Leon's books could serve as a how to guide for excellent mystery writing.
    • 4/5
      Commissario Guido Brunetti's mysteries third installment exposes several imperfections in Brunetti's nature -- some charming, some perplexing, all fascinating.A man's body wearing a dress and new high-heeled shoes, beaten beyond recognition, is found in an area frequented by prostitutes. What initially is thought to be a transvestite's violent death, slowly evolves into a tale of intrigue involving lawyers, fraud, money laundering and transvestitism.Guido notices that the shaving of the body doesn't appear to be expertly done which leads him to question if the victim was truly a transvestite. His own sensitivities make the Commisario question his prejudices as his investigation treads through the world of the demimonde. At the same time as Guido is struggling with his own bigotries he has to deal with his private satisfaction as his superior, Vice-Questore Patta, copes with the departure of his wife in the arms of a well-known pornographer.Paola and the kids go off to vacation without Guido which necessitates the need for additional characters to interact with Guido so we are introduced to Signorina Elettra Zorzi, a new secretary/assistant. Supposedly the secretary to Patta, her abilities for computer hacking as well as contacts in the "outside" world bode a great future for this character.The social observations at the end where the victim's widow states that no matter that it was proven that her husband was not a transvestite, he will always be remembered for being found dead in dress, makes the reader stop to think of what else Brunetti's future will comment on in society.Again, a winner with Commisario Guido Brunetti.
    • 4/5
      The 3rd book in the excellent Commissario Guido Brunetti series set in Venice, Italy, this book opens with the discovery of the body of a prominent local banker dressed in a red dress and red high-heeled women's shoes and dumped in a field in an area frequented by prostitutes. Brunetti's investigation forces him to look closely into the normally hidden world of homosexual prostitution, transvestites, and men who like boys. A world that seems to populated by several prominent, and married, men. Add to this a possible scandal involving a well-known but little understood charity, and stifling summer heat that has Brunetti's family taking refuge in the cool mountains while he is forced to cancel his vacation and stay behind in the city. The result is a fast-paced and intense investigation where the bodies seem to be piling up faster than the clues.
    • 4/5
      In Dressed for Death, third in Donna Leon's Brunetti series, Commissario Guido Brunetti investigates the murder of a man, found in a field, dressed in a red dress with red stiletto heels. The man had been beaten, his face crushed beyond recognition. At first, everyone - including Brunetti - assumes that the man was probably a transvestite prostitute, and the killing because something has gone wrong in an fairly commonplace - but distasteful - transaction. However, as Brunetti digs deeper, he discovers connections with some well-placed people in Venice society, people trying to cover up both their potentially scandalous activities and the ever-present corruption that seems to thread its way through Italian society.Once again, Leon has woven a tale that combines a good mystery with a bit of social commentary. Here the commentary is about prejudices against transvestites and homosexuals. Brunetti finds himself confronting his own biases toward both groups. In a subplot, Vice-Questore Patta (Brunetti's self-absorbed and politically inclined boss), finds that his wife has run away with Italy's master of porn. Throughout the book, Leon is gently prodding her readers to think about various issues of sex, scandal and gossip.Another good installment in the Brunetti series.
    • 4/5
      This is the third in Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series, although the second I have read. I enjoy the way she follows Brunetti throughout the investigation in detail, giving us insights into his professional actions as well as his human reactions. Venice, Italy becomes a character in the book, which for me was quite interesting as it gives the native Italian's view rather than the guidebook picture perfect view. All of her characters are drawn with looks and gestures, speech and sighs such that they become almost three dimensional. Brunetti's family is brought in to add another dimension to his life and it was interesting to see him as family man, going to market, loving his family and then facing the gruesome details of his profession. Quite a juxtaposition.
      This is more of a procedural crime novel, we find out pretty early who is involved and follow Bunetti's efforts to pull in the net around the purpotrators.
      The crime in this book is quite brutal, the motivations involving corruption and greed in the upper echelons of society.
    • 3/5
      Engaging detective and romantic setting. The mystery angle was a bit on the easy side to figure, but intelligently written and, at times, witty. My only real qulam was that Inspector Brunetti struck me as a bit too naive for a man in his line of work.
    • 4/5
      Working my way through the Commissario Brunetti mysteries and enjoying the series tremendously. Guitto Brunetti does not have the dark, brooding nature of so many fictional detectives. Instead he has a loving marriage and a happy home life.This one dealt with transvestites and a money laundering scheme through what is supposed to be a housing program for widows and orphans. Body count hit 4 by the end of the story if I was counting correctly. There wasn't quite as much scenery of Venice in this one as in the last one, [Death in a Strange Country].
    • 5/5
      Great audio. Characters overshadow the mystery which is fine with me
    • 4/5
      Always well written and always the best family-relationship-dynamic scenes. Brunetti is my new favorite detective.
    • 3/5
      The mystery in this was interesting, but none of the characters stand out. Brunetti's family was out of town for the story, and gone with them some of the charm of this series. However the Venetian setting was wonderfully described.
    • 4/5
      The Commissario is called out to investigate the death of a possible transvestite prostitute. His methodical approach soon finds a deeper motive for the murder. Unfortunately, the are several other deaths that occur as part of a coverup for a serious embezzlement scheme. Thwarted by the political connections of the primary suspect, all seems lost. But, then? Narrated well.
    • 5/5
      A murder victim is initially identified as a transvestite whore. As Brunetti investigates he begins to wonder if things aren't what they seem. The investigation focuses on possible misuse of a charitable organization and calls on Brunetti to act the tough cop more then in past stories. Leon kept this reader guessing maintaining a good level of suspense while still sharing a visit to Venice with the reader.
    • 5/5
      Venice, law-enforcement, murder-investigation*****This is my first foray into the world of Commissario Brunetti but it certainly won't be the last! The only difference in the police work from other law enforcement areas id that it is all by water and not by roadways. Otherwise, policework is much the same everywhere and this book is a fine example of due diligence in a murky social sphere. Well written and I loved it!
    • 4/5
      Apartments, bodies - great plot.
    • 4/5
      Commissario Brunetti investigates the murder of an apparent transvestite found in a nearby jurisdiction. Prostitutes congregated in the area where the victim's body turned up. As he investigates, he uncovers a rental scheme involving influential persons. As with many of Leon's novels involving corruption, much of the police work involves building a case that will hold up. Although lacking the finesse of some of her later novels, the novel still appeals to persons seeking solid police procedurals in a country other than the United States or United Kingdom.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Another pleasant adventure with Commissario Guido Brunetti. A nearby town calls Brunetti in to investigate the corpse of what is apparently a transvestite found lying near the industrial district, a common hangout for the sex trade. I enjoyed this one even more than the last (Death in a Strange Country). The story felt more like a mystery, whereas the last one felt a bit more like a political treatise. This is not to say that Leon doesn't provide some commentary on social issues in this episode. In this one, she turns her attention to the condition of prostitutes, particularly male prostitutes, and transvestites in Italy. As usual, there is a fair degree of cynicism about Italian authorities and social conventions as Brunetti works to resolve the case in spite of them.Three books in and this series is still one I recommend—they are getting better as they go.
    • 3/5
      Audio book performed by David Colacci

      Commissario Guido Brunetti’s plans for a family getaway to the mountains are waylaid when a body is found, the face so badly beaten as to be unrecognizable. What is clear, however, is that the man was a transvestite, and probably a prostitute. Or was he?

      I love Guido and this series of mysteries set in and around Venice. Brunetti is methodical and unflappable; he understands the Italian bureaucracy, and how to get around it. Not a man who suffers fools gladly, he prefers to use his brains to outwit the bad guys, but isn’t above using some brawn when called for. Colacci’s performance on the audio is great, bringing this quiet hero to life.
    • 4/5
      3rd in the Commisario Brunetti series set in Venice.In a field in Mestre, a small city just to the west of Venice on the mainland, in a field used by the most desperate type of prostitutes, a worker in an abbatoir discovers the body of a middle-aged man dressed in a cheap red dress and red shoes. His face has been smashed in, making him virtually unidentifiable.Because it’s August, and Mestre’s Questura is understaffed due to holidays and other misfortunes, Patta decides to “lend” Brunetti to the Mestre force to investigate the crime. Not that there’s much doubt in anyone’s mind what happened--something “gone wrong” in a transaction by the most despised of prostitutes, transvestites. Brunetti, who was supposed to go on the family’s annual vacation in the mountains, instead sees Paola, Chiara, and Raffi off at the train station, and returns to a hot, humid Venice--and Mestre--for this distasteful investigation. Before too long, Brunetti is less than convinced of the apparent motive for the murder; the investigation takes him further into the world of transvestite prostitution and those of the moneyed class in Venice who use their services.In most of her books, Leon uses some social issue as a background for her plots, illuminating the less than pleasant aspects of Italian life--in this case, transvestites and the attitudes felt by most Italians towards them, attitudes that in many cases are utterly hypocritical. She does a good job of this without ever becoming preachy, letting the characters speak for themselves and showcase the situation. While I don’t think that Leon does as good a job on the same subject as Magdalen Nabb in her Marshal Guarnaccia series (The Marshall’s Own Case), it’s still a glimpse into that world.Because Paola and the teenagers are off on vacation, this book does not have their strong contributions to the series, but that is more than made up for by the introduction of one of Leon’s great characters, the ineffable Signorina Elettra Zorzi. Nominally secretary to Patta, the pompous Vice Questore, Elettra in her debut appearance gives ample notice of the serene, sophisticated, highly talented computer hijacker role which she will expand in future books. The book is worth reading if just for the relish of her appearance. Patta plays an unusually large role in this book in a surprising way. We’re getting used to some of the more minor ones now, such as Sgt. Vianelli and his always off-stage wife Nadia who has found a second career as amateur investigator; all the minor characters lend strength to the series.All in all, an excellent story, with the usual good plotting, fine writing, and strong characters. Highly recommended.