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    A Sea of Troubles: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
    Unavailable
    A Sea of Troubles: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
    Unavailable
    A Sea of Troubles: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
    Ebook294 pages5 hours

    A Sea of Troubles: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery

    By Donna Leon

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Donna Leon has amassed devoted fans around the world for her atmospheric and intelligent Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries. A Sea of Troubles, the tenth book in the series, offers a rare glimpse into the scrupulous Commissario’s personal life.

    On a beautiful spring morning on the island of Pellestrina, south of the Lido on the Venetian lagoon, a small boat moored at the docks suddenly explodes, killing two local clam fishermen. When it becomes clear that the fire was deliberately set, Brunetti decides to investigate. But when he tries to dig up information about the murder, the island’s tight-knit—and closemouthed—community closes ranks, forcing Brunetti to accept Signorina Elettra’s offer to visit her relatives there to search for clues. On the island, Brunetti finds himself torn between his duty to solve the murders and his concerns for the Signorina’s safety. Though loyal to his beloved wife, Paola, Brunetti’s concern for his boss’s spirited secretary may be driven by more than platonic feeling. Suspenseful, provocative, and deeply unsettling, A Sea of Troubles is an explosive and irresistible installment in Leon’s marvelous series.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGrove Press
    Release dateAug 25, 2009
    ISBN9780802199003
    Unavailable
    A Sea of Troubles: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery

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    Reviews for A Sea of Troubles

    3.5/5

    299 ratings19 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I always like crime solving with Guido Brunetti although this time not quite as much as usual. A fishing boat docked for the night explodes on the small island of Pellestrina. Divers find two bodies inside, the fisherman and his son. Signorina Elletra, a secretary for Brunetti's boss, has relatives on the island and goes there for "vacation" because she might be able to overhear conversation that would be useful to the investigation. In the short time she is there she falls ga-ga in love with a young man on the island. I thought the Signorina Elletra character was compromised in this 10th title in the series. She has always been the intelligent beauty in control of everyone and everything but was quite different here. This is probably one of the difficulties for an author writing a well established series, it's hard for the reader to accept changes to a character, particularly when they go from making excellent decisions to making rather thoughtless mistakes.
    • 2/5
      I still really like the characters, setting, the meals... but the mystery in this one held no interest. I didn't really care who blew up the boat, so stopped reading.
    • 4/5
      Here, once again, Leon has Brunetti confronting corruption not only of officials, but of his beloved city, its many canals, and calles, and the seafood that comes from those waters. Brunetti and Vianello are called to Pellestrina, a tiny fishing village on the edge of the Adriatic Sea across the Laguna from Venice, to investigate the murders of two fisherman whose boat exploded and sank in the harbor, taking them down with the boat. Once again, Brunetti uses his family ties, and childhood friends to gain information.But it is from Signorina Eletra that he gains most of his clues, and Brunetti is growing ever more uncomfortable with the secretary's underworld and underground web of acquaintances she uses to gather these for Brunetti.When Sra Electra "goes on vacation" to visit her aunt in Pellestrina, another whole dimension of intrigue and violence is added to these stories, and Brunetti must face his latent feelings about the Signorina.A real cliff-hangar, probably one of the most action packed of Leon's stories. If you can only read one or two, I'd put this one on the list.
    • 4/5
      I always enjoy Donna Leon, and this book was no exception. I was surprised that the characters seemed to be using lire in 2009, but maybe I missed something.
    • 4/5
      This is the tenth in a series that goes from strength.
    • 3/5
      Not an unpleasant read but definitely not my favourite of this series. An exciting ending redeemed a plot which had the characters behaving in ways that didn't work for me.
    • 3/5
      Commissario Guido Brunetti is called to the little fishing village of Pellestrina after a fishing boat explodes and sinks and two bodies are found in the wreckage. The clam fishermen are not very communicative so Signorina Elettra "volunteers" to gather information while on "vacation" in the village while she visits with relatives.What Brunetti uncovers on his own, makes him question the wisdom of allowing Signorina Elettra to remain the corrupt environment which threatens to be exposed by the investigation. This was not one of Leon's best, IMO, leaving me a bit flat. The police procedural was missing and the thrilling end was the only redeeming part.
    • 4/5
      Another entertaining and readable book in the Commissario Brunetti series. Donna Leon continues to build a picture of Venice and its people, politics and problems. The focus this time is on the clam fishermen of Pellestrina, and the dramatic conclusion takes place as the peninsula is hit by a Bora storm.
    • 5/5
      I hated and loved this one. A good one died and a good one lived.
    • 4/5
      Donna Leon on sizzling form.
    • 3/5
      The books about commissario Brunetti are cosy crimestories, but the detailed descriptions of italian cuisine makes my stomach growl, and it's not entirely suitable reading in a cabin on the swedish countryside, far away from espresso, newly baked lemonpie and fresh figs. One thing that's getting on my nerves: the commissarios incompetence with computers. It's written in 2001, and is supposed to be contemporary. Lucky for Brunetti that Signora Elettra is a hacker.
    • 5/5
      Donna Leon is truly reaching her stride as an author as a creator of characters and the problems they must cope with. The book covers the gamut from the relatons between men and women and the dysfunctional nature of governments. Its opening challenge is the murder of a father and son in their boat in the Venetian out island of Pelistrina. Its closing challenge is a major storm that hits that island. In the process Brunetti’s friends and cowokers face life altering events.Certainly I feel I know Brunetti better now by far. Curiously I am about to start a book by Don DeLillo that also takes place in Pelistrina.
    • 4/5
      My favourite of the series so far, with some character development for Brunetti, and a stronger role for Signorina Elettra.
    • 3/5
      Two clam fisherman, father and son, die in a terrible fire on their fishing boat while moored on the island of Pallestrina, which borders the Venetian lagoon. Although the deaths appear to be accidental, the coroner determines that the men had been murdered before the fire. It’s clear that Commissario Brunetti and his team aren’t going to get any information from the Pallestrinans. Signorina Elettra, secretary to Brunetti’s boss, has relatives on the island, and she insists on going “undercover” to see what she can find out about the murders. Brunetti’s worries about the signorina’s safety raises questions from his wife, Paola.This isn’t one of the best books in the series. Leon spends more time discussing the environmental and health impact of clam fishing in Venice’s lagoon than she devotes to the investigation of the crime. Brunetti really doesn’t solve the case. He just happens to be in the right place at the right time to apprehend the killer.I listened to this book on a road trip with a friend. We decided that the recurring characters reminded us of the characters in the classic TV series WKRP in Cincinnati, with Brunetti as station manager Andy, Signorina Elettra as office paragon, Jennifer, and Brunetti’s clueless boss, Patta, as station owner Mr. Carlson. The book seemed more entertaining in that light!
    • 3/5
      When Patta goes on vacation, Signorina Elletra decides to vacation on Pellestrina. A fishing boat exploded in the island's harbor, and the islanders are very closed about what's going on. Brunetti who was not placed in charge while Patta was out of town ends up in charge because the other man had jury duty. Brunetti is concerned about Elletra's friendship with a man on the island. A few too many loose ends and too little real investigation mar this installment. I listened to the audio version narrated by David Colacci.
    • 2/5
      Love Donna Leon and Guido Brunetti but this one didn’t take off for me. A rare miss.
    • 3/5
      Giulio Bottin and his son Marco have been found dead. Fisherman till the very end, they were aboard their boat when it blew up, but why is there a knife wound in Marco’s gut and Giulio’s face has been shucked like a clam? Ah, murder is afoot on the Venetian isle of Pellestrina and Commissario Brunetti is called upon to investigate. At face value alone the author describes the Lagoon of Venice with its much celebrated canals and gondola’s as an enchanting travel destination. Ms. Leon informs the reader that there is, however, a darker side to the Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea into which it flows – there is corruption afloat – the water is polluted and fishing areas have been condensed and at times ruthlessly fought over. Is that enough reason for murder? That is what Brunetti and his colleagues will determine. Leon writes a fairly good mystery and it is a quick read however I do question Brunetti’s lack of judgement in allowing non-professional police personal to assist him with his investigation, that alone makes him less professional in my book.
    • 5/5
      This novel, the tenth in the Guido Brunetti Venetian mysteries, was a powerful offering, with a haunting, disturbing ending. Leon gives us another delicious scene of mental dueling between Brunetti and his boss Patta, and her writing is inspired, with superb imagery particularly near the end. But the crux of this book is the relationships between certain characters that run deeper and richer, with more nuances than in prior books. The issues involve attraction, friendship, loyalty, trust and especially love between and among friends. The ending is a shocker, and makes me wonder how the characters—Brunetti, Elettra, Vianello—will be different in the next novel. I will know when I begin the next installment!
    • 4/5
      10th in the Commisario Brunetti series, set in Venice, Italy.Pellestrina is a small village that sits on a strip of land on the southwest edge of the Venice lagoon; it is under the jurisdiction of Venice. In the middle of the night, two clam fishermen are murdered, and their boat set afire and sunk. Because the pellestrinotti are clannish and settle their own affairs, Brunetti and Sgt. Vianello have no luck getting any information from the villagers. Signorina Elettra, offers to go undercover in the village; she visits her cousin there every year, and insists that no one will know who she is or notice her. Brunetti, despite qualms whose origins he does not wish to investigate too closely, reluctantly agrees.Leon crafts a very different story here, one that is more like a thriller than a police procedural. Some of her usual themes surface: environmental damage, this time to the fishing industry; the ever-present corruption in the Italian government. But the big news is that Signorina Elettra takes center stage as a protagonist, and she is a good one. The story is a little slow to get off the ground, but the climax, a real page-turner, more than makes up for it, taking place during a life-threatening storm. While Leon’s signature use of Venice as a background for her stories is not present in this book, the plot is good enough to get along without it. And the pellestrinotti are interesting enough in their own right.Another excellent installment in the series. Highly recommended.