In the third of a series, Venice police commissario Guido Brunetti is sent to examine a body in Mestre, across the lagoon from Venice proper. The corpse, in a dress and high heels, turns out to be a heavily made-up males. When further investigation reveals the victim to have been a respected executive of the local office of Bank of Verona, not a known transvestite, Brunetti realizes there's something deeper going on.
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The trail will lead through the area's gay community, and in the course of uncovering a massive real estate rental scam will result in more deaths, including that of a young policewoman. As always, Brunetti will face delicate political issues in solving the case, especially since his boss's wife has apparently run off with Italy's biggest porn movie producer, so Vice Questore Patta is not in any great condition to assist his star detective.
The review of this Book prepared by David Loftus
Donna Leon is one of the most fascinating and absorbing writer of today's police procedural. Her Guido Brunetti series, set in Venice, is filled with landscape and
atmosphere of the modern Italian city known as the Pearl of the Adriatic. Leon, in this immensely popular series, has created a set of characters headed by this erstwhile--and seeminly incorruptible-- police vice commassario. In “Dressed for Death,” a man's body is found, dressed in female clothing. At first, it is assumed to be the death of a local transvestite; however, it soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary death, no transvestite, and the beginning of a complicated run for truth and justice. This novel shows a tangled web woven by complicted forces in Venetian society and Leon, through Brunetti, examines police corruption, political aberrations, and criminal activity (especially the illecit sex trade). She also
continues her character portrayal of Brunetti and his family. This series is quite an “addiction”!
The review of this Book prepared by Bill Hobbs
