ARC April - Beastly Things - Donna Leon

I am a fan of detective fiction - but am quite particular about it. I like it to have believable characters, a plot that flows well and is descriptive so that you can imagine that you are there too. I don't really enjoy too much blood, guts and gore, and Donna Leon has created a great series featuring Commissario Brunetti and these meet my somewhat exacting needs.

Brunetti is often exasperated by the day-to-day battles of living in modern day Italy, and we are provided with captivating details of family life, pictures of Venice and crime.

I would recommend starting with Death at La Fenice, which is also available on Audible, and progressing from there, although the books are all stand alone stories, the characters develop through the series.

Beastly Things starts with the discovery of the body a man with no identifying papers found in the canal, but with distinctive hand-made shoes. We are soon mixed up in a corrupt world with blackmail and a harrowing exploration of the meat industry, whilst trying to find out who the man was and how he ended up in the canal.

I have made a page to illustrate Brunetti's love of good coffee, a simple shot of my go-to coffee place in Venice when I am not in a rush. For a quick espresso, it has to be a walk-in, stand at the bar, down the coffee and leave place, but Florians is a sit down, marvel at the faded opulence, people watch and enjoy the splendid coffee sort of place.