2023-08-05

lightreads: a partial image of a etymology tree for the Indo-European word 'leuk done in white neon on black'; in the lower left is (Default)
2023-08-05 12:05 pm

Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon

Death in a Strange Country

3/5. Multiple people told me to skip book 1, so this is book 2 of a long-running and beloved series of mysteries about a cop in Venice. This one is about a murdered American soldier leading to a conspiracy about toxic chemical dumping.

Eh. I’m in the market for a long mystery series to have a good wallow in, but this isn’t going to be it, I think. It’s not that it’s bad. Quite the opposite – there’s a delicacy and depth to the portrayal of a marriage here, in particular, that I enjoyed. And the mystery itself is deliberately unsatisfying in an interesting way. And the setting is, of course, compelling. But despite all that . . . no thanks. I’ve had my fill of this guy after one book, let alone thirty plus, even if I assume he becomes less of a chauvinist over the course of the books. He would have to do that and get a lot more interesting as a person to keep me reading.