Earthly remains—a cautionary tale!

Earthly Remains (Commissario Brunetti #26) by Donna Leon

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A young girl has died in hospital. Antonio Ruggieri, aged Forty-two and a lawyer from an influential Venetian family, who gave the girl the pills, has come to the Questura for an interview. He’s slick, assured and speaks disrespectfully about the girl.

His assistant Pucetti is angered and makes a move he shouldn’t. Staging a heart attack to stop Pucetti  brings about other problems that Brunetti hadn’t considered.

Brunetti takes time off and spends it out on the laguna at the end of Sant’Erasmo at a villa of Paola’s Aunt Costanza.

Caretaking the house is Davide Casati, a famous rower who rowed with Brunetti’s father. Casati takes Brunetti rowing and shows him his bees out beyond on the laguna. The bees are dying.

Not long after this Casati is found, in his boat dead presumably injured when caught in a storm

Brunetti investigates. Things are not as they seem, but where is the proof.

It seems to me Leon looks at the injustices perpetrated by the powerful and then continued by those who don’t look at the costs with this novel

A girl dies. Why? 

Casati dies. Why? 

Bees are dying. Why? This last very much defines the story as we look to the past, investigate the now and are fearful for the future!

A very different Brunetti tale. Brunetti is internalising things. He’s worn down and much given to philosophising about his beloved Vienna, the nature of man and consequences.

I found this Guido Brunetti story looks at the who the man is, and in doing so, we learn more bout our favourite Venetian commissario.

A Grove Atlantic ARC via NetGalley.