I've always loved old-fashioned murder mysteries - Agatha Christie types, not Dean Koontz types - and when I saw a mention of "Death at La Fenice" in the LA Times I was immediately drawn to it. It's a light, mildly exciting, truly old-fashioned mystery that was a lot of fun to read.
The plot is pretty straightforward and lacks any shocking twists, and the big "whodunit" reveal isn't terribly surprising. But predictability and surprises are overrated and can never make up for mediocre writing. They never could; that's why modern thriller writers come and go, while Agatha Christie is the most translated author in the world. Donna Leon creates characters that you like, support, and what's more, really enjoy reading about.
The main character is the city of Venice herself. Leon's descriptions are beautiful and nicely detailed, and what I liked about it is that it's written from the point of view of someone who lives there. You don't feel like you're a tourist in the city; you feel like he's simply taking you along for the ride in his day-to-day life. It's very engaging. La Fenice itself is a real opera house, which actually burned down a few years ago and just reopened last month.
The main reason I picked it up was the subject matter. It revolves around a production of La Traviata, which goes awry when the conductor, a mean and spiteful little genius, is poisoned. It's great fun to follow the police inspector as he interviews the singers and spends time backstage at the opera. He's a fish out of water and is completely baffled by some of the things he sees.
It was particularly enjoyable to read this while I was doing Cosi. In fact, the book opens with a quote from that opera.
Highly recommended, but again, don't expect high thrills and surprise endings. Let your gondola drift as you sit back and enjoy the view!
Posted by Lesley at January 28, 2004 11:03 AM