The Waters of Eternal Youth (A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery)

The perfect ending! As much as you're disgusted by the Machiavellian politics in Venice, you'll be rewarded by the clever exposure of human failings and their redemption through love and friendship at the end.

Wish she wrote stories the length of War and Peace. I dread coming to the end. Please write again soon. All the characters are there , in character. I think it's one of her best. Thank you Donna.

I am thrilled. I am moved. I am deeply satisfied. I approached this Commissario Guido Brunetti novel with a little trepidation. I had been disappointed with some aspects of Donna Leon's previous novel FALLING IN LOVE and was hoping this new one wouldn't make me feel similarly. As a true Donna Leon fan I have read all of the Brunetti novels now and this is one of the top three or four, and maybe even my favorite. Donna Leon has written a gorgeously sensitive novel that not only was satisfying as a mystery but has an epilogue that about two-thirds the way through I was praying, craving would be there. I won't embarrass myself by telling you how moving I found it. And I really appreciated the larger role Commissario Claudia Griffoni's plays in this tale. I'm not going to tell you story like some of the other reviews have (which I wish they wouldn't!), but I am going to say to Donna Leon fan's that there is loads to love here.

Book 25 is another terrific mystery set in Venice, Italy. The author writes as though the reader is right there walking along the Laguna. This story has more sensitivity than some of the earlier books. We begin to care about the 'accident' that damaged Manuela, leaving her at the age of 7 even though she is 30 now. There are the usual give and take between Brunetti and Patta and the clever Signora Electra. It is like reconnecting with old friends. this one leaves the reader satisfied and the 'extra mile' taken by Brunetti and his colleague Claudia Griffoni just make this a very touching story. Can't wait for Book 26.

another wonderful book from Donna Leon with the well developed characters we know and love plus some fascinating new ones. I think this is the 24th book in the series about Commissario Guido Brunetti and his life in Venice.

I love Commissario Brunetti and his family and friends. I love Venice. I've even come to love the tackiness that goes on in the office. Every new book is a visit with old friends. It's good to see how the family is getting on. How poor Venice is fairing. How provential and sophisticated it's citizens are. When you throw in a mystery, how could you not love it all. I've learned more about Venice and Italy than I did visiting there. Now I know why. The changes there compare to the changes that occurred in my own life. I'm waiting for the first appearance of McDonald's and WalMart. Of course you'll have to take a boat.

Although I greatly enjoyed the earliest Brunetti stories, many of the more recent books were less than compelling. But the latest book had many appealing aspects, including a well-developed plot and the first trial of a criminal that I can remember. The characters, as always, are well written, and Venice is captured with Leon's characteristic affection.

Wonderful series, and this lives up to the reputation. It always makes me want to get on the next plane to Venice. Plot is particularly poignant in this one and speaks to the longevity of human tragedy in our lives, and the compassion that mitigates it.

I have all the Commissario Brunetti books and over the years have so enjoyed his family change with the times, and himself with them; I love ancillary characters such as Vianello and Signorina Electra, recently the nice addition of Commissario Griffoni from Naples - and of course the city of Venice where the level of bureaucratic corruption are somewhat worse than the growing water-table along and among the canals and seawaters...This latest story has nicely tangled bits of plot, and characters who are good red-herrings - but it finishes with a protracted twist that absolutely broke my heart. I do not want to talk about it, but if anyone out there was touched by The Golden Egg, please get this one, too. .

Love, love, love this series of books set in Venice. One of the very few that I buy in hardcover the day they come out. But don't start here. While they can be read out of order, read at least the first few before going out of order. These books are more about people and Italian society and justice than they are mysteries, and when I first read them that drove me crazy. Now, however, I read them FOR the main characters, the descriptions of Venice and the plots which often have the twists and turns of the real world.

Well written and thoughtful as always. Enjoyed the character development she puts into her characters and the time dedicated to Grifoni. The architecture, the food, the heart and soul that make these books so enjoyable.