A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery - Uniform Justice

If you like international detective stories and don't know Donna Leon's series starring Commisario Guido Brunetti then you're in for a treat. Every installment is uniformly well written, engrossing and enjoyable. Settle into crime, family dinners (with polenta)and an occasional glass of Soave as our Venetian policeman copes with fatuous superiors and nasty criminals. End with some Vin Santo.

I was rather disappointed by this book. The mystery starts off as rather interesting, but one sees the solution quite early on. What gets very tiresome is the continuous political preaching. Ms Leon is entitled to her opinions, and I do not mind their being mentioned occasionally under the guise of a character's beliefs. But this was really too much: it is supposed to be a mystery, not a political platform.

Donna Leon has indicated that she writes these books for her own amusement. She also refuses to have them sold in Italy; she's not interested in being a `personality.'

Boy was she in a melancholy mood when she wrote UNIFORM JUSTICE! Although there are several instances of the wry Leon wit throughout the book, the book seems filled with despair. Each of Leon's books makes an effort to harpoon something lamentable that `the Americans' are doing. But this book takes a sharp look at the pervasive corruption in Italy.

The author uses a Venetian military academy for young men as the backdrop for this tragic tale. As the story begins, a young 17 year-old, only son of a prominent Venetian physician is hanging in a shower stall. Although Vice-Questore Patta wants to close the case quickly by accepting the easy answer of `death by suicide,' Brunetti is not so certain.

As he delves deeper into the history of Dr. Moro's aborted career in politics, Brunetti becomes more certain that Ernesto Moro was murdered. The sad facts that emerge about the Moro family swirl about in a chilly Venetian winter. The whole aura is one of gloom and depression.

It is particularly sad to watch Guido Brunetti work within a corrupt system to find the truth. Guido and his charming family remind us that it is possible to remain honest - even when surrounded by rampant theft, bribery and murder.

In many books I read, the author gets caught up in the police procedures to the point that the victim (especially the horror of a violent death) is lost. Leon, through the use of a brilliant ending, brings the true horror of the loss of a young life back to face the reader!

The reason I did not give this novel a 5 star rating is that the author spent a bit too much time on her hobby-horse of political views. Although I agree with the wisdom of many of her ideas, Leon spent too much time sharing them in a work of fiction. 4.5 stars

Guido Brunetti
1. Death at La Fenice
2. Death in a Strange Country
3. The Anonymous Venetian (aka Dressed for Death)
4. A Venetian Reckoning (aka Death and Judgment)
5. Acqua Alta (aka Death in High Water)
6. The Death of Faith (aka Quietly in Their Sleep)
7. A Noble Radiance
8. Fatal Remedies
9. Friends in High Places
10. A Sea of Troubles
11. Willful Behavior
12. Uniform Justice

As always, Donna Leon gives the reader an insider's view of Venice, a bit of the seedy side and the wealthy. When a young man dies of an apparent suicide at an elite military academy, only Brunetti senses something is wrong. Working with the usual cast, Vianello, Signorina Elettra and Pucetti, the Commissario spares no effort in finding details that will explain the death. What he finds, however, is not what he expected.

The Moros, family of the the dead boy, are in total disarray: The father, stolid and uncommunicative. The mother equally uncommunicative and seemingly empty of feelings. The younger daughter missing. After a brief period in the legislature, Moro retired suddenly. His wife was wounded supposedly by a hunter. No one is talking.

Plugging away at the various theories and doggedly pursuing witnesses and other characters, Brunetti reaches the truth. However, knowing what happened and proving it are two different things. The reader will share Brunetti's frustration, while understanding all too well what is possible and what is not.

Donna Leon has chosen Mozart's gay but sardonic opera, "Cosi Fan Tutte" for her beginning quotes before, but never more precisely, heart-breakingly than in "Uniform Justice." In the opera, two men bet on the purity of their fiancees, then set out to entrap them. The financees and the men prove less than angelic. "Ah," the quartet warbles after operatically amusing mix-ups, "they all do it and we must take life as it comes."

Donna Leon's book---as much a novel as a mystery---begins with a situation that many parents of teen-agers dread: their child apparently commits suicide. In this case, the youth, a cadet in an ultra-elite military academy in Venice, is found hanged. He is the only son of Dr. Moro,a once fearless physician and lawmaker. The physician, author of the Moro report exposing outright fraud in health statistics, resigned two years before the story begins, abruptly, after his wife has been shot in a hunting accident. The Moro report is suppressed and Moro disappears into an oncologist's practice. His wife and he are separated; his younger daughter totally vanishes; his son enters the military academy.

Is the hanging a suicide? If so, for what reason? Are these threads and other threads related to military procurements, cleverly tracked by Signorina Elettra or painfully extracted from interviews between Comissionaire Brunetti with the furious administrator of the academy, the arrogant stone-walling students, the bereaved parents connected? Through what skein of motives? Is there any connection, any evidence that could survive in the Venetian murk of greed, corruption, protection of all who do it?

Among the darkest, perhaps, of the Brunetti stories, this particularly shines in the dissection of reasons and the delineation of character. I once dissected the inner ear structures of a dog-fish, hours of the tiniest of movements to avoid cutting the demi-circular canals yet leaving the whole intricate system eventually revealed. Brunetti, Vianello, and Signorina eventually do this in their investigation, through chapters that were so compelling one stays up, reading, until the last word.

The last word is psychologically convincing and heart-breaking for those who do care about justice. It is vividly close to today's headlines, not remote in a uniquely flawed Venice. Indeed, cosi fan tutti and may we learn from a book such as this. Our admiration continues for Brunetti for keeping on keeping on, as well as for his bull-dog tenacity and brilliant mind. May Paola have a particularly delectable dinner and may the telefone not ring until they are really ready to go to sleep.

Any problems with this book? No, not really. Uniform justice plays on uniform as in the military, uniform as in the cadets' outfit and rigid minds, and uniform as in consistent treatment, behavior as wide-spread as water in Venice. and does it well. Brunetti's own ambivalent experience with the miltary adds a valuable yes-but. The experiences alleged to lead up to the hanging in the last chapters seem, however, a bit too readily accepted by the almost always skeptical Brunetti.

Donna Leon has indicated that she writes these books for her own amusement. She also refuses to have them sold in Italy; she's not interested in being a `personality.'

Boy was she in a melancholy mood when she wrote UNIFORM JUSTICE! Although there are several instances of the wry Leon wit throughout the book, the book seems filled with despair. Each of Leon's books makes an effort to harpoon something lamentable that `the Americans' are doing. But this book takes a sharp look at the pervasive corruption in Italy.

The author uses a Venetian military academy for young men as the backdrop for this tragic tale. As the story begins, a young 17 year-old, only son of a prominent Venetian physician is hanging in a shower stall. Although Vice-Questore Patta wants to close the case quickly by accepting the easy answer of `death by suicide,' Brunetti is not so certain.

As he delves deeper into the history of Dr. Moro's aborted career in politics, Brunetti becomes more certain that Ernesto Moro was murdered. The sad facts that emerge about the Moro family swirl about in a chilly Venetian winter. The whole aura is one of gloom and depression.

It is particularly sad to watch Guido Brunetti work within a corrupt system to find the truth. Guido and his charming family remind us that it is possible to remain honest - even when surrounded by rampant theft, bribery and murder.

In many books I read, the author gets caught up in the police procedures to the point that the victim (especially the horror of a violent death) is lost. Leon, through the use of a brilliant ending, brings the true horror of the loss of a young life back to face the reader!

The reason I did not give this novel a 5 star rating is that the author spent a bit too much time on her hobby-horse of political views. Although I agree with the wisdom of many of her ideas, Leon spent too much time sharing them in a work of fiction. 4.5 stars

Guido Brunetti
1. Death at La Fenice
2. Death in a Strange Country
3. The Anonymous Venetian (aka Dressed for Death)
4. A Venetian Reckoning (aka Death and Judgment)
5. Acqua Alta (aka Death in High Water)
6. The Death of Faith (aka Quietly in Their Sleep)
7. A Noble Radiance
8. Fatal Remedies
9. Friends in High Places
10. A Sea of Troubles
11. Willful Behavior
12. Uniform Justice

As always, Donna Leon gives the reader an insider's view of Venice, a bit of the seedy side and the wealthy. When a young man dies of an apparent suicide at an elite military academy, only Brunetti senses something is wrong. Working with the usual cast, Vianello, Signorina Elettra and Pucetti, the Commissario spares no effort in finding details that will explain the death. What he finds, however, is not what he expected.

The Moros, family of the the dead boy, are in total disarray: The father, stolid and uncommunicative. The mother equally uncommunicative and seemingly empty of feelings. The younger daughter missing. After a brief period in the legislature, Moro retired suddenly. His wife was wounded supposedly by a hunter. No one is talking.

Plugging away at the various theories and doggedly pursuing witnesses and other characters, Brunetti reaches the truth. However, knowing what happened and proving it are two different things. The reader will share Brunetti's frustration, while understanding all too well what is possible and what is not.

Donna Leon has chosen Mozart's gay but sardonic opera, "Cosi Fan Tutte" for her beginning quotes before, but never more precisely, heart-breakingly than in "Uniform Justice." In the opera, two men bet on the purity of their fiancees, then set out to entrap them. The financees and the men prove less than angelic. "Ah," the quartet warbles after operatically amusing mix-ups, "they all do it and we must take life as it comes."

Donna Leon's book---as much a novel as a mystery---begins with a situation that many parents of teen-agers dread: their child apparently commits suicide. In this case, the youth, a cadet in an ultra-elite military academy in Venice, is found hanged. He is the only son of Dr. Moro,a once fearless physician and lawmaker. The physician, author of the Moro report exposing outright fraud in health statistics, resigned two years before the story begins, abruptly, after his wife has been shot in a hunting accident. The Moro report is suppressed and Moro disappears into an oncologist's practice. His wife and he are separated; his younger daughter totally vanishes; his son enters the military academy.

Is the hanging a suicide? If so, for what reason? Are these threads and other threads related to military procurements, cleverly tracked by Signorina Elettra or painfully extracted from interviews between Comissionaire Brunetti with the furious administrator of the academy, the arrogant stone-walling students, the bereaved parents connected? Through what skein of motives? Is there any connection, any evidence that could survive in the Venetian murk of greed, corruption, protection of all who do it?

Among the darkest, perhaps, of the Brunetti stories, this particularly shines in the dissection of reasons and the delineation of character. I once dissected the inner ear structures of a dog-fish, hours of the tiniest of movements to avoid cutting the demi-circular canals yet leaving the whole intricate system eventually revealed. Brunetti, Vianello, and Signorina eventually do this in their investigation, through chapters that were so compelling one stays up, reading, until the last word.

The last word is psychologically convincing and heart-breaking for those who do care about justice. It is vividly close to today's headlines, not remote in a uniquely flawed Venice. Indeed, cosi fan tutti and may we learn from a book such as this. Our admiration continues for Brunetti for keeping on keeping on, as well as for his bull-dog tenacity and brilliant mind. May Paola have a particularly delectable dinner and may the telefone not ring until they are really ready to go to sleep.

Any problems with this book? No, not really. Uniform justice plays on uniform as in the military, uniform as in the cadets' outfit and rigid minds, and uniform as in consistent treatment, behavior as wide-spread as water in Venice. and does it well. Brunetti's own ambivalent experience with the miltary adds a valuable yes-but. The experiences alleged to lead up to the hanging in the last chapters seem, however, a bit too readily accepted by the almost always skeptical Brunetti.

. . . . not the destination. I think I've said that about other Leon books. I like it when the bad guys get the appropriate punishment, but that doesn't always happen in the Brunetti books. Ms. Leon, who I assume chooses to live in Venice, wants us to see the rot behind the beauty. It makes you wonder how Brunetti can stand to go to work each day and why Donna Leon continues to live there.

We get to know Paola a little better in this book. I wasn't sure I liked her until Uniform Justice. I would love to know how, with her privileged upbringing, she became such a wonderful cook. And where does she find the time to make marvelous meals twice a day?

I think this is a another terrific book by Donna Leon. The story is unique, and the mood is just what I expect and hope for in Leon books.

It's a challenge to review each Donna Leon (Commissario Brunetti) book without revealing too much of the story.

An open question in my mind continues to be: if readers want to know many details of a story, why buy the book and not gain the value of reading? The opposite is to ask, as a reviewer, how many times can you say the same thing about the strengths of an author in different ways so the reviews aren't seen as just "Xerox copies".

In summary, then, I've enjoyed books by Donna Leon and have read most she has written. They are insightful about life in Venice and related areas, the stories are diverse, the mysteries challenging, the characters delightful and, per a personal preference, the descriptions of the crimes not overly graphic.

The foundation of this book is the discovery of cadet presumed to have committed suicide in the military academy he attended. With a recurring theme I have seen in books over time, an underlying issue is that the cadets exhibit a "code of silence" .. no one knows anything. Brunetti suspects from the onset that there is a murder involved. The added intrigue is that the victim is the son of a prominent politician who previously was presumed to have been very honorable but who resigned suddenly couple of years prior. As the story unfolds, added mysteries emerge among which are that other than the victim's father, the remaining immediate family members are difficult to locate and almost seem to be living undercover.

To say more might ruin the story. It did hold my interest throughout and had a most unanticipated ending.

In "Uniform Justice" a seventeen-year-old cadet apparently commits suicide at an exclusive Venetian military academy. Donna Leon's incorruptible Commissario Brunetti, our favorite Venice sleuth, is called in. The boy's father and mother are dodgy and scared. Some of the cadets are uncooperative and arrogant. You get the feeling early on that some of the boy's academy mates are up to no good. Brunetti is again joined in the story by his loving wife Paola who displays her disdain for the military and insists the boy wasn't a suicide (as does the boy's mother). Brunetti has a son, Raffi, about the same age as the dead boy.
"Brunetti realized that not much he had seen could persuade him that the military, either Italian or foreign, was much different from the Mafia: dominated by men and unfriendly to women; incapable of honor or even simple honesty beyond its own ranks; dedicated to the acquisition of power; contemptuous of civil society; violent and cowardly at the same time. No, there was little to distinguish one organization from the other, save that some wore easily recognized uniforms while others leaned toward Armani and Brioni."
Leon, as usual, takes her time telling her story with long interviews that seem to go off on a tangent. Brunetti is a patient dogged investigator, and the reader should be patient too because it will pay off. The ending will surprise you.
Brunetti learns in this book, as he does in others in the series, justice doesn't often triumph, if by justice we mean bringing the perpetrators before the courts, getting a guilty verdict, and seeing them punished. The corrupt and evildoers often go free while thumbing their noses at their pursuers. Brunetti's professional life is often thankless and fruitless while his personal life is gratifying and deeply meaningful. Leon is not afraid to deal with the cruel ironies of life.
As usual Brunetti has to put up with his superior, the corruptible and unprincipled Patta, and his "headlong pursuit of power." Patta, as is often the situation, chastises Brunetti and tries to pull him off the case, but Brunetti outwits him. "The ethical Patta was an eel."
The omniscient, computer-savvy police secretary Signorina Elettra is always there with answers, and her many discoveries seem barely credible. The plot involving retired military officers gets Byzantine, but this is a satisfying investigative journey with many insights into the human condition.

The characters are sketchy, the pastoral picture of Brunetti's home life is getting dull, and the author's prejudice against the military is a turnoff. The most annoying detail, perhaps, is that Leon drops hints that Signorina Elettra was the victim of a rape by a military cadet, and then apparently changes her mind while forgetting to erase the no longer needed clues. That there is no resolution of the crime, either legal or moral, is the final disappointment. The depiction of Venice is as atmospheric as ever but that is not enough to hang a novel on. If you are not a Brunetti addict, skip this one. All the others I have read are much worthier of your attention.

Uniform Justice doesn't match up very well to the excellent Wilful Behaviour that precedes it in this fine series. In the best books in the series, you find a great deal of layering where one character's life and reading provide dimensions to the meaning of the other characters' lives. That layering is mostly missing in this story, and Brunetti's investigation seems more ham-handed than necessary. The resolution will please few readers, as well.

A hung-over student in a military academy fears he's seeing an oversized bat in the bathroom where he goes for relief from his thirst. Upon closer examination, the "bat" turns out to be a dead cadet who is dead by strangulation. Is it suicide? All indications point that way except the words of his aunt. Naturally, Commissario Guido Brunetti begins to investigate as though it's a murder. Undoubtedly, having the dead youth be similar in age to his son has something to do with that decision.

But it's not such a serious investigation. The father refuses to talk to him, and he doesn't dig into the background of the family or of the military academy very seriously. Vice-Questore Patta is friendly with the head of the school which makes matters somewhat more difficult.

But due to the connections of Signorina Elettra, the outlines of an alternative theory begin to develop. With that theory in hand, however, Brunetti blunders more than once.

The story's other problem is that the scheme that Brunetti ends up investigating doesn't seem all that probable in some of its more extreme dimensions. The family's reaction to the plot also seems more than a little unlikely. As a result, I found it hard to take the story seriously. It just didn't ring true.

Be careful of the enemies you make.

Donna Leon tries something new in Uniform Justice. Typically she doesn't leave a lot of loose threads hanging. However, in this book, the ending is troubling and causes the reader to think a lot about what justice could have been applied in this case. This book will be with you long after you put it down.

The book centers around the apparent suicide of a prominent public figure's son at an exclusive military academy. The closed world of the academy serves Leon as a metaphor for the closed, corrupt nature of much of Italy, and leon uses the metaphor extensively. Her books almost always have just as much social commentary as it does police work. In this book, she delivers the best social critique of the whole series.

And it's a good story. I thought Leon did a terrific job of describing life in the academy, and the smug sense of entitlement that many of the cadets feel. Of course, we also have all the usual hallmarks of a Donna Leon novel: near travelogue descriptions of the sights and sounds of Venice; comfy views of Brunetti family life, especially around the dining table; and the byzantine workings of the Questura where Brunetti works. These are all handled well.

Recommended strongly.

The one event that allowed this entire plot to unfold is totally unbelievable, Once revealed, at the end of course, I could only shake my head in disbelief. I guess the one way an author can get to 25 books in a series is to start pulling straws out of her hat, but this was just too much. I won't go in to detail for those who want to read until the end, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have never picked the book up. Big disappointment.

Donna Leon, originally from New Jersey, has lived in Venice, Italy, for twenty years, as lecturer, professor, and finally mystery writer/student of Baroque music(and she actually motivated me to buy a CD of excerpts from Handel's operas). As of 2006, she's written 16 Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries, all set in or around Venice.

First thing to be said is, she knows the place: its geography, weather, people, houses, jobs, transportation, politics, smells,feel, food, and death, and no, not in that "Death in Venice" (by Thomas Mann) way. Her Venice has little in common with the beautiful, ethereal city celebrated so frequently in song, story, and movie, and so fondly remembered by multitudes of tourists. Her Venice is where Venetians live and work.

Commissario Brunetti is a melancholy and cynical man, made tired by endless infighting in the top-heavy Italian police bureacracy; and by many disappointments in dealing with what he sees as the self-serving corruption of the Italian power elites. Only the domestic warmth of his family: wife Paola, a hereditary contessa born to one of Venice's oldest families, who chooses to teach, cook, and to espouse left-wing causes (that often sound as if her creator might also support them); his children Raffi and Chiara, and many good meals, enables Brunetti to stay centered and to continue fighting the good fight.

Many people feel that Leon relies too heavily on stereotypes. Her view of Italy as a whole reflects the country that certain liberal bohemias love to hate. She sometimes slows the action of her books to express her political views. "Uniform Justice," particularly, can be viewed as being a bit too full of political digressions. Leon may also be accused of choosing the subject matter of her books for political reasons; of painting all southern Italians as dumb and dishonest, all Venetians as intelligent and honest, all American tourists as fat and crude, and all women under 35 as beautiful. There's some truth to all these criticisms.

In "Uniform Justice" Brunetti is sent to the upper-crust "San Martino Military Academy," where Cadet Ernesto Moro has been found hanged in the boys' lavatory. The school, man and boy, prefers to think Moro a suicide, and whispers various nasty habits of his. They close ranks against Brunetti, as they do against all outsiders, particularly the low-born. However, Brunetti doesn't think the cadet's death is suicide, and digs doggedly until he can prove the cadet's death is murder. Furthermore, the death is directly attributable to the self-interest and corruption of the Italian elites, and to the weakness of any countervailing powers, such as the boy's own family, that might have saved him. But does Brunetti imagine he has liberated Italy from this kind of business? No, sorry, no can do.

It's a really sad story, and I particularly liked the fact that Leon doesn't ever forget that murder, violent death, is tragic, and in the case of a young person, doubly so. If you don't mind a gritty Venice, one where the gondoliers don't sing night and day, this book, and this series, may be for you.

Uniform Justice doesn't match up very well to the excellent Wilful Behaviour that precedes it in this fine series. In the best books in the series, you find a great deal of layering where one character's life and reading provide dimensions to the meaning of the other characters' lives. That layering is mostly missing in this story, and Brunetti's investigation seems more ham-handed than necessary. The resolution will please few readers, as well.

A hung-over student in a military academy fears he's seeing an oversized bat in the bathroom where he goes for relief from his thirst. Upon closer examination, the "bat" turns out to be a dead cadet who is dead by strangulation. Is it suicide? All indications point that way except the words of his aunt. Naturally, Commissario Guido Brunetti begins to investigate as though it's a murder. Undoubtedly, having the dead youth be similar in age to his son has something to do with that decision.

But it's not such a serious investigation. The father refuses to talk to him, and he doesn't dig into the background of the family or of the military academy very seriously. Vice-Questore Patta is friendly with the head of the school which makes matters somewhat more difficult.

But due to the connections of Signorina Elettra, the outlines of an alternative theory begin to develop. With that theory in hand, however, Brunetti blunders more than once.

The story's other problem is that the scheme that Brunetti ends up investigating doesn't seem all that probable in some of its more extreme dimensions. The family's reaction to the plot also seems more than a little unlikely. As a result, I found it hard to take the story seriously. It just didn't ring true.

Be careful of the enemies you make.

This is another in the series of excellent books about Bruentti written by Donna Leon.Donna Leon writes books that , like McNabb,
are not simple mystery sotries but a combination of travleogue, vignettees of Venietian life and character development. If you start with the first one Death at La Fenice and you like it, then you should read all the rest of the Bruentti series. And keep the books; they are good to re-read later. Some aspects of Italian life are unpleasant and Leon's books deal with these aspects; if you don't want sometimes grim realism, then you should not read Leon; her books are not pure escape..

A previous reviewer noted that this book might be unacceptable to American readers as it is "too European", ie., not enough of a happy ending. I consider this assessment a plus rather than a minus. Apparently we have become so accustomed to seeing everything as a half-hour sit-com (with time for commercials), that we can no longer deal with any situation that is not presented to us as a neatly tied up package. I am glad that author Leon has not bowed to this commercial pressure and has instead created a novel that reflects current, not TV reality. Also, I find it refreshing that the main character is a decent, thoughtful man who has a strong, loving bond with his wife and kids instead of the formulaic rogue cop/PI/ex-cop who drinks too much/recovered alcoholic and who is estranged from his kids & wife & or/ex-girlfriends and is too emotionally damaged to sustain his current/past marriages/relationships. It IS disheartening to see corruption prevail and criminals go unpunished (why don't people get this upset about Enron?). But, eventhough evil seems to prevail, there are people who still retain their integrity and do what they can, families still treat each other with affection and respect and, as Brunetti's wife, Paolo, says, "love trumps everything."

Donna Leon's twelfth Commissario Guido Brunetti novel does not begin with a bang; instead, it begins with an apparent suicide, a hanging.

For all intents and purposes, the death of a young cadet at an exclusive Venetian military school certainly must be a suicide. However, with the intellect, cunning, skill, and savvy of Leon and Brunetti, what begins with a "simple" death soon works its way into an ugly, complicated, and frightening murder in Leon's latest "Uniform Justice."

The young teenager is the son of a prominent doctor and politician, termed "honest" by any standard. The father's honesty serves as a fault, however, and soon causes him to resign from parliament, particularly following his investigation of corruption in military procurement. The "web of deceit" in such cases seems to spread just about everywhere.

His "anti-military" stance does not go over well, especially at his son's military school. Thus begins a series of cover-ups, lies,and deception--the ranks of the involved quickly close.

Not for the first time does Brunetti face the "old school" of Venice. His task is formidable, but with the help of his wife Paola, his secretary Signorina Elettra, and a few members of the department, Brunetti methodically and brilliantly brings the case to its conclusion.

Leon, for all the love she bears for Venice, where she's lived for a number of years, continues to champion the cause of the just, the honest, the uncorrupt, the innocent, all descriptives of just about any place but Venice. Still, politics and social injustices aside, Leon continues to hold firmly her legion of fans with her inimitable style, plot designs, superb characterizations, and general "good literature." "Uniform Justice" is not easily laid aside until it is finished.

One of Leon's strong suits is that she does not pretend that, when the final pages are read, the world is then tied up nicely in a pretty bow and everything is okay. Romanticism in literature is not Donna Leon; realism is alive and well and these themes permeate her twelve Brunetti novels.

Perhaps this is another reason she is so popular.

In this somber edition of the Commissario Brunetti series, Donna Leon treats us to the iniquities of the Italian military-industrial complex, an ancillary of which is the exclusive and forbidding San Martino Military Academy. San Martino feels a lot like The Citadel, down in Charleston, South Carolina, minus the football team, but with olio and aglio. The Academy is a disagreeable place peopled with disagreeable characters, and when one of the cadets is found hanged, Brunetti has his work cut out for him.

But the story never takes off. Side issues are not followed with any intensity, and the story winds up about where you would expect it to, although the dead boy's father seems to me to be a mystifyingly weak character. He is internally inconsistent, and while the portrait may be true to life for a certain type of character, if that is what Ms. Leon intended, it doesn't make for a very gripping story.

Many have noted critically that Ms. Leon gets on her soap box here, with her allegedly characteristic disdain for all things military. I ordinarily discount criticism of this type, as I often enjoy hearing the author expound her/his personal views,but the critique is justified in this case. While what she says about Italian mores, corruption, graft and greed may well be true, it is all too rote in this book. Not delivered with any verve or flair, it simply adds to the general funereal atmosphere of a story with contrived action and a contrived plot.

It is always fun to see Paola and Signorina Elettra, and one works up an appetite watching Guido stop off at one of his many favorite eateries for a bite of this or that and a quick grappa. However there is not enough story here to support these familiar excursions. This is not one of the better efforts in this series. I wouldn't start with this book, as it might dampen one's enthusiasm for a lady who is generally a much more entertaining writer.

Donna Leon's twelfth novel is a real murder mystery. And for a reader who dearly loves her earlier books, that is not necessarily a good thing. In UNIFORM JUSTICE, the gloom of winter, a young man's sinister death, a mean-spirited military academy, and the desperation of an honest man in a corrupt system all mix to form the general air of despair that pervades the book. In earlier Brunetti books there are many little rays of sunshine, comforting antidotes to crime and corruption. Yes, Guido Brunetti is always busy solving a nasty murder, but the romance and beauty of Venice; tidbits of Italian culture,art and history; the warmth of the Brunetti's family life; and, how could I forget, the delicious descriptions of Paola Brunetti's Italian cooking offer reminders that life is beautiful.

Not that I'll quit reading Leon! I am waiting in line for the next book(s)! But armchair travelers, beware. This book strays into darker and darker territory. You can still use your map of Venice to figure out where Brunetti is and what he sees,and you can still enjoy Paola's food, but it won't be quite as much fun.

A middling Donna Leon mystery is better than just about anyone else's best, but I must say that "Uniform Justice" left me quite disappointed. The actual whodunit side of her novels has never been Leon's strong suit; instead she excels at creating atmosphere, and her characterizations are marvelous. (Brunetti and Signorina Elettra are two of my favorite mystery characters ever.) In "Uniform Justice," however, the mystery is perfunctory at best. We all know that the young Moro didn't kill himself, and by mid-book we pretty much know why (if not by whom) he was killed. When we do find out, it's not that much of a suprise, nor is much done about it. Perhaps this is an aspect of the Leon mysteries that is beginning to wear thin for me: the Italian judicial system is so rife with corruption that rarely are the killers brought to justice. All her books seem end the same way, with no-one being punished, nothing being accomplished by Brunetti's investigation. So what's the point? Part of the satisfaction of crime novels is the pleasure of seeing the wicked punished. When they never are, it leaves me, as a reader, feeling that the whole enterprise was something of a waste of time. With each new Leon novel, I resign myself to the fact that no matter whodunit, it won't really matter. So from page one my expectations are low. I would love to experience, just once, the "wow" I feel at the end of a Michael Connelly or Magdalen Nabb mystery. Leon seems to be in a formulaic rut. I suppose it's proven successful for her -- but not necessarily for me.

The military, and political corruption are the targets in Commissario Brunetti's twelfth outing. Once again there is the lovely backdrop of Venice - that city of contradictions, yet it seems with each Brunetti novel Venice as a character is fading more and more. I wish Leon would bring it back to prominence. Although the 'whodunit' here is not difficult to guess, the ending still comes as a surprise. One of the pleasures of the Brunetti novels is in watching the workings of his mind, and how he deals with moral ambiguities, and those ambiguities are at the heart of this novel. Another pleasure is seeing the role his family plays as he solves the puzzle. His wife Paola is as integral to these books as Brunetti himself. The Brunetti novels are way above what one finds in other mysteries these days, and is highly recommended. However, I could have done without the presence of the author's subtle and not so subtle jibes at politics in the United States.

I was told once that the difference between Europeans and Americans was perspective. Americans are optimists ; while Europeans are realists. I submit this novel as evidence.
In this police procedural, a student is discovered dangling from the ceiling in the dormitory shower at an "elite" military school in Venice. All signs point to suicide, but Commissario Brunetti's innate instincts give him reason to question that diagnosis. Thus, author Donna Leon follows Brunetti and his colleagues as they piece together evidence of murder and conspiracy.
Author Leon is acclaimed and well-respected in Europe, having received the Silver Dagger award for fiction in the United Kingdom. She writes well, to say the least. Her main character Brunetti has a heart of gold and a deep cynicism toward Venetian politics and military. His love and other Venetians' love for family is played here against a backdrop of dark hatred and a lust for power that permeates the perpetrators of a young man's murder.
Brunetti despises the military and Italian politicos. He describes a history of government by bribery and power brokers. He shows its toll on everyday Venetians and the deterioration of Venetian society. He holds out little hope for correction of this morass. And in the end, this morass prevents the kind of satisfactory ending that marks most American mysteries. Evil defeats good.
There are some great characters in this book: a police secretary who has the access to information and the ability to analyze it that will make any librarian proud ; a lovable teddy bear of a detective who turns to a beast at the right moment ; a stubborn, highly-principled and grief-stricken father of the victim ; and Brunetti's long-suffering and supportive wife who provides a moral foundation for this novel.
But the humanity of the characters cannot outweigh the fatalistic realism that looms over this novel. Readers of European fiction who do not need a happy ending will enjoy this book for its quality. But American readers accustomed to justice being served will be terribly disappointed.

The book moves quickly to the mystery and the succeeding events. The reader is taken through the investigative process in detail, yet the conclusion is a total surprise. Brunetti and his colleagues are fascinating as usual.

Donna Leon's latest Commissario Brunetti case is one of her best!
From the opening pages, which quickly sets the tone, "Uniform Justice" is fast-paced,
extremely exciting, and quite gripping. It is difficult to find an author today who is better!
A young cadet at an exclusive Venetian military prep school has been found hanged in his
dormitory. The school quickly has it proclaimed a suicide, but Brunetti knows otherwise.
He and his team of loyal members of Venice's police department quickly begin
their investigation--an investigation that, once more, leads us into the power structures of
"the Pearl of the Adriatic."
Leon is never slow to touch up socially significant issues and she plows into this one at
gale force. "Corruption in Things Italian" seems to be her middle name and she pulls no
punches. One would imagine that the Italian military and even some of its other "sacred"
institutions will not view this book (nor her others!) in pleased frames of mind. Still, Leon
is one of the most popular American novelists read abroad today (in fact, even her recent
hard-bound copies are NOT published in the US for some really strange reason!).
Again,"Uniform Justice" is Leon at her best and Brunetti doing what he does best--solving
murders. An excellent read!

If you enjoy the Brunetti novels by Donna Leon then by all means you really do need to also read Andrea Camilleri's "Inspector Montalbano" series of books. I am struck by the similarities and half expected Catarella to barge into Guido Brunetti's office. Camilleri's books were translated into English by Stephen Sartarelli and provide abundant footnotes explaining Italian culture.

I would highly recommend both series.

To be brutally honest: as a mystery novel, this is sub-par. It flounders around for almost two hundred pages where nothing much happens to advance the plot. As a glimpse into the mindset of Venetians, it was excellent. This is no gleaming Disney fantasy of sunken palazzos and romantic singing gondoliers - workaday Venice is a cold, gray, cynical place.

Brunetti is struggling to do an honest job as a police investigator despite incompetence and corruption. His world is dominated by a public distrustful of the government, divided by classism, jaded by endless greed and collusion, and surprisingly, with a social stigma toward people with disabilities.

No doubt these books aren't very popular with American readers - there is no Scooby Doo moment at the end where everything is tied up in a neat little bow. More time is spent on socio-political dissatisfaction than the mystery - however, as a lover of Italy, I look forward to reading more by this author.

As in the other commissario Brunetti novels this had a strong sense of place. It's Venice at its best and worse-- very detailed so that you get a real feeling for the setting. The characters are interesting, as well as the plot. It's a very good read.

Donna Leon has done it again. Yet another masterpiece. Few writers are so adept at describing the uniqueness of the locations where their stories are set. Moreover, she writes well about corruption endemic in Italian politics. We can see how a person such as Silvio Berlusconi can become Prime Minister in spite of his his many "crimes".

Love these Leon mystery books, besides great stories also brings us inside the curant Italian political and financial scandals. Oh yes, also a look at the ugly American military and political activity in Europe and Italy.

I have listened to many of the Comissario Brunetti mysteries on audiobook; I haven't read any in print. It was a distinct pleasure to listen to the narration by Anna Fields, who unfortunately passed away at a young age in 2006. Subsequent stories are being read by David Colacci, who is a fine reader, but has ruined these stories for me. Of course he can't read 'the same' as Anna Fields, but whoever's producing these new audiobooks should have at least told him not to drastically alter the characters. For instance: This book is set in Italy, and obviously everyone speaks Italian. Anna Fields read Brunetti & almost all the other charcaters without accent, only giving Brunetti an "Italian accent" when he would use a phrase in English. Then, it was appropriate that he have an accent as he was not speaking his native tongue. David Colacci reads EVERYONE with an Italian accent. Brunetti now sounds like an Italian gangster.

It's very tiresome to listen to an entire book read by an American imitating an Italian accent for every character. And Patta's title, Vice-Questore, was read as Vi-chay Questore by the first reader, and now is read as Vice (English pronounciation) Questore (Italian word & proununciation. The producer & director didn't do a good job with this guy and I'll have to read the rest of the books in print.

For whatever reason, Donna Leon has become almost hysterically anti-American with every book. Some of her asides about the United States are becoming both tiresome and unneccessary. If she wished to write political commentary books, then do so. But the obvious left-leaning rhetoric is become a bit of a bore as our Brit friends would say. As for the offer for her latest, "No, thanks."

This book was so disappointing. Leon writes fairly well but she yearns to write a political commentary more then a murder mystery. In her anti-american/anti-military bias she makes her chararcters look ignorant and provencial. Look elsewhere for a compelling mystery.