The New York Times-bestselling series transports us to “Donna Leon’s enticing, troubled and beautiful Venice . . . Her latest mystery is one of her best” (Providence Journal). A New York Times Book Review Best Crime Book of the Year * A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice * A Financial Times Summer Book Pick * A Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine Most Anticipated Mystery of the Year … Book Pick * A Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine Most Anticipated Mystery of the Year
Commissario Guido Brunetti is surprised by the appearance of a friend of his wife’s, fearful that her son is using drugs and hopeful Brunetti can somehow intervene. When the woman’s husband is found unconscious with a serious brain injury at the foot of a bridge in Venice after midnight, Brunetti is drawn to pursue a possible connection to the boy’s behavior. But the truth, as Brunetti has experienced so often, is not straightforward.
While Brunetti pursues several false and contradictory leads, he becomes exasperated by the petty bureaucracy that constantly bedevils him and threatens to expose Signorina Elettra, his superior’s secretary. But steadied by the embrace of his own family and by his passion for the classics, he reads Sophocles’s Antigone, and, in its light, considers the terrible consequences to which the actions of a tender heart can lead.
“It’s the living, bleeding humanity of the characters that makes Donna Leon’s police procedurals so engaging. . . . Tagging along after this sleuth is a wonderful way to see Venice like a native.” ―The New York Times Book Review
“[A] droll and intelligent series.” ―The Wall Street Journal
“[A] richly rewarding series . . . from a master of character-rich crime fiction.” ―Booklist
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You can’t miss with Donna Leon. Interesting setting, love able characters and always an interesting story.
I have read a smattering of Donna Leon’s books, and I always enjoy returning to Venice. The world and characters are extremely well-drawn and maintain a European perspective that is different from an American writing about Italy. These mysteries aren’t necessarily page-turners, but the plots are intricate and a conclusion of some sort, is always reached. As the title of this book indicates, there is always the temptation to forgive someone for what they’ve done because of the reasons they’ve done it, but is it the right thing to give into that temptation?
I have read most, if not all, of Donna Leon’s Guido Brunetti novels. By and large, they are superbly crafted, with highly developed and fascinating characters, especially Brunetti, his wife Paola, the wily Signorina Elettra, and others in the recurring cast. Memorable characters and Venice itself, droll humor and deep human insights, along with complex mystery plots keep bringing me back. While these aspects of the book kept me involved in The Temptation of Forgiveness, I was not caught up in the story as I’d hoped. The plot was slow to unravel, and several questions about those involved were left hanging at the end. I felt unsatisfied that Leon didn’t have Brunetti share his dilemma about the culprit with Paola, his sounding board. Perhaps a publishing deadline forced Leon to finish quickly. The same can be said for the editing. I found sentences that didn’t make sense and other proofreading errors. That said, I will nevertheless seek out the next in the series.
Every book by this author is outstanding!
I have read all of the Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries, and love them all. Donna Leon is a master of character development. Reading her books, I feel I know Guido Brunetti and his family. The solving of the mysteries is very cerebral, and there is little or no violence or sex in the books. As an added attraction, the author’s love of Venice is evident in every book, and the descriptions of the Brunetti’s food is mouth-watering. I love this series !
Great read – very original.
Donna Leon is my favorite author of fiction and her stories are set in my favorite city, Venice. The city is a real character in all her books. I recommend her to anyone who likes mystery, great characters and travel.
Wonderful writing, a fabulous setting, loveable protagonist and collateral characters. One can always depend on Donna Leon to entertain.
Everyone of her books is a FIVE STAR! Plus, if you’ve ever been to visit, it’s a great fix for this city.
EVERY book of Donna Leon if fabulous.. it never takes more than 2 days to read. I know intimately Brunetti and his family. So wonderful..
This is more a focus on individual justice over state justice.
More perspective on Italian and Venetian culture.
The story is compelling and does not fall prey to a quick fix ending. With Leon there are numerous shades of gray and wonderful character development. She has a gift for bringing the reader into the Venice that has been her home for decades and for sharing her sadness that that unique world is being washed away in the wake of the gigantic cruise ships disengorging myriad day trippers looking for a few pictures and cheap souvenirs.
Maybe not her best, but all of this series is worth reading.
Not the standard Guido plot line, but exceptional none the less.
I did not think that this book by Donna Leon met the quality of her other Commissario Guido Brunetti stories. First of all, she cotinues to use an annoying device constantly throughout her book: that of using the phrases “as though” or “as if” to tell the reader what she imagines the characters motivations and/or thoughts to be. She does use this device in her other books, but it has gone beyind necessary here. The plot revolves around an accountant, Gasparini, who has been attacked on a bridge in Brunetti’s jurisdiction, but becomes mired in a web of corruption with a pharmaceutical scheme involving local doctors and pharmacists who prey on the elderly, including those suffering from dimentia, Parkinson’s, etc. This could have been interesting, but instead becomes so confusing in the telling, that I was tempted to give up, when suddenly the book ended! There was no more mention at the end, of the wife or son of the victim, Gasparini, to which much concern had been paid initially. There was no satisfactory wind-up of dicussion with his colleagues. Also, I missed more of the usual portrayal of his warm family life with his children, but especially with his lovely and fiesty wife, Paola.
love this series (and they dont need to be read in order)
Very good addition to the Donna Leon series about death in Venice. Topical discussion of corruption in medical systems. Not scary or strange nor much of a page-turner, but I did want to keep reading, Venice is so lovely.
I love all of Donna Leon’s stories about Guido Brunetti. The Temptation of Forgiveness questions when it is noble to disobey the law. Leon uses the ancient philosophers to sharpen her stories’ moral issues. In The Temptation of Forgiveness the reader is guided to reread Antigone.
Typical Donna Leon. Great characters, good mysteries, easy reading and thought provoking. I have read all of her Brunetti books. Only thing disappointing is that she can not produce them fast enough.
Cond of her better books. Very well written