Description:

Commissario Brunetti's hopes of a refreshing holiday with his family are dashed when a body is found in Marghera so badly beaten that the face is unrecognizable. Brunetti searches in vain for someone who can identify the body. Then he receives a call promising some tantalizing information. ### Review Brunetti... the most humane sleuth since Georges Simenon’s Inspector Maigret... is a decent man [who achieves] a quiet heroism. -- **The Philadelphia Inquirer** The sophisticated yet still moral Brunetti… proves a worthy custodian of timeless values and verities. -- **The Wall Street Journal** ### About the Author Donna Leon has lived and taught English literature in Switzerland, Iran, China, Italy, and Saudi Arabia. She now lives in Venice and is the *Sunday Times* crime reviewer.