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The Girl of His Dreams

Author: Donna Leon
Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

8 reviews
Sales Rank: 802

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.7 x 5.5 x 1

ISBN: 0434018023
EAN: 9780434018024
ASIN: 0434018023

Publication Date: April 3, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.co.uk
Donna Leon's engaging books have been the cheapest way to travel to Italy for quite some time -- and her legion of admirers know that the Venice of her protagonist Commissario Brunetti is a wonderful destination for the crime fiction lover. Leon, an American expat who now lives in la Serenissima (with such luminaries as opera singer Cecilia Bartoli as one of her friends) has gone native - in no uncertain terms. Her knowledge of Brunetti's water-logged beat is transmuted into vivid and evocative narratives: the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge are often the dark passageways to another, darker Italy, where hidden (and not-so-hidden) corruption - in politics and daily life - is very much an everyday thing (as headlines in the papers - not just in Donna Leon's books -remind us on a daily basis).

The Girl of his Dreams demonstrates how much life is left in the Leon/Brunetti criminal world. A child's body is found floating near some steps on the Grand Canal - it is that of a dead girl. But there have been no reports of missing children -- and the search for the identity of the youthful victim and her family takes Brunetti to many varied destinations, including a Gypsy encampment on the mainland, and (eventually), he turns up some very nasty secrets. As ever, it's not just the villains who thwart Brunetti at every turn - it's the venality and clandestine nature of the establishment that hampers him, almost as a matter of course.

This is Leon on effortless form - Brunetti fans need not hesitate. --Barry Forshaw

Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A satisfying read June 7, 2008
As always, with Donna Leon books, this is not just a detective novel, albeit a good one, but an evocation of modern-day Venice and a further instalment of the happy family life of Commissario Brunetti. The latter sets Leon's books apart from many other crime novels. She has also created a number of other characters who really come alive on the page such as Brunetti's wife, Paola; the computer wizard of a secretary Signorina Electra, who can find out anything about anybody, and the vanities of the lazy chief of police, Patta, whom Brunetti has to perpetually flatter and placate in order to keep him off his back.

Somehow Donna Leon manages to produce a whole series of books set in the same city with the same main characters that never seem stale or formulaic. Let's hope she can keep it up.

4 out of 5 stars

A little disappointing.... June 5, 2008
As an unashamed Venetophile and a lover of good mysteries I find Leon's books simply irresistable. I first stumbled upon them in England and for a time I had to send there for copies of her latest works because they were unobtainable in Canada. Fortunately that is no longer the case.
I have just devoured her latest: The Girl of his Dreams - and although I was fully absorbed from the beginning, at the very end I was left with something of a feeling of disappointment.
The initial story about a problem within the Church simply peters out and goes nowhere. From the moment the girl's body is discovered the earlier story is completely superseded and one wonders whether it represented a false start by the author.
Some aspects of the story about the girl's condition are never satisfactorily resolved and one can only deduce that they were inserted as "red herrings"....(I refrain from giving away details but if I say that it relates to a medical condition then those who have read the book will know what I'm referring to).
The "solution" seemed rather forced and unbelievable.
All in all I was left with rather an empty, unsatisfied feeling at the end. My only consolation was that it is indeed reflective of the uncertainty of reality.

2 out of 5 stars

Local Color . . And Little Else of Interest May 11, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Before writing my review, I waited two days after reading The Girl of His Dreams to see if I liked the book any better after sleeping on it. I didn't. Sorry, Ms. Leon. This one's a clunker. Why? Of two cases, only one is interesting. And the investigation of the interesting one isn't very stimulating. This book will only appeal to those who enjoy thinking about the injustices that victims experience.

As the book opens, crime seems to have taken a holiday in Venice and Commissario Guido Brunetti has plenty of time to investigate a mysterious preacher who is looking for big donations on the behalf of a priest he barely knows. Naturally, there's no crime to pin down, but Brunetti decides to look around anyway.

Before the preacher's background and motives can be understood, Brunetti has to deal with a most unpleasant duty . . . pulling a dead girl from the water. Here's where the local color comes in. The girl is a Gypsy (the P.C. term is Rom), part of a family that steals for a living. As you can imagine, Gypsies aren't interested in telling their troubles to the police.

How will Brunetti find out what happened to the girl? That's the real mystery of this book. A lot of the leads turn out to be misleading which provides a few mild surprises.

Once again, you'll learn that the police aren't able to do very much about crime, those in the establishment who complain often have things to hide, and the poor aren't as bad as everyone else thinks. The explication of those points is, however, not very interesting compared to other books in this series.

Did I need to read this book to remain a fan of this series? Not really. You have the option to pass on this one.

5 out of 5 stars

Leon's Brunetti is at the top of his form! May 10, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Donna Leon's 17th Commissario Brunetti book continues, well, Donna Leon. There's nothing new about this 17th episode, other than the crimes they're investigating, but Leon's fans don't necessarily want anything new. They're happy with this series just being Donna Leon: well written stories, great characterizations, excellent plot, and, of course, her penchant for socially significant issues, the least of which is not the corruptive practices of some elements of the Italian establishment (to put it kindly). As she told me last November, "My books aren't published in Italian!" Which is probably why she continues to enjoy living in Venice. In her books she looks scathingly at various facets of official Italian life and not kindly. That said, the other elements are like dazzling gems. And she does love her Venice.

Brunetti is a sensitive, honest policeman who never continues to be amazed at the "human condition." Crime after crime doesn't deter him, although he often calls into question some of society's "thinking." He does so with the support of his learned wife Paolo (who teaches English literature at a local university). This personal relationship is also one of the strong points in Leon's works.

In "Girl of his Dreams," a young girl is found drowned in one of the canals; on her person are two items of value, jewelry that lead not only to the owners but to the pursuit of what looks like murder. Here Brunetti faces the political and social concerns involving "non-Italian" residents (in this case Gypsies) and the discrimination and social injustices they not only suffer, but sometimes lead into. It also addresses the double standards of justice for the poor and the rich and well-placed. Where will the leads take Brunett , his Inspector Vianello, and his inimitable secretary Signorina Elettra?

At the same time, following the burial of his mother, Brunetti is visited by the administering priest, who reports that an "outside" minister seems to be involved in a money-scam and seeks Brunetti's help. This is in typical Leon fashion in having more than one story line progressing at the same time. With this series, the author does not merely pursue crime or confront a viable socially significant issue, but she provides us with continued insight into her well developed characters (Brunetti's family, his co-workers, and at various times other local citizens).

"Girl of his Dreams" moves along at a fast pace (a strong point in Leon's prose), but she never permits the pace to interfere with her objectives. Some readers have objected to her because Leon rarely provides a "Polly Anna" ending; instead, she chooses probably what is more of a realistic culmination. Occasionally, the real culprit may appear to go unpunished (although the crimes are always solved), due to bureaucratic snafus, legal fine-points, or just the fact that some problems perhaps aren't to be solved in this world. Leon, no doubt, prefers the realistic to the idealistic. Regardless, she's worth a read. This latest is no exception.

5 out of 5 stars

Another intriguing death in Venice May 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

Having come late to Donna Leon, it has taken a while to catch up with now extensive back catalogue. I started in the middle and each time a new instalment arises I read an earlier one at about the same time. While there is a constancy in the atmosphere and standard of all the Brunetti books, what is evident is just what a compelling individual Brunetti has now become, and how closely integrated are his home and work life (and the way Leon uses family and colleagues in the separate spheres to expose Brunetti's ruminations is excellent). The surrounding characters too have deeper dimensions, and I like the way Vianello has become a larger part.

The primary story of the outsiders and the separateness of the gypsy camp and lifestyle (and the sensitivity with which the interaction is handled) is first rate, and I'm inclined to agree with other reviewers that this is the best yet.