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In the twenty-seventh novel in Donna Leon´s bestselling crime series, a suspicious accident leads Commissario Guido Brunetti to uncover a longstanding scam with disturbing unintended consequences.

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Important information is leaking from inside the Venetian Questura, and Commissario Guido Brunetti is tasked with uncovering the culprit. But before Brunetti can begin his investigation, a friend of his wife´s comes asking for his help, fearful that her son is using drugs.

A few weeks later, the woman´s husband is found unconscious at the foot of a bridge.

Following various contradictory leads, Brunetti navigates his way through Venice´s underworld in an attempt to understand who is responsible for the vicious attack. But as he gets closer to discovering what happened, Brunetti is faced with a difficult truth: sometimes, it´s the best intentions that lead to the darkest of consequences . . .

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"The Venetian settings are enchanting and Commissario Guido Brunetti´s investigative methods are drolly amusing. But 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, especially since Leon takes care to give us precise directions for his routes." New York Times Book Review

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Donna Leon was named by The Times as one of the 50 Greatest Crime Writers. She is an award-winning crime novelist, celebrated for the bestselling Brunetti series. Donna has lived in Venice for thirty years and previously lived in Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Iran and China, where she worked as a teacher. Donna´s books have been translated into 35 languages and have been published around the world.

Her previous novels featuring Commissario Brunetti have all been highly acclaimed; including Friends in High Places, which won the CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, Fatal Remedies, Doctored Evidence, A Sea of Troubles and Beastly Things.

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