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About Face (2009)

by Donna Leon(Favorite Author)

3.7 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0802118968 (ISBN13: 9780802118967)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Atlantic Monthly Press

series

Commissario Brunetti

review 1: An interesting story, but not that compelling. It's kind of interesting that at the end, the main character chooses corruption with honour(?) over blind justice. Perhaps the problem is that the main compelling point seems to be that a woman's face looks horribly disfigured by cosmetic surgery, and everyone wonders why. Who cares? How does it actually affect the world? It's some gossipy rag that doesn't affect anyone one way or another. It takes about 1/3 of the book before something actually interesting happens, and even then the other detective is so not forthcoming that you feel the main character's frustration and just say out loud, "Get on with it!" Philosophically, the book isn't bad. Near the last part there's a reveal, and things are explained, but without having be... moreen invested in the first place, at the end it doesn't feel satisfying.
review 2: Donna Leon's eighteenth book, About Face, is ostensibly a mystery about the accumulation (and storage and transport) of trash in Venice, Italy. It also concerns the fate of a woman with excessive facial plastic surgery. Leon's recurring character, Commissario Guido Brunetti, is tasked with finding the killer of a fellow police officer, who was investigating the illegal transport of environmental waste. This is the first Brunetti mystery I've read and I recognize the protagonist as a very likable, even interesting, character. I also understand that there are numerous recurring characters in the series and it appears that many readers have come to know and love these characters. However, it seems to me that Ms. Leon is becoming quite comfortable with her players and, for a new reader of her series, there is a kind of numbness, a sense of taking-it-for-granted, a feeling that the author is simply paying the bills with this novel.I have several problems with this book. First, for a mystery, there is a lack of drama or tension. Everything is very routine, very comfortable. There is no sense of impending drama or plot turns that keep the reader riveted or even interested. Secondly, there are two story lines: the trash (and the murder of the officer investigating its illegal transport) and the final shooting at the casino at the end involving the disfigured woman. These stories touch each other, but they do not intertwine in interesting, deep or intriguing ways. Lastly, without spoiling the plot, there is a rationale for the woman's behavior revealed at the end that is beyond believable. I am intrigued by this series and I have seen several European television shows featuring Commissario Brunetti. The location and culture of Venice is very appealing and I would have loved to have enjoyed this book. But I didn't. The question becomes, does one read earlier works, hoping for a fresher, less jaded voice? less

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