Today we have The Temptation of Forgiveness: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon for Book Beginnings on Fridays.
Book Beginnings is a fun meme hosted by Rose City Reader blog. To participate, share the first sentence or so of a novel you are reading and your thoughts about it. When you are finished, add your URL to the Book Beginnings page linked above. Hope to see you there!
The Temptation of Forgiveness: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon
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Summary: A friend of his wife’s implores Commissario Guido Brunetti to look into her son’s drug use, but before he starts the woman’s husband is found with a severe head injury. Brunetti must find out if the two problems are connected.
This is the twenty-seventh novel in the Commissario Guido Brunetti police procedural series. The novels are set in Venice.
First Sentence:
Having left the apartment smack on time so as to arrive at the Questura on time for a meeting with his superior, Brunetti found himself seated towards the rear of a Number One vaporetto, glancing idly through a copy of that morning’s Gazzettino.
Discussion:
I like how the novel starts with the beginning of Guido Brunetti’s day. It is relaxing, but with a hint of things to come.
Donna Leon adds a few specific words that establish both the tone and setting. The Questura is the police station in Venice. The vaporetto is a water bus, which is something so specific to Venice. Plus, the newspaper is called the Gazzettino.
Whenever I read this series, I just want to hop on a plane to Venice.
