The Jewels of Paradise

Leon, Donna

ISBN 10: 162064486X ISBN 13: 9781620644867

Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks, 2012

Synopsis

Donna Leon has won heaps of critical praise and legions of fans for her best–selling mystery series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti, one of contemporary crime fiction’s most beloved characters. With The Jewels of Paradise, Leon takes readers beyond the world of the Venetian Questura in her first stand–alone novel. Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like so many of them, she’s had to leave home to pursue her career elsewhere, mostly abroad. With a doctorate in baroque opera from Vienna, she lands in Birmingham, England, as a research fellow and assistant professor. Birmingham, however, is no Venice, so when she gets word of a position back home, Caterina jumps at the opportunity. The job is an unusual one. After nearly three centuries, two locked trunks, believed to contain the papers of a once–famous, now largely forgotten baroque composer, have been discovered. The composer was deeply connected in religious and political circles, but he died childless, and now two Venetian men, descendants of his cousins, each claim inheritance. With rumors of a treasure, they aren’t about to share the possible fortune. Caterina has been hired to attend the opening of the trunks and examine any enclosed papers to discover the testamentary disposition” of the composer. But when her research takes her in unexpected directions and a silent man follows her through the streets, she begins to wonder just what secrets these trunks may hold. The Jewels of Paradise is a superb novel, a gripping tale of intrigue, music, history, and greed.

About this title

About the Author

Donna Leon has lived in Venice for over twenty–five years and previously lived in Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Iran and China, where she worked as a teacher. Her previous novels featuring Commissario Brunetti have all been highly acclaimed.

Review

Fascinating. her first stand-alone boasts the same sensitivity to human behavior that distinguishes her Guido Brunetti series.” Bill Ott, Booklist

A veteran mystery maven weaves present-day Venice into a 300-year-old puzzle in this engaging stand-alone. [The Jewels of Paradise] packs the charms of Venice into a smart whodunit.” Kirkus Reviews

While it is undeniably strange to be wandering through Venice without the protection of Brunetti’s solid presence, the young heroine of this novel is so winning that readers should find themselves forgiving the Commissario his absence. The Jewels of Paradise is as much a tale about a young woman wising up and learning to fight more effectively for her own happiness as it is a mystery though the centuries-old secrets that those chests contain are also pretty compelling. Commissario Brunetti is allowed to take a vacation once in a while, but only if his replacements are as wry and erudite as Caterina.” Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post

Edition details

• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 162064486X
• ISBN 13: 9781620644867
• Binding: Audio CD
• Language: English