I read it eagerly, keen to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the deaths of two clam fishermen, father and son, off the island of Pellestrina, south of the Lido on the Venetian lagoon, when their boat suddenly exploded.

When Brunetti is summoned to the hospital bedside of a senior paediatrician whose skull has been brutally fractured, he is confronted with more questions than answers. There was supposed to be singing and maybe a few speeches, but they hadn’t figured on the rain, so things got confused, and it was after eleven by the time they left COIN. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. Bert’s son Aaron thinks his mother, Verity, killed Bert, who has a very shady past, with plenty of affairs with other women. Alvise had been on the force for as long as Brunetti, but in that time, while Brunetti had increased in rank, Alvise – slow, polite, inept, thoughtless, well liked although generally considered a fool – had remained a simple officer.However, with no identification except for the distinctive shoes the man was wearing, and no reports of people missing from the Venice area, the case cannot progress. In addition, after Professor Molin had a stroke, Kavinda served as a personal aide, helping the Professor get around Venice.

A Fear of Dark Water by Craig Russell – the sixth book in the Jan Fabel series, the head of Hamburg’s Murder Commission. He doesn’t smoke or drink to excess and often goes home for lunch to his beautiful wife Paolo, who is a wonderful cook – in this book she treats him to a delicious apple cake made with lemon and apple juice and ‘ enough Grand Marnier to permeate the whole thing and linger on the tongue for ever. Out of a mixture of curiosity, pity and a willingness to fulfil the wishes of a loving grandmother, Brunetti reopens the case.There was plenty of sexism, with, for example, married women being forced to retire from the police force.

One of the delights of the series is the indepth picture of Venice as a location, from its geography to its culture, and the intimate picture we are privy to of Guido's family life, his academic wife Paola, and his children. The cases, while always intriguing, are almost secondary to the wonderful characterizations and musings and observations of life, especially Venetian life, by Brunetti.Reaching down to pull it out, Brunetti’s wrist is caught by the silkiness of golden hair, and he sees a small foot – together he and Vianello lift a dead girl from the water. Donna Leon provides another delectable slice of the thoughtful policeman's life at work and at home.

He never talked about himself, was interested in his colleagues, remembered the names of their spouses and children, was loyal and did his best.As always an insightful foray into Venetian life, the past, the various laws of inheritance, including titles, and of course food. Sadly, about half way through the story gets overly complicated with the introduction of several characters.