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UNIFORM JUSTICEDonna LeonHeinemann £15.99Reviewed by Angus Wells
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I don't know her -
never heard of her before, which has been my loss, so now I'm going out
to find the other eleven books. Because this was brilliant. Low key,
human(e), and quite irresistable. When I first started reading I thought
I'd be bored. I go far more for American stuff. Dennis Lehane, Jeffery
Deaver - that kind of hard hitting crime. Hell, I even named my dog
Elmore! But this was something different. It reminded me of Elmore
Leonard's and John Harvey's placement of characters and locations, but
without any violence. She creates a Venice that is (me not having been
there) totally believable, and fascinating. And in Brunetti, a character
that simultaneously fascinates and intrigues. A man who doesn't wear a
gun, but would sooner find out the truth and go home for lunch with his
wife. I.e. Brunetti is a totally respectable cop (with great taste in
food) even as he accepts the corruption that exists inside the system,
be it in the military academy where he investigates the supposed suicide
of a cadet, or within the Italian government. To give the plot away
would be to give too much away, so I shall not - it's too subtle - so
just read it, and enjoy Brunetti as much as I did.
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