Mother of 5, grannie of 11, before marriage to Army officer she was an embryo librarian. Now retired and volunteering two afternoons a week in Oxfam bookshop. Crossword fan (Telegraph, Observer, Times) and most enjoy reading historical/crime

The story, set in Venice in a fierce heatwave, involves Commissario Brunetti and his side-kick Vianello, with the aid of the formidable Signora Elettra, in two interlocking cases: officially one concerning  corruption in the Italian legal system and unofficially in the activities of a fraudulent “faith” healer.

There are puzzling delays in the rulings in Judge Luisa Coltellini’s Court, in which her usher Araldo  Fontana seems to play an important part; and Vianello’s aunt,  involved with fortune-tellers and faith healers, is taking large sums of money out of the family business. More investigations lead to a murder,and the connection is finally made between the two cases.