The Waters of Eternal Youth

Commissario Guido Brunetti looks into a 15-year-old mystery in bestseller Leon’s poignant 25th outing for the Venetian police inspector (after 2015’s Falling in Love). Did Manuela Lando-Continui, who was almost 16, fall into a canal, as the contemporary police investigation concluded, or was she pushed? She sustained permanent brain damage and has no recollection of the incident. The only witness claimed that he saw a man push her, but he was drunk and forgot his testimony the following day. Now Manuela’s elderly contessa grandmother wants to know the truth before she dies. Leon deftly builds her plot against the struggles of contemporary Venetians unable to afford housing in their beloved city and under threat from hostile immigrants. She draws Manuela and the contessa with skill and nuance, and longtime readers will enjoy insights into the past of Commissario Claudia Griffoni, the inspector’s colleague. Fans new and old should appreciate this escape into Brunetti’s elegant, sophisticated, yet troubled Venice. [em]Agent: Susanna Bauknecht, Diogenes Verlag (Switzerland). (Mar.) [/em]