■ REVIEW: The Girl of his Dreams
Author’s skill saves flat ending from losing me

Set in Venice, the descriptive writing in this book is so good it could probably appeal to travel fans every bit as much as murder-mystery fans.

It seems this one is part of a series written by Donna Leon that features Commissario Brunetti and his sidekick (for want of a better word) Ispettore Vianello and there were times where I certainly felt a bit out of the loop: like they were making inside jokes and I wasn’t part of the inside crowd. However, it was still a good read.

When the body of a young girl is found in the Grand Canal and then, inconceivably, no one reports her missing, Brunetti is drawn into a search for not only the cause of her death but also for her identity and her family.

The ending was almost a bit of an anti-climax but the skill of the author managed to make a storyline that very nearly fell short into something compelling.

The Girl of his Dreams, by  Donna Leon (Random House NZ, RRP $36.99)

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