Commissario Guido Brunetti and Inspector Kurt Wallander
A friend of mine recently introduced me to Donna Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries. What a nice find. I've always loved a mystery because they move at a quick pace, sets up an unsolved crime, keeps the reader guessing, and usually has an ending that solves the crime. In other words, mysteries are a good time killer, take you to a different world, and weave a good yarn, leaving the reader satisfied.
However, just going to the library and picking out a paperback mystery can be fraught with missteps. I see the words "International Bestseller" on the covers, read the description in the back that seems promising, then I check the book out. However, more often than not, those mysteries (cranked out just to meet deadlines, I suspect) can be so poorly written that leaves me pissed off at the end, wishing that I hadn't wasted my time, or even worse, thinking that I can write a better mystery myself. Just as quickly, I completely forget the storyline within two days.
The Guido Brunetti mysteries are actually quite fun to read. Taking place in Venice, Italy, the dogged Commissario Brunetti fights to solve crimes against the backdrop of an Italian police culture that seeks to not do much, a justice system that seems to be unable to prosecute perpetrators efficiently, and a graft infested Venetian society that is experiencing the clash of cultures between the traditional and new, between the ethnic outsiders and the locals. Amidst this disfunction, Commissario Brunetti tries to do his job with the help of a pretty secretary previously from the finance industry who is adept at hacking computers to help out our guy. Really fun.
The other mystery series I highly recommend is the Kurt Wallander mysteries by Swedish writer Henning Mankell. Those I consider to be great stories that weave the reality of Sweden's recent political landscape and its interaction with the outside world with Detective Wallander's own failing health, lonely existence, and sorry family life. The revelation of the human tragedy of the detective's personal story against the Swedish political landscape is mesmerizing and truly masterful. Two Thumbs up!
However, just going to the library and picking out a paperback mystery can be fraught with missteps. I see the words "International Bestseller" on the covers, read the description in the back that seems promising, then I check the book out. However, more often than not, those mysteries (cranked out just to meet deadlines, I suspect) can be so poorly written that leaves me pissed off at the end, wishing that I hadn't wasted my time, or even worse, thinking that I can write a better mystery myself. Just as quickly, I completely forget the storyline within two days.
The Guido Brunetti mysteries are actually quite fun to read. Taking place in Venice, Italy, the dogged Commissario Brunetti fights to solve crimes against the backdrop of an Italian police culture that seeks to not do much, a justice system that seems to be unable to prosecute perpetrators efficiently, and a graft infested Venetian society that is experiencing the clash of cultures between the traditional and new, between the ethnic outsiders and the locals. Amidst this disfunction, Commissario Brunetti tries to do his job with the help of a pretty secretary previously from the finance industry who is adept at hacking computers to help out our guy. Really fun.
The other mystery series I highly recommend is the Kurt Wallander mysteries by Swedish writer Henning Mankell. Those I consider to be great stories that weave the reality of Sweden's recent political landscape and its interaction with the outside world with Detective Wallander's own failing health, lonely existence, and sorry family life. The revelation of the human tragedy of the detective's personal story against the Swedish political landscape is mesmerizing and truly masterful. Two Thumbs up!
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