By Its Cover - (The Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries) by Donna Leon (Paperback)

About the Book

"One afternoon, Commissario Guido Brunetti gets a frantic call from the director of a prestigious Venetian library. Someone has stolen pages out of several rare books. After a round of questioning, the case seems clear: the culprit must be the man who requested the volumes, an American professor from a Kansas university. The only problem--the man fled the library earlier that day, and after checking his credentials, the American professor doesn't exist. As the investigation proceeds, the suspects multiply. And when a seemingly harmless theologian, who had spent three years at the library reading the Fathers of the Church, turns up brutally murdered, Brunetti must question his expectations about what makes a man innocent, or guilty."--Publisher's website.

Book Synopsis

In the pages of Donna Leon's internationally bestselling Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries, the conversations of the Brunetti family have often turned to topics of art and literature, but books are at the heart of this novel in a way they never have been before. One afternoon, Brunetti gets a frantic call from the director of a prestigious Venetian library. Someone has stolen pages out of several rare books. After a round of questioning, the case seems clear: the culprit must be the man who requested the volumes, a visiting American professor. But the man fled the library earlier that day, and after checking his credentials, it becomes clear that he is not who he said he was. As the investigation proceeds, the suspects multiply. And when a seemingly harmless character turns up brutally murdered, Brunetti must question his expectations about what makes a man innocent, or guilty.

Review Quotes

A Seattle Times Best Mystery and Crime Novel of the Year

"Inspired by the real-life looting of the Girolamini Library in Naples, this book adds to Donna Leon's best-selling Commissario Guido Brunetti series . . . Leon's description of the setting is vivid. And she doesn't shy away from politics, either, with her passion for preserving national institutions such as the library shining through."--New York Times

"With its loudly reverberating echoes of the recent real-life thefts from the Girolamini Library in Naples, By its Cover will both delight and strike fear into bibliophiles' hearts. . . . Leon offers a finely drawn tale that encompasses theft, blackmail, emotional violence, and murder, as well as a rich array of characters . . . [and] compellingly combines their workaday crime-solving with a detailed picture of a vanishing Venice."--Boston Globe

"Fans will rejoice that staples of the Brunetti canon--including conversations with his smart wife and frequent breaks for food and coffee--are very much in evidence."--Seattle Times

"Donna Leon's books . . . are routinely some of the finest mystery novels to come out of Europe (or anywhere else, for that matter). Her latest, By its Cover, will do nothing but burnish that reputation."--BookPage

"One of her best in a long line of super efforts. . . . Brunetti's wry internal observations and musings about everything from his superiors to his family are reason enough to come to the feast."--Bookreporter

"Think of Leon's latest Guido Brunetti novel as a love letter to her fans. . . . This will likely be one of his most-loved adventures."--Booklist (starred review)

"This character-driven novel looks at the ravages of rare book theft on libraries, and, more broadly, the destructive effects of contemporary greed . . . on cultural heritage. [A] skillful evocation of the city's charms, culture, and history."--Publishers Weekly

"Brunetti and Venice and books--there's a totally delectable combination! . . . Truly a must-read for Brunetti fans."--I Love a Mystery

"Donna Leon is one of the more unusual and satisfying writers of crime fiction in the current pantheon. . . . Brunetti is exceptional among detectives. . . . . Not since Simenon's Maigret have we seen a detective so devoted to the reality and complexity of everyday life."--Sydney Morning Herald