Suffer the Little Children: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery: 16 (The Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries) - Softcover

Praise for Suffer the Little Children

"Leon's sixteenth Commissario Brunetti mystery is brilliant; she has never become perfunctory, never failed to give us vivid portraits of people and of Venice, never lost her fine, disillusioned indignation."--Ursula K. Le Guin, New York Times

"The most obvious appeal of Donna Leon's novels about Commissario Guido Brunetti is that they are so supremely civilized . . . Leon's novels are always a pleasure."--Washington Post

"First-rate and masterful."--Publishers Weekly

"In her sixteenth book featuring Brunetti, Leon vividly illustrates the power of fatherhood, captures the nuances of Venetian politics, and provides a finish as satisfying as it is tragic. But what lifts this series far above the norm is the humanity of Brunetti and his family and the charm of Venice . . . [they] take delight in the wonders of their city; little wonder that their readers will, too."--Library Journal

"Donna Leon is the undisputed crime fiction queen . . . [Her] ability to capture the city's social scene and internal politics is first-rate, as always, but this installment carries extra gravity and welcome plot twists that make it one of the series' better efforts."--Sarah Weinman, Baltimore Sun
"Donna Leon is keeping up an astonishingly high standard . . . A perfect blend of characters, place, mystery, and social issues . . . Her 16th Brunetti novel is also one of her best."--Times (UK)

"Enthralling . . . The vibrant descriptions of the city, littered liberally throughout the novel, and the details of Venetian family life, keep the series feeling fresh and will hold your curiosity while feeling comfortingly familiar."--Woman (UK)

"Leon's fans who use Brunetti as an insider's guide to Venice will not be disappointed."--Times Literary Supplement (UK)

"While Leon raises some cogent social points in the course of the usual page-turning stuff, it's never at the expense of her iron-clad storytelling skill. And Venice is conjured as atmospherically as we'd expect from a writer who does in words what Canaletto and Turner used to do in oils."--Express (UK)

"If you are a fan of Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti (I am), Suffer the Little Children . . . is essential reading."--Lady (UK)

Donna Leon’s charming, evocative, and addictive Commissario Guido Brunnetti mysteries are widely celebrated, critically acclaimed, and national and international bestsellers. In her sixteenth novel, Brunetti plunges into a family crisis.

Summoned in the middle of the night to the hospital bed of a senior pediatrician, Commissario Brunetti is confronted with more questions than answers. Three men had burst into the doctor’s apartment while the family was sleeping, attacked him, and taken away his eighteen-month-old boy. What could have motivated an assault so violent that it has left the doctor mute? Who would dare to take the doctor’s child?

As Brunetti delves into the case, he begins to uncover a story of infertility, desperation, and illegal dealings. At the same time, Brunetti’s colleague, Inspector Vianello, discovers a moneymaking scam between pharmacists and doctors in the city. But it appears as if one of the pharmacists is after more than money. What secrets are to be found in his client’s medical records? And what has been done with them? Suffer the Little Children is a powerful mystery, set in a beautifully realized Venice, a glorious town seething with big-city vice.