Slow moving but thoughtful book. Comissario Brunetti mystery. Venice. Wealthy elderly gay man dies, leaving his estate to his recently adopted son, his most recent gay lover. Except a close female friend of his is murdered, opening up the questions of who is the killer, why did she die, and does it change the estate.

I haven't read any Donna Leon for a while, so visiting again with Guido Brunetti and his family and his colleagues was like visiting old friends. And I thought this book was one of the best ones. Guido's father in law is worried that one of his oldest and best friends is being unduly influenced by a young man who is in fact interested in the older man's money. When a woman friend of the older man is murdered, Guido sets out to find the murderer. The plot works well and Guido and his family's humanity really comes through in this enjoyable volume.

Ah, Donna Leon has done it again...spending time with Commissario Guido Brunetti is always a pleasure! If you have never read a Brunetti Police Inspector book, this might not be a good one to read first. I have read them from #1 and I "know" Brunetti pretty well. So I really enjoyed the casually slow pace of this book. I noticed from some of the comments, not everyone enjoyed that pace. When the victim was murdered, near the end of the book, I suddenly realized who the murderer was. But I only had the motive somewhat right. Oh well. You can't win them all. I sincerely enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one.
Ciao!

Brunetti is always a pleasure, whether the subject is what his family is having to eat, or his walks in his beloved Venice. Sometimes the books begin with a call to a murder in the middle of the night. In others, the murder comes only very slowly. This entry in the series falls in the latter category. Guido's father-in-law calls him for a conversation about Orazio's best friend, who's Guido's daughter Chiara's godfather, so long known to, and loved by, the entire family. It matters to none of them that Gonzalo is gay. But that turns out to be the crux of the story, as Gonzalo proposes to adopt a much younger man as his son. By Italian law, because he's unmarried, on Gonzalo's death, all of his sizeable wealth will go directly to the adopted son. Brunetti's father-in-law wants him to talk Gonzalo out of his intention. Brunetti really doesn't want to, and doesn't consider it police business. However, when Gonzalo falls dead on the street, and his best woman friend is murdered in her hotel room when she comes from Spain to organize a small memorial service there for him, it becomes police business. With the help of Signorina Elletra, he solves the mystery, and arrests the murderer of Gonzalo's friend. True, we don't learn a lot about the murderer, but he has motive enough, and the interview between the two of them in Brunetti's office is as subtle and fascinating as anything in Leon's work.

Not one of her best. Meandering, vaguely unsatisfying. Seemed as if the action was almost an afterthought with the villain of the piece given short shrift in terms of character development.

The plot is simple: among aristocratic ,powerful Venetians,what should be done & why when an 85 year old gay best friend wants to legally will his art & wealth to a younger man. Sadly for 138 of 259 pages Donna Leon fills the chapters with musings about meddling, Roman emperors, Greek plays ,unconscious prejudices, family ties, aging and sons or daughters.Once the clinical social work meditations give way to 2 deaths, one natural, Commissario Brunetti begins to discover how crimes were done but insights into the the younger villain's background & psychology are brief compared to the older.

Unto Us a Son Is Given by Donna Leon is the 28th in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series but it easily reads as a standalone. Beautiful Venice is as much a part of this novel as Brunetti himself. Guido is approached by his father-in-law in the hope that he will discourage their mutual friend Gonzalo in his endeavour to adopt a much younger man as his son. The inheritance laws in Italy permit that this adoptee can then become heir to Gonzalo's entire fortune in the event of the old man's death. Guido sees nothing wrong with Gonzalo's plan but soon after, the old man collapses in the street and dies. It is at this point that the story becomes a mystery. I found that this book read more as a cozy than a police procedural. However, this takes nothing away from the enjoyment of this title. Although the action ramps up slowly, this novel packs quite a wallop. I look forward to reading other books by Donna Leon.