The Jewels of Paradise

Donna Leon

out. de 2012 · Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

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The New York Times–bestselling author of the Commissario Guido Brunetti series takes readers beyond the Venice police force in her first standalone novel.
 
Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like so many of them, she’s had to leave home to pursue her career. With a doctorate in baroque opera from Vienna, she lands in Manchester, England. Manchester, however, is no Venice. When Caterina gets word of a position back home, she jumps at the opportunity.
 
The job is an unusual one. After nearly three centuries, two locked trunks—believed to contain the papers of a baroque composer—have been discovered. Deeply connected in religious and political circles, the composer died childless; now, two Venetians, descendants of his cousins, each claim the inheritance. Caterina’s job is to examine any enclosed papers to discover the “testamentary disposition” of the composer. But when her research takes her in unexpected directions, she begins to wonder just what secrets these trunks may hold. From a masterful writer, The Jewels of Paradise is a superb novel, a gripping tale of intrigue, music, history, and greed.
 
“Commissario Brunetti is allowed to take a vacation once in a while, but only if his replacements are as wry and erudite as Caterina.” —The Washington Post
 
“Fascinating . . . Boasts the same sensitivity to human behavior that distinguishes her Guido Brunetti series.” —Booklist
 
“A veteran mystery maven weaves present-day Venice into a 300-year-old puzzle in this engaging stand-alone . . . Packs the charms of Venice into a smart whodunit.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
“Elegant prose, with humorous, wonderfully detailed descriptions as seen through the eyes of her heroine.” —Opera News

Acerca do autor

Donna Leon was born on September 29, 1942 in Montclair, New Jersey. She taught English literature in England, Switzerland, Iran, China, Italy and Saudi Arabia. She is the author of a Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery series. Friends in High Places, a novel from the series, won the Crime Writers Association Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction in 2000. German Television has produced 16 Commissario Brunetti mysteries for broadcast. She was a crime reviewer for the Sunday Times. She has written the libretto for a comic opera and has set up her own opera company, Il Complesso Barocco. Her titles Jewels of Pardise, The Golden Egg, By Its Cover, Falling in Love and The Waters of Eternal Youth made The New York Times Bestseller List.