This is my first look at the Brunetti series, and I enjoyed it. I'm not sure, though, whether it's because the writing smoothly carried me along, or because I liked Brunetti as a character, or because at the center of mystery are rare books. So I'll try another one sometime. Is this really the 23rd in the series?!
A few favorite passages:
He thought of a story, surely apocryphal, he had once heard about some American movie star - was it Jean Harlow? It was said that when she was given a book for her birthday, she unwrapped it and looked at it, then said, 'A book? I have a book.'
The sun had been crawling across the floor as they sat there, and it now touched the soles of her feet stretched on the table in front of the sofa. She slid down and stretched them farther, wiggling them in the sunlight. 'Oh, that feels good,' she sighed.
Paola obviously had kept some text secreted about her person or under the cushion where she sat, left there in the event that life presented her with the necessity of spending three minutes with nothing to read. ( )

By Its Cover written by Donna Leon is Book #23 of Ms. Leon’s acclaimed Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery series.
By Its Cover revolves around the stealing and defacing of rare, valuable books and manuscripts.
As always the city of Venice, its history, its art, its culture is the main character of the story.
Commissario Brunetti, his relationships with family and fellow police, his home city of Venice, his love of food and wine and his determination to find truth is also a main thread, a main character of the story and the entire series.
It is hard to put the book down once the reader has begun. It is fascinating to have a front row seat to the logic, the reasoning, the sincerity and dogged pursuit of truth that Brunetti goes through in every case.
A highly recommended title and series ***** ( )

Very slow! Book is a series of conversations. The trouble is every conversation is a slow process where every question is followed descriptions of people picking up there coffee cups, looking out the window, leaning backward/forward in their chair, making long pauses before answering the question. ( )

Una tarde, el comisario Brunetti recibe la llamada desesperada del director de una biblioteca veneciana. Diversos libros antiguos de gran valor han desaparecido. Los bibliotecarios sospechan del hombre que pidió consultar los volúmenes, un catedrático de la Universidad de Kansas. El único problema es que, después de comprobar sus credenciales, el profesor simplemente no existe. Brunetti empieza entonces a investigar entre los habituales de la biblioteca, y es así como conoce al exsacerdote Franchini, un lector apasionado de literatura cristiana antigua, o la condesa Morosini-Albani, una generosa mecenas. Cuando Franchini aparece asesinado, el caso toma un rumbo más siniestro y pronto Brunetti se encuentra sumergido en el sombrío mundo del mercado negro de libros antiguos.

The very best in gentle escapist mystery reading....Leon brings the mystery to my level, then takes me through the reasoning. She adds human observation, class observations, amazing architecture and slow food to make an enjoyable read with a conclusion you need to reason but are not left confused by. ( )