Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Penguin (Non-Classics) (2007), Edition: 1, Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML:A nun has left her convent after a series of suspicious deaths: "Leon's novels are always a pleasure." �The Washington Post In Venice, Italy, Commissario Guido Brunetti comes to the aid of a young Catholic sister, who has left her convent after five of her nursing home patients died unexpectedly. In the course of his inquiries, Brunetti encounters an unusual cast of characters, but discovers nothing that seems criminal. The police detective must determine whether the nun is simply creating a smoke screen to justify abandoning her vocation�or if she has stumbled onto something very real and very sinister that places her own life in imminent danger. "Leon's books shimmer in the grace of their setting and are warmed by the charm of their characters." �The New York Times Book Review Also published under the title The Death of Faith.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member cyderry
In this continuation of the Commissario Brunetti series, the reader is allowed to perceive the religious conflictions within Brunetti's family as well as Venetian society.
We are introduced at the beginning to Maria Testa who Brunetti recognizes as someone he knows but can't place. When he is told
The parallel thread of his daughter's difficulties with her religious education, bring to light Guido and Paolo's conflicts with organized religion.
This book was a bit slower then others in the series but the mystery builds beautifully, unraveling thread by thread to a satisfactory conclusion showing that Ms Leon has masterful control of her plot and characters. Looking forward to the next in the series.
We are introduced at the beginning to Maria Testa who Brunetti recognizes as someone he knows but can't place. When he is told
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that she had previously been a nun that had work at the nursing home where his mother resides, he is immediately taken in as is the reader. Maria informs him of her suspicions of irregularities at the nursing home and that these were the reasons she has left the convent. Not particularly taken with the scant details that she has supplied, Brunetti does minor investigations but moves on in other areas until he is told that Maria was a victim of a hit and run accident. Not one to believe in coincidence, Brunetti proceeds to delve deeper into the former nun's suspicions.The parallel thread of his daughter's difficulties with her religious education, bring to light Guido and Paolo's conflicts with organized religion.
This book was a bit slower then others in the series but the mystery builds beautifully, unraveling thread by thread to a satisfactory conclusion showing that Ms Leon has masterful control of her plot and characters. Looking forward to the next in the series.
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LibraryThing member tututhefirst
Brunetti's kids, Raffi and Chiara are extremely vocal in this story about their lack of enthusiasm for religion classes and in particular for the priest who is teaching them. When Raffi finally confides to his father that the good padre has been at least verbally indiscrete with many of his female
Paola's mother, the Contessa Donatella Falier, provides us with some of the most amusing dialogue this series has produced, but it is ultimately good police work by Brunetti, Vianello and Sra Electra that gives Paola the ammunition she needs to "take care of things." The ending is worth every minute you spend with the book.
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penitents, Brunetti's fatherly instincts almost overrule his legal ones. At the same time, he is trying to determine if there is any merit to a claim by one of the nuns (now an ex-nun) who worked at the nursing home where his demented mother is being cared for, that several of the patients may have been assisted to their heavenly reward earlier than nature intended. Leon does an excellent job of weaving innuendo with fact, of having Brunetti and Vianello tracking down the truth of her allegations. Paola's mother, the Contessa Donatella Falier, provides us with some of the most amusing dialogue this series has produced, but it is ultimately good police work by Brunetti, Vianello and Sra Electra that gives Paola the ammunition she needs to "take care of things." The ending is worth every minute you spend with the book.
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LibraryThing member francescadefreitas
Spring may have come to Venice, but there was little lightness in this mystery. This was bleak, and rather morally ambiguous.
LibraryThing member AnneliM
A former nun comes to Comissario Brunelli with the take that she suspects that some of her patients in an old folks home die after they give money to the Catholic Church. Soon she meets with a hit and run accident. Brunelli starts looking into the affair.
LibraryThing member AnneliM
A Commssario Guido Brunetti mystery. A young woman comes to Brunetti and tells him that she just left her order because she thinks that some old people under her care have been killed for their money. Soon she meets with a hit and run automobile accident and Brunetti starts to find out a lot of
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LibraryThing member Joycepa
6th in the Commisario Brunetti series set in Venice, Italy.
Maria Testa--the former Suor Immaculata who Brunetti recognizes as one of the aides in the nursing home in which his Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother resides--appears in his office one morning, deeply disturbed by what she feels is an unusual
Brunetti, not convinced, decides to look into the matter, by contacting and interviewing the heirs in as bland and unassuming manner as possible so as not to seem to be accusing either the heirs or the Catholic Church of wrongdoing. In the meantime, religion and the Church seems to have invaded his personal life as well, since Chiara, his 14 year old daughter whose academic record is otherwise perfect, has brought home a less than satisfactory grade in religious education. Her brother Raffaele tells the family that it is the priest, Padre Luciano, who is the problem and suggests that the priest may hove behaved inappropriately with some of the young girls in the parish.
With these two links to the Catholic Church, Brunetti begins his investigation of Maria Testa’s worries, while Paola fulminates against the clergy.
The Death of Faith is the most character-driven book in the series. The book starts out slowly with the interviews of the heirs and probably could have been shortened. But in doing so, we would have lost Leon’s exquisite ability to portray Venetians and Venetian society. Even though it takes nearly half the book to really swing into the plot, the descriptions of the heirs are gems of literary portraiture. Also, Brunetti’s mother-in-law, the Contessa Falier, makes a rare solo appearance and surprises everyone, including Brunetti, with the kind of woman she truly is. It is masterful writing on Leon’s part; while it might have been more proper in a novel about Venetian society than in a police procedural, all these characters studies do contribute to the plot and are utterly absorbing in what they tell us about Venice today.
After this deceptively slow start, the plot moves quickly and becomes more complex. There is a satisfying amount of action, and the denouements--both of them--are very well done. But this is Italy and in particular Venice, which means that they are Italian solutions and resolutions, not American or British ones, that “things” happen at an angle, not straightforwardly. As such, they may not be entirely satisfying but they are utterly Italian.
Highly recommended.
Maria Testa--the former Suor Immaculata who Brunetti recognizes as one of the aides in the nursing home in which his Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother resides--appears in his office one morning, deeply disturbed by what she feels is an unusual
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number of deaths in another nursing home to which she has been recently assigned. She does not have any real proof--just the instinctive conviction that some of these people should not have died. Also, she is troubled by what may have been inappropriate bequests in their wills by these now-dead individuals to the nursing home or the order of nuns to which she formerly belonged.Brunetti, not convinced, decides to look into the matter, by contacting and interviewing the heirs in as bland and unassuming manner as possible so as not to seem to be accusing either the heirs or the Catholic Church of wrongdoing. In the meantime, religion and the Church seems to have invaded his personal life as well, since Chiara, his 14 year old daughter whose academic record is otherwise perfect, has brought home a less than satisfactory grade in religious education. Her brother Raffaele tells the family that it is the priest, Padre Luciano, who is the problem and suggests that the priest may hove behaved inappropriately with some of the young girls in the parish.
With these two links to the Catholic Church, Brunetti begins his investigation of Maria Testa’s worries, while Paola fulminates against the clergy.
The Death of Faith is the most character-driven book in the series. The book starts out slowly with the interviews of the heirs and probably could have been shortened. But in doing so, we would have lost Leon’s exquisite ability to portray Venetians and Venetian society. Even though it takes nearly half the book to really swing into the plot, the descriptions of the heirs are gems of literary portraiture. Also, Brunetti’s mother-in-law, the Contessa Falier, makes a rare solo appearance and surprises everyone, including Brunetti, with the kind of woman she truly is. It is masterful writing on Leon’s part; while it might have been more proper in a novel about Venetian society than in a police procedural, all these characters studies do contribute to the plot and are utterly absorbing in what they tell us about Venice today.
After this deceptively slow start, the plot moves quickly and becomes more complex. There is a satisfying amount of action, and the denouements--both of them--are very well done. But this is Italy and in particular Venice, which means that they are Italian solutions and resolutions, not American or British ones, that “things” happen at an angle, not straightforwardly. As such, they may not be entirely satisfying but they are utterly Italian.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member Talbin
Quietly in Their Sleep is Donna Leon's sixth installment in her series featuring Venetian police Commissario Guido Brunetti. When Maria Testa, a nun who has recently left her order, comes to visit him with sketchy information about a few deaths at a nursing home, Brunetti is not sure what to make
Quietly in Their Sleep is not one of Leon's strongest books, but it is still a good book. As in most of the Brunetti series, the police investigation touches on cultural issues - here, religion. Because Brunetti and Paola are portrayed as fervently anti-religion, there is a bit less moral ambiguity in this book as there is in other Leon books. I also found Quietly in Their Sleep to be a bit slow-moving, especially after the excitement of the previous book, Acqua Alta. However, all-in-all this was a good read.
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of it. The threads connecting the deaths is tenuous at best, but because Brunetti's mother is in a nursing home run by the same director, and because he had always liked and admired Ms. Testa when she was caring for his mother, he decides to look into the deaths. He visits the heirs of the deceased, the priest who was assigned to the nursing home, and the mother superior of the order that helped care for patients. Brunetti doesn't think there is much, if anything, going on, but then Maria Testa is hit by a car and is left in a coma. Brunetti doesn't believe in coincidences, so he posts a guard at her hospital room door and continues the investigation. As he does so, he learns that there are several people who may have profited from the deaths, including the Catholic church and the shady secret organization, Opus Dei. In a subplot, Brunetti's daughter Chiara is having problems with the priest who teaches religious education at her school. Brunetti and his wife Paola discover that this priest has a past.Quietly in Their Sleep is not one of Leon's strongest books, but it is still a good book. As in most of the Brunetti series, the police investigation touches on cultural issues - here, religion. Because Brunetti and Paola are portrayed as fervently anti-religion, there is a bit less moral ambiguity in this book as there is in other Leon books. I also found Quietly in Their Sleep to be a bit slow-moving, especially after the excitement of the previous book, Acqua Alta. However, all-in-all this was a good read.
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LibraryThing member TadAD
A bit slower than the previous entries in this series, but I still enjoyed it. As with Leon's other stories, she focuses on one aspect of society, in this case organized religion...of which neither Guido nor Paola approve.
LibraryThing member cameling
Once again, our delightful commissioner of police is swept into a puzzling mystery ... at least the initial puzzle is that there doesn't seem to be any mysterious about the deaths of some residents of a nursing home. But a nun has come to see him, convinced that there was something irregular about
What is interesting in this particular book for me is the history behind the Opus Dei, how and why they were formed and how little we really know about this secret society. As always, Leon provides us with delightful scenes of Venetian life, the loyal team that Brunetti leads and his relationship with his family.
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deaths. The cast of characters start to grow as Brunetti starts to look deeper into the nun's complaint and is about to admit that perhaps she was mistaken when she is hospitalized following a hit and run accident.What is interesting in this particular book for me is the history behind the Opus Dei, how and why they were formed and how little we really know about this secret society. As always, Leon provides us with delightful scenes of Venetian life, the loyal team that Brunetti leads and his relationship with his family.
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LibraryThing member VictorTrevor
Another excellent story with Brunetti, and Paola, both confronting the powers of the church.
LibraryThing member smik
Alternative title: THE DEATH OF FAITH
This novel comes relatively early (#6) in the Brunetti series series in Venice. Brunetti's two children, Raffi and Chiara, are still at school, and Chiara's experiences with her religious education teacher allows the introduction of secondary plot. The secondary
The young nun comes to Commissario Brunetti at a time when his boss Vice-Questore Patta is away on what is rumoured to be a second honeymoon. On the surface Brunetti's initial investigation seems to say that no crimes have been committed. Some of the elderly at the nursing home have chosen to leave a bequest to the church and their subsequent deaths seem entirely due to natural causes. But then comes the murder of one of the recipients and the young nun is knocked off her bike. Brunetti doesn't like the coincidences. In the background is a powerful group protecting the church and their network reacts quickly and violently.
I have read most of the Brunetti series but here was one that I hadn't. I really enjoyed it.
This novel comes relatively early (#6) in the Brunetti series series in Venice. Brunetti's two children, Raffi and Chiara, are still at school, and Chiara's experiences with her religious education teacher allows the introduction of secondary plot. The secondary
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plot also allows the author to explore the lengths to which Brunetti's wife Paola will go to protect her children.The young nun comes to Commissario Brunetti at a time when his boss Vice-Questore Patta is away on what is rumoured to be a second honeymoon. On the surface Brunetti's initial investigation seems to say that no crimes have been committed. Some of the elderly at the nursing home have chosen to leave a bequest to the church and their subsequent deaths seem entirely due to natural causes. But then comes the murder of one of the recipients and the young nun is knocked off her bike. Brunetti doesn't like the coincidences. In the background is a powerful group protecting the church and their network reacts quickly and violently.
I have read most of the Brunetti series but here was one that I hadn't. I really enjoyed it.
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LibraryThing member thornton37814
The Vice-Questore is out of town, and crime is not very rampant in Venice at the moment. A former nun stops in to speak to Brunetti and voices concerns about what she had seen at the nursing home to which she had been transferred. She is suspicious of deaths of some of the residents. Having nothing
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more pressing to do, Brunetti begins to investigate. At the same time, his daughter is having difficulties in her religion class, and the problem seems to be with the priest. Then something happens to the former nun which elevates the case. This is probably my least favorite installment (that I've read to date) of the series because of the obvious animosity toward religion the author has. The only "normal" religious person encountered is the former nun who has left her order. Every character seems to carry a chip on his or her shoulder against the church. While the types of crimes committed by the clergy members in this installment should not be condoned, the author has gone a bit too far in her animosity against the church. The mystery itself was well-plotted. Show Less
LibraryThing member FicusFan
Another in the Guido Brunetti mystery series set in modern day Venice. This book was published in the UK as The Death of Faith.
I love this series, the characters and the setting. This time the story was not quite up to the same level as the others. It was about a nun at a nursing home who thought
Still I anxiously await the next one. Soon I will have them all and then can re-read in order. I have no idea why they are being published in the US out of order.
I love this series, the characters and the setting. This time the story was not quite up to the same level as the others. It was about a nun at a nursing home who thought
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that some of the elderly who died, had been killed for their money. Along the way as Guido is investigating he runs into Opus Dei, and an abusive priest teaching his daughter's religion class at school. For most of the book Guido seems to find nothing wrong. But the people he talks to about their relatives' deaths give rise to many church bashing comments between him and several co-workers and with his wife. I am not a religious person, but it seemed to me a bit much.Still I anxiously await the next one. Soon I will have them all and then can re-read in order. I have no idea why they are being published in the US out of order.
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LibraryThing member ecw0647
Donna Leon takes the mystery genre beyond the standard "who-done-it" and that what makes her novels so enjoyable. The endings of all of the Brunetti novels I have read (most of them) are rather dark and unresolved. She has a very cynical (realistic?) view of the way the Italian world works - or
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doesn't work. Corruption is rampant and Commissario Brunetti struggles to maintain a commitment to justice amidst the corruption. He also has a wonderful relationship with Pauola, his wife, that is so nice. Donna Leon really makes you want to meet the characters. I think she's wonderful and hope she never stops writing. Show Less
LibraryThing member MikeRhode
My first Donna Leon - an enjoyable mystery with Opus Dei running through it. I'm going to keep reading her.
LibraryThing member caitemaire
I am a fan of Leon, and yes, she will express a rather cynical view of the powers that be, be they the government, business, the Church, and yes, even the police in all her books. but this book just goes too, too far over the top. A touch of conspiracy is entertaining...a huge dose of it, just too
Must say I did rather like the 'punishment' thought up for one of the worse at the end though..very fitting.
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much. Put the soap box away Ms. Leon and get back to telling good mysteries...of which this is not the best.Must say I did rather like the 'punishment' thought up for one of the worse at the end though..very fitting.
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LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Commissario Guido Brunetti is surprised to receive an office visit from a young nun who had cared for his mother in a nursing home until she was transferred to a different facility some months earlier. He's even more surprised that the woman has left her order. She was disturbed by the deaths of
I like Brunetti in both his work and home environments. However, he doesn't really do much crime solving in this book.He appeals to his friends and colleagues to use their connections to get information for him, and he surprises a murderer into a confession when there was no evidence to support a murder conviction.
The Venetian setting of this series is its strongest appeal for me. The religious themes addressed in this installment also appealed to me. There is a Catholic religious order at the heart of Brunetti's investigation, and Brunetti's daughter has a problem with her Religious Education course at school that escalates to involve the entire family. I'll keep reading this series for the setting, the relationships Brunetti has with his colleagues and his family, and the special themes that Leon explores in each installment.
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several patients in the facility where she worked after her transfer. The patients had all died suddenly and of causes that had not troubled them previously. Brunetti looks into some of the deaths but his inquiries don't turn up anything. Just when it looks like there isn't a case, something happens that makes Brunetti realize that the former nun's life is in danger.I like Brunetti in both his work and home environments. However, he doesn't really do much crime solving in this book.
The Venetian setting of this series is its strongest appeal for me. The religious themes addressed in this installment also appealed to me. There is a Catholic religious order at the heart of Brunetti's investigation, and Brunetti's daughter has a problem with her Religious Education course at school that escalates to involve the entire family. I'll keep reading this series for the setting, the relationships Brunetti has with his colleagues and his family, and the special themes that Leon explores in each installment.
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LibraryThing member abbeyhar
The humor and the personal interplay between brunetti and his wife is strong as usual in this one. I didn't think the mystery was as well thought out as in the others.
LibraryThing member crazeedi73
They just keep getting better and better. Can't wait for number 7 to get here!
LibraryThing member repb
To me this was a confusing story; about people being killed and monies finding its way into the coffers of the Catholic Church. Of wicked pedophile and homosexual priests. To me it seems clear that Leon, like many of the principal characters of her books, harbors a great distrust ion not outright
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hatred of Christianity and in particular, the Catholic Church. I have noticed this in her other books but not with the intensity of this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member jetangen4571
coercion, discord, church-politics, law-enforcement, family, friendship, attempted-murder, murder-investigation, Venice, murder****
Very convoluted and begins with a premise of murder without any supporting evidence, all presented by a young woman who is only very recently no longer a nun. Brunetti
I do enjoy listening to narrator David Colacci, especially his Italian (or is it Venetian) pronunciations.
Very convoluted and begins with a premise of murder without any supporting evidence, all presented by a young woman who is only very recently no longer a nun. Brunetti
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starts to become involved on principle but finds many oddities. Then someone appears to try to kill the young woman and it's an even worse entanglement from then on. An odd plot (I only worked for nuns and I am not a catholic) but compelling.I do enjoy listening to narrator David Colacci, especially his Italian (or is it Venetian) pronunciations.
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LibraryThing member waldhaus1
An expiration of corruption in the church. Well plotted but following a different trajectory than other Brunetti books. While the cat of characters is largely the same there are some interesting additions for the sake of the plot. Some are quite bizarre: a tiny little man who collects snuff boxes,
The inspirer of the action is a young woman who had been a nun but abandons that life because of what she was as corruption in her order.
There is the implication of a sister plot in the church hierarchy to protect perverted priests.
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and a religious zealot spinster. The inspirer of the action is a young woman who had been a nun but abandons that life because of what she was as corruption in her order.
There is the implication of a sister plot in the church hierarchy to protect perverted priests.
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LibraryThing member ChazziFrazz
A young nursing sister has left her convent concerned over five patients who have suddenly died unexpectedly. She comes to Commissario Brunetti with her concerns. She has no hard evidence that anything illegal has been done, what is curious is that each decedent has a wealthy estate and the
A connection for Brunetti is the nun was caring for his mother, who suffers from severe dementia. Brunetti agrees to check around.
Along with finding the beneficiaries of the deceased may have had their own wants met by their inheritances; there are also some ties to a dark and deadly scenario: one that could cause the nun’s death.
Brunetti again applies his methodical ways of researching in reaching a conclusion for this mysterious situation.
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possibility of it being left to the churchA connection for Brunetti is the nun was caring for his mother, who suffers from severe dementia. Brunetti agrees to check around.
Along with finding the beneficiaries of the deceased may have had their own wants met by their inheritances; there are also some ties to a dark and deadly scenario: one that could cause the nun’s death.
Brunetti again applies his methodical ways of researching in reaching a conclusion for this mysterious situation.
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LibraryThing member almin
Least favorite of the series so far, I thought the ending was abrupt, the mystery was over shadowed by the messages about the Catholic Church and religion in general. I still enjoy the series and will continue.
LibraryThing member Judiex
A woman came to speak with Commissario Guido Brunetti. She looked somewhat familiar, but he could not place her until learned that she had been a sister working at the nursing home where his mother had resided. Both his mother and he were very fond of her. She told him she had left the order three
It turned out there was much to be troubled about. Not only was the care deficient in some areas, people were dying in questionable circumstances.
Investigating her suspicions led Brunetti on an investigation not only about the care but about financial arrangements between some residents and the facility and the motivation of some of the people running it.
Luckily for Brunetti, Vice-Questore Giuseppi Patta had been out-of-the country for a couple of weeks so Guido was able to get started on the investigation without interference from his boss.
During the investigation, Brunetti became the target of an attack that jeopardized his life.
Issues with nursing home care and the motives of people running them as well as the education in Catholic schools and the way sisters are treated, is universal as are other situations addressed in QUIETLY IN THEIR SLEEP.
Like the other books in Donna Leon’s Brunetti series, the story is well-told. Interesting characters and situations. It keeps the reader engrossed in the plot which moves along smoothly.
Tidbits:
“[O}bjects survive us and go on living. It’s stupid to believe we own them. And it’s sinful for them to be so important.”
‘Hypocrites never think that other people can be just as false as they are.”
“There’s always something to discover about the people you think you know well.’
“But people are really afraid of Opus Dei. The way they were afraid of the SS, the Gestapo.”
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weeks ago and was troubled by some of the events she had witnessed and heard about while she was there. It turned out there was much to be troubled about. Not only was the care deficient in some areas, people were dying in questionable circumstances.
Investigating her suspicions led Brunetti on an investigation not only about the care but about financial arrangements between some residents and the facility and the motivation of some of the people running it.
Luckily for Brunetti, Vice-Questore Giuseppi Patta had been out-of-the country for a couple of weeks so Guido was able to get started on the investigation without interference from his boss.
During the investigation, Brunetti became the target of an attack that jeopardized his life.
Issues with nursing home care and the motives of people running them as well as the education in Catholic schools and the way sisters are treated, is universal as are other situations addressed in QUIETLY IN THEIR SLEEP.
Like the other books in Donna Leon’s Brunetti series, the story is well-told. Interesting characters and situations. It keeps the reader engrossed in the plot which moves along smoothly.
Tidbits:
“[O}bjects survive us and go on living. It’s stupid to believe we own them. And it’s sinful for them to be so important.”
‘Hypocrites never think that other people can be just as false as they are.”
“There’s always something to discover about the people you think you know well.’
“But people are really afraid of Opus Dei. The way they were afraid of the SS, the Gestapo.”
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1997
Physical description
320 p.; 6.88 inches
ISBN
0143112201 / 9780143112204