The memorable characters and Venetian drama that have long captivated Donna Leon’s many readers are on full display in , the twenty-seventh novel in the bestselling mystery series. Surprised, if not dismayed, to discover from his superior that leaks are emanating from the , Commissario Guido Brunetti is surprised more consequentially by the appearance of a friend of his wife’s, fearful that her son is using drugs and hopeful Brunetti can somehow intervene. When the woman’s husband is found unconscious with a serious brain injury at the foot of a bridge in Venice after midnight, Brunetti is drawn to pursue a possible connection to the boy’s behavior. But the truth, as Brunetti has experienced so often, is not so straightforward.