Blood from a Stone

Donna Leon

Apr 2007 · Blackstone Audio Inc. · Narrated by David Colacci

About this audiobook

On a cold Venetian night shortly before Christmas, a street vendor is killed in a scuffle in Campo San Stefano. The closest witnesses are the tourists who had been browsing the man's wares before his death—fake handbags of every designer label. The dead man had been working as a vu cumpra, one of the many African immigrants purveying goods outside normal shop hours and without work permits. Commissario Brunetti's response is that of everybody involved: Why would anyone kill an illegal immigrant? Once Brunetti begins to investigate this unfamiliar Venetian underworld, he discovers that matters of great value are at stake. Warned by Patta, his supervisor, to resist further involvement in the case, how far will Brunetti be able to penetrate the murky subculture of Venice's illegal community?

Ratings and reviews

immigrants, mobsters, class-consciousness, family-dynamics, friendship, friction, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, multicultural, Venice, tourists, due-diligence, street-peddlers, counterfeit-merchandise**** Another morality tale from the pen of Donna Leon. This one highlights the problems of the Africans who come to Venice to make a bit of money on the illegal side and the conundrum this poses to real law enforcement. There is also the family problem of teenagers who view the people who are so different from their own as *disposable or meaningless* while spouting *save the whales* and encouraging veganism. Good story and relatable. The audio is performed by David Colacci as were all the others I've read. His rendering is remarkable in that he never overplays the roles.

About the author

Donna Leon is author of the much-loved, best-selling series of novels featuring Commissario Brunetti and one of The Times' 50 Greatest Crime Writers. Widely considered one of the best detective series ever, with admirers including Ursula K. Le Guin and Antonia Fraser, the Brunetti Mysteries have won numerous awards around the world and been translated into thirty-five languages.

David Colacci has been an actor and a director for over thirty years, performing coast-to-coast in lead roles of plays by a variety of playwrights, from Shakespeare to Sam Shepard to Steve Martin. He has worked as a narrator for over fifteen years, during which time he has read the works of such authors as Jules Verne, Henry Adams, John Irving, Michael Chabon, and John Lescroart. He has won AudioFile Earphones Awards, earned Audie nominations, and been included in Best of the Year lists by such publications as Publishers Weekly, AudioFile magazine, and Library Journal. David was a resident actor/director with the Cleveland Play House for eight years and has been artistic director of the Hope Summer Rep Theater since 1992. He currently lives in New York with his wife, narrator and actress Susan Ericksen, and his children, Mario and Elena.