Donna Leon's appreciation of her adopted city's sublime yet fragile magnificence is as fresh (and invigorating) today as it was when Death at La Fenice was published in 1992. However, her anger at the damage caused by tourism and pollution has grown stronger over the years ... Should anyone still doubt that Leon is a superb novelist, let them consider the scene in which Guido gently questions a woman during the last few minutes of her life. You can feel the tension, fear, horror - and wonder. The Times