This is Donna Leon’s sixteenth story in the series starring
Commissario Brunetti of the Venice Police.
Leon is an American who has lived for many years in Venice. She
fills her tale with its bridges and boats, canals and bars, so that you
feel you are travelling with the policeman as he makes his investigation.
And pretty chilling this investigation turns out to be, as a
beloved pediatrician has his adopted l8-month old son snatched away,
and a grim story of malice and blackmail unfolds. The story is the
more touching because Brunetti himself is a family man. His wife
Paola, son and daughter are very familiar to readers of this series.
Leon gently questions some of the social issues in Italian life. But
not at the expense of the fast-paced plot she has woven.
“Suffer the Little Children” was first published in England and
the United States in 2007. This Penguin edition came out this year.
Book Review by Anne McDougall