Blood From A Stone: (Brunetti 14)

On a cold Venetian night shortly before Christmas, a man is killed in a scuffle in Campo San Stefano. The dead man was working as a v- cumpr-, one of the many Black Africans selling goods on the street without a work permit. At first glance, Commissario Brunetti is at a loss to understand why anyone would kill an illegal immigrant. As Brunetti starts to investigate the murky subculture of the Venetian underworld, he discovers that life is cheap in the immigrant community and something of much greater value is at stake. But after being discouraged from investigating by Patta, Brunetti must also prevent the murder from being smugly relegated to the category of 'not worth dealing with'.

Donna Leon was named by The Times as one of the 50 Greatest Crime Writers. She is an award-winning crime novelist, celebrated for the bestselling Brunetti series. Donna has lived in Venice for thirty years and previously lived in Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Iran and China, where she worked as a teacher. Donna’s books have been translated into 35 languages and have been published around the world.

Her previous novels featuring Commissario Brunetti have all been highly acclaimed; including Friends in High Places, which won the CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, Fatal Remedies, Doctored Evidence, A Sea of Troubles and Beastly Things.