When an obnoxious old Venetian woman is brutally murdered, the case seems to have been resolved when her Romanian maid runs from police at the border and ends up under a train. Then, however, a neighbour returns from holidays with a story that complicates this, and police inspector Brunetti unofficially takes up the investigation.

The plot of Doctored Evidence is fairly straightforward and not overly dramatic, with a background story that is plausible and sordid rather than outrageous and newsworthy, but it has enough to hold the reader.

A good deal of the interest comes from the Venetian setting, from the background of corruption and bureaucracy, and from the internal struggles in the police force. Brunetti's colleagues include a sidekick with a knack for computers and illegally obtaining banking records, a lazy boss, and a hostile rival. And the domestic scenes with his wife and children revolve around food, with some musings on sin and religion.

Some of this seems a little formulaic — and Doctored Evidence is one of over a dozen novels about Inspector Brunetti. It's also easy entertainment, however, and would make perfect reading for a train or plane to Venice.

April 2010

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