This was well written with at times a hard and complicated plot. Brunetti is called from his slumbers to discover the Carabinieri have raided the home of a paediatric doctor in Venice, beaten him up, and taken his eighteen month old son into the care of social services. The plot then develops to encompass the shady world of Albanian women carrying surrogate pregnancies, selling the children, and of Italian fertility clinics doing under the table deals with those who are unable to conceive. In the background Brunetti keeps reflecting on his own relationship with his children, and how he would feel if put in a similar position. We also get a parallel plot with a Catholic moralistic do-gooder running a pharmacy and using stolen medical history to publicly embarrass and ridicule people who have had abortions, VD, and the like. I found it a very compelling read, and the way in which the various story lines intermingled was well done. Once again Donna Leon gives us lots of examples of corruption in Italian public services, the rise of right wing nutters who detest immigrants, and the shady world of influence peddled by the rich and titled in the ancient city. The relationship between Brunetti and his deputy Vianello is also developed in this story, which is good to see. Sad ending though.

First published January 2007. Read on Kindle.