The golden egg

Donna Leon

'The familiar characters and Venetian location are described with remarkable freshness, and, as ever, the constructive score is entertaining and thought-provoking.' Sunday Telegraph

'Donna Leone has a wonderful sense of the social complexities of Venice, where corruption is as old, deep, and insidious as the canals.' Daily Mail

A New York Times bestseller

When a local man is found dead after overdosing on sleeping pills, Commissioner Brunetti's wife can't help but ask him to investigate. The kind, simple man worked at the local laundromat, and Paula hates the idea that he lived and died without anyone noticing or helping him.

But what appears to be a clear-cut suicide soon turns out to be anything but. Brunetti soon discovers that the man bears no guilt: no birth certificate, no passport, no driver's license, no credit cards. Even stranger, the dead man's mother refuses to speak to the police. As secrets unfold, Brunetti begins to suspect that an aristocratic family may be connected to the mystery...