Leon, Donna. Through a glass, darkly.

LEON, Donna. Through a glass, darkly. Read by David Colacci. 7 cds. 8.75 hrs. BBC Audiobooks America. 2006. 0-7927-4013-0. $74.95. Vinyl; plot, author, reader notes. SA

Giovanni De Cal, a Murano glass manufacturer, is alleged to be unsafely disposing of his plant's dross. Environmentalist protestors attract the attention of Guido Brunetti when, trying to do a favor for a friend of a friend arrested while picketing health and safety issues, the Commissario instead finds he has stepped into a De Cal family feud. He takes this personally, especially after De Cal's night watchman is found lying dead in front of one of the plant's furnaces some days later. The death is ruled accidental and is of interest only to Brunetti, whose incentive to investigate is more a matter of his cynical curiosity than of his devotion to justice. For Brunetti, only slightly less so than other members of his largely idle Venetian bureaucracy, has other, more pressing things on his mind, like the wonderful local food and wines and maintaining the contacts that give him the standing and time to enjoy them. Leon's emphasis on characterization and local color is enhanced by Colacci, who reads expository passages in his own voice but performs all dialogue in convincing and highly expressive Italian accents. Francine Levitov, Attorney, New York, NY

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.