My Review - The Golden Egg by Donna Leon

The Golden Egg by Donna Leon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Let me begin by saying that Donna Leon is incapable of writing a bad book. This book is well worth reading. That being said, it is not up to the standard of her other books featuring Venetian Comissario Guido Brunetti. Both the depiction of the characters and the plot itself are a shadow of Leon’s usual writing. Most of the stories in this quite phenomenal series have dealt with important socio-political-religious issues. They have represented a loving, an educated and, at times, despairing, view of Venice and by extension, of Italy. It is this quality that has had me coming back to her writing, book after book.

The Golden Egg is quite simply not up to her usual standard. The story, concerning the life and death of a sad young man who was, or appeared to be, a deaf-mute, simply has no scope. It would have made a good short story perhaps.

Donna Leon’s books never have “happy endings”. This one ties up things more completely than most, but I can’t help feeling that a cliché title predicting an unsurprising cliché ending are indications that perhaps it is time to put Guido Brunetti, Paula, and the rest of the team out to pasture.


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Following are my published novels. Go to my Goodreads page, to find more info and reviews.  

To purchase one of these books, just click on the book link below and select the vendor of your choice.

 • The Memory of Roses ~ The story of a secret and how it impacts two generations of the McQuaid family.  It unfolds on the beautiful Greek Island of Corfu and is a tale complete with beautiful and passionate women, handsome and fiery men, and an intriguing mystery.

"The Memory of Roses by Blair McDowell is simply an incredibly lovely story. It’s also a love story, and a story about finding yourself, and about closure. The theme running through the book is “all’s well that ends well.”  --  Marlene, Reading Reality

 • Delighting In Your Company ~ Delighting In Your Company is a paranormal romance set on an exotic Caribbean island, featuring a handsome ghost and an adventurous heroine who travels back in time to solve a mystery!

"Delighting In Your Company is a unique paranormal romance that brings together island folklore, history, and mystery with an unlikely romance between the past and present that had me going through a torrent of emotions and made it impossible to put down." -- The Romance Reviews

 • Sonata ~ Sayuri McAllister has just arrived home to Vancouver to find some shocking situations:  
~ A robbery has taken place at her family home, and it is being investigated by her old flame;
~ Alyssa James who she barely knows, is about to become her new stepmother; 
~ and Alyssa’s brother, Hugh James, is a charming Irishman who is intent on bedding and wedding the rich and beautiful Sayuri. 

It’s a confusing and difficult time for Sayuri, especially when dangerous accidents happen to her father and herself – or are they accidents?

“I found Sonata to be a charming novel that left me laughing out loud in parts and gnawing nails in others. It was a delight to read.” – Night Owl Reviews

 • Abigails Christmas (short story) ~ An enchanting tale of love and romance, with a magical touch of fantasy.
Abigail's Christmas is a holiday story about Abigail who goes looking for a tree on Christmas Eve, and ends up with the man of her dreams in a sleigh in the Rockies --- with a wedding in the offing! Is it real?  Is she dreaming?  Or is it just Christmas magic?