The Jewels of Paradise is as much a tale about a young woman wising up and learning to fight more effectively for her own happiness as it is a mystery—though the centuries-old secrets that those chests contain are also pretty compelling. Get swept away at our Runaway Bay, Jamaica resort. She misses being in her beloved Venice, and when she learns that a little known foundation is looking for a researcher, she jumps at the chance to return home. From a masterful writer, The Jewels of Paradise is a superb novel, a gripping tale of intrigue, music, history, and greed. Read the back of the cornflakes packet instead. As it happens many times when writers of series novels and characters strike out to write a stand-alone, their fans are disappointed. Somehow? This is Ms. Leon’s first standalone novel after a long series of mysteries featuring Commissario Brunetti. As a thriller, the story is not very thrilling. Not her best work. Basically the heroine is a musicologist employed by a bunch of "cousins" to research some old documents with the hope of them inheriting the jewels of paradise once the researcher deciphers and uncovers the legalities of the doc. But most of the book leads you on to expect things you never get--such as an understanding of the lawyer, why he is involved and what motivates him. &“Commissario Brunetti is allowed to take a vacation once in a while, but only if his replacements are as wry and erudite as Caterina.&” —The Washington Post &“Fascinating . What should they do? Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read The Jewels of Paradise. © 2008-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Many reviewers complained here, that the characters here, in The Jewels of Paradise, were not at all as well fleshed out. Donna Leon writes good mystery books about Italian policemen in action in Venice. There were some glimpses of what the author is capable of in the letters between the main character and her sister. I feel as though I'm in a history class that I just have no interest. I found myself getting increasingly irritated at the numerous references to (to me) obscure names and subjects, mostly baroque music and European and Catholic church history. Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like so many of them, she's had to leave home to pursue her career elsewhere, mostly abroad. 0319ML Like Leon, Caterina is a scholar as well as a fan of Baroque opera. The Washington Post This story, its characters, and its counterpoint in theme are sublime. Sadly, it fails in several ways and offers little in compensation for its failures. What triumphs is intellect at the service of such respect and admiration of a life discovered 300 years gone. This is the first of Leon's non-Brunetti books I have ever read and I found it immensely interesting - partly because until I became deaf,nearly 40 years ago I enjoyed having perfect pitch (and believed until that time that everyone else had it) so the basic belief in music made sense. Womp womp. Even Venice seemed less interesting than usual. [is actually super shady, and has been reading Caterina's emails. His papers are contained in two trunks which are being fought over by two cousins, both of whom are trying to lay claim to whatever "treasure" is in the trunks. As usual the author's atmospherics are solid--she's great at places. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. I just love Brunetti, his family, the secretary, his coworkers (even his ridiculous, pompous superiors) and sometimes even the evildoers. Or do they branch out under another name and hope the book will stand on its own and gain them a following? I was made aware of that in this novel, when the heroine went to lunch with the lawyer and launched into a tedious treatise on music, and I was jolted out of the narrative. It is said that Agatha Christie tired of Poirot, and that Conan Doyle wanted, after a time, to kill off Sherlock Holmes. The Jewels of Paradise (Book) : Leon, Donna : Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like so many of them, she's had to leave home to pursue her career. I've always thought it must be difficult for established authors famous for a particular series character or genre, to break out of the mould and write something different. From Kurdistan through the Near, Middle, and Far East, the Romany tribes have danced, sung, told stories, and crafted their way into the hearts of souls everywhere. Try as I am finding interest in "The Jewels of Paradise" is beyond - yawn - are we there yet? The ending is especially delicious and ironic. From a masterful writer, The Jewels of Paradise is a superb novel, a gripping tale of intrigue, music, history, and greed. If only I could find pleasure reaping through these papers, something really interesting, maybe it's coming, maybe I fell asleep and missed it, maybe, maybe after more than halfway through I should count this book as a loss, and find another book. So why has she presented us with this mishmash of meaningless (and sometimes downright boring) narrative? Unable to add item to Wish List. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 5, 2014. If the jewelry you receive doesn't meet your expectations it may be returned. This novel lacks everything that her Brunetti series has--warm, intelligent, interesting characters that the reader can care about, a good plot to follow, plenty of comments on Venice, Italy, and fabulous descriptionsof good food. For example, what careful researcher would be found eating chocolates in a library and not just once? This was the case for me with Donna Leon’s The Jewels of Paradise. The Jewels of Paradise - Ebook written by Donna Leon. There is a connection with a little known Italian composer whose works Cecilia Bartolli is making known. Fascinating. His papers are contained in two trunks which are being fought over by two cousins, both of whom are trying to lay claim to whatever "treasure" is in the trunks. It went no where throughout the whole book, only to have an amusing ending 5 minutes at the end of the story. Please try again. The history involved in explaining his life and the complicated court relationships, marital and extramarital, tended to make my eyes glaze over, but after much repetition the main plot sank into my brain. Hope their fans will stay with them even though the book is different? Like another reviewer I found this pretty - meh. I have great respect for Leon's gentle humor and despair at what is happening to Venice, and her ability to give me a sense of what is being lost when the rest of the world loves a place so much that it is in danger of becoming a mere Disneylike shell of what was loved. With The Jewels of Paradise, Leon takes readers beyond the world of the Venetian Questura in her first stand-alone novel. The Jewels of Paradise is as much a tale about a young woman wising up and learning to fight more effectively for her own happiness as it is a mystery-though the centuries-old secrets that those chests contain are also pretty compelling. We all have our reading bucket lists. . To me, the plots in the Brunetti series are very much secondary to the characters and to what I learn about Venice. Welcome back. It was the first novel I've read by this author and probably will be the last. Nor does the novel offer much of a discovery of Steffani's music other than in manuscript form. Anyway, the entire thing ends when Caterina sends her brother-in-law to confront the guy, at which point he cracks like an egg and confesses everything. As a Venetian novel, Donna Leon has already done better in the creation of atmosphere. With The Jewels of Paradise, Leon takes readers beyond the world of the Venetian Questura in her first standalone novel. "Commissario Brunetti is allowed to take a vacation once in a while, but only if his replacements are as wry and erudite as Caterina." Donna Leon is best known for her Inspector Brunetti series. I could see no solution to the problems until the last few pages, although I guessed that there was more to the Jewels of Paradise than I realised. Intelligent, astonishing, perfectly written. With The Jewels of Paradise, Leon takes readers beyond the world of the Venetian Questura in her first stand-alone novel. We’d love your help. It is not a book for action readers. Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like so many of them, she's had to leave home to pursue her career elsewhere, mostly abroad. The ending of the book--and by that I mean the final paragraph or two --struck me as completely unbelievable. My error, not checking before purchasing that this book didn't include my favorite Italian sleuth, Detective or in Italian, Commissario Brunetti mystery. From a masterful writer, The Jewels of Paradise is a superb novel, a gripping tale of intrigue, music, history, and greed. Under the direction of their teacher, Hyetti (Nancy Griffin) the Jewels of Paradise is a World Dance Troupe inspired by Romany folklore, dance, and costumes. I was disappointed by this novel. But, the plot plods along in a kind of overly predict table way. Disappointment! Ms Leon is clearly well-read and erudite - and perhaps she was reaching out to a different audience from those of us who've come to love the Brunetti books. From a masterful writer, The Jewels of Paradise is a superb novel, a gripping tale of intrigue, music, history, and greed. The only good thing is the setting Venice and the comments on the Italian way of life. With a doctorate in baroque opera from Vienna, she lands in Manchester, England. I feel as though I'm in a history class that I just have no interest. All I gleaned from this narrative was that Caterina, protagonist, had a huge appetite and was always distracted by her rumbling tummy! I admit I am not a mystery reader unless there is a psychological twist. Or closer to this tale- it's more of the case of a box within a box. Though I had not read a book by this author before, I can tell she knows how to write. —Maureen Corrigan. So I was pleased when recently I was checking the library database to determine if there is a new Brunetti novel when I spotted The Jewels of Paradise, a stand-alone published in 2012. 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