Library Journal
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In his latest outing, Commissario Brunetti (after By Its Cover) investigates a stalking centered on the production of the well-known Puccini opera Tosca. Flavia Petrelli, the fabulous Italian soprano and murder suspect from Leon's first novel, Death at La Fenice, returns to the famed opera house. This time, Flavia is the victim of a stalker who showers her with abundant yellow roses and priceless jewels. Anyone who appears to befriend or protect Flavia becomes as well, with the soprano herself the intended final act. As in previous entries, Brunetti and company highlight excellent detective work in addition to providing clever but perceptive commentary on critical social issues, this time unionization and strikes. Brunetti devotees and avid readers will also savor the passages focusing on Brunetti's spouse, Paola, and her love of reading. Listen should be forewarned that this entry, which is narrated by the gifted David Colacci, ends somewhat abruptly. Verdict Recommend to Leon's fans as well as those who enjoy Louise Penny's Armand Gamache and the long-running Richard Jury series by Martha Grimes-different locales with great detectives. ["Another provocative addition to a fine series, certain to appeal to aficionados of profound literary mysteries": LJ 2/1/15 starred review of the Atlantic Monthly hc.]-Sandra C. Clariday, Tennessee Wesleyan Coll. Lib., Athens © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Starred Review. The ever-incredible Leon's 24th stunning entry in her stellar mysteries featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti brings the series full circle, revisiting Venice's Teatro La Fenice opera house and the famous soprano, Flavia Petrelli, featured in Death at La Fenice, the inaugural book. Once again, Flavia sings the title role in Puccini's Tosca, but at this point she is a seasoned, divorced diva with two children, enervated by the hard work of singing and cynical about the persistent drama surrounding the production. Moreover, she is being stalked by an unknown "admirer" whose disturbing attention is escalating toward violence. Once again, Brunetti intervenes, but Flavia's love for her children determines the outcome. VERDICT This is a dark novel with an ironic title that resonates on multiple levels. In particular, it explores the nature of love-and hate-in a manner that will haunt readers well after they have finished the book. Another provocative addition to a fine series, certain to appeal to aficionados of profound literary mysteries such as Louise Penny's How the Light Gets In. [See Prepub Alert, 10/27/14.]-Lynne Maxwell, West Virginia Univ. Coll. of Law Lib., Morgantown (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly
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In bestseller Leon's pleasurable 24th mystery to feature Commissario Guido Brunetti (after 2014's By Its Cover), Brunetti reunites with opera diva Flavia Petrelli, whom he exonerated of murder in his first outing, Death at La Fenice. Flavia, performing in a production of Tosca, confides that an unknown admirer has followed her from London to St. Petersburg to Venice, showering her with increasingly extravagant displays of yellow roses. As the fan intrudes into her personal space-placing flowers in her apartment building, leaving a priceless necklace in her dressing room, and writing possessive notes-Brunetti educates himself about stalking. When two people connected to Flavia are seriously injured, he realizes the singer herself is in danger. Leon's Venice is peopled with urbane, sophisticated characters, and she flavors the novel with insights into stagecraft, Tosca, and the storied La Fenice opera house. Series aficionados as well as those who appreciate elegant settings and cultured conversation should find this a deeply satisfying escape. Agent: Susanna Bauknecht, Diogenes Verlag (Switzerland). (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Commissario Guido Brunetti returns to La Fenice for another dramatic encounter with the diva Flavia Petrelli. In his first appearance (Death at La Fenice, 1992), Brunetti looked into the murder of an eminent conductor, proving that Flavia wasn't the killer. A few years later, in Aqua Alta (1996), he saved her female lover's life. Now Flavia's back in Venice, and trouble follows as surely as the pigeons flock to Piazza San Marco. Someone has been showering her with too many yellow roses at performances around Europe, and things get creepier when she finds flowers by the door of the apartment she's borrowing in her friendand former loverFreddy's palazzo, especially when Freddy tells her he hasn't let anyone into the building. Then a voice student Flavia had complimented at La Fenice is pushed down the steps of a bridge, and Freddy is attacked. Brunetti needs to find Flavia's stalker (a strange word the computer-phobic detective finds mostly on English-language websites when he deigns to give Google a whirl) before someone gets killed. There isn't much of a mystery here, but there are the usual pleasures of following Brunetti as he walks around the city he knows like the back of his hand; goes home for lunch with his bookish wife, Paola, and their two teenagers; has dinner with his wealthy and surprisingly sensible in-laws; outmaneuvers his dim boss, Vice-Questore Giuseppe Patta; and looks the other way while Patta's supercompetent secretary, Signorina Elettra, finds the information he needs in a possibly extra-legal manner. Leon begins each of her mysteries with an epigraph from an opera, and she obviously loves placing Brunetti backstage at La Fenice during a performance. Come for the Venetian atmosphere and backstage tour of the opera house, and don't worry too much about the crime. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* For many fans, the high points in Leon's beloved Guido Brunetti series have been the two novels featuring opera diva Flavia Perelli: Death at La Fenice (1992), the series opener, and Aqua Alta (1996). In both tales, Venetian police commissario Brunetti solves crimes that at first appear to implicate the diva. Now, finally, Flavia returns to Venice to star in Tosca at La Fenice, the city's historic opera house. This time, though, she is not a suspect in a crime but a potential victim. An obsessive fan is showering Flavia with inappropriate gifts gifts that carry with them the suggestion of menace. When a male singer whom Flavia supported is assaulted, it appears that the threat has become tangible. Brunetti is asked by Flavia for help, and he responds as he always does, by attempting to discern not only the facts but also the psychology behind them in this case, the process through which an obsessive fan becomes a potentially lethal stalker. As always, there is rich interplay between the characters Brunetti and his wife, Paola, of course, but also Flavia, now a close friend as well as a woman in need of protection. And, best of all, the reappearance of Flavia gives Leon the opportunity to display her deep love of music and to construct a marvelous climactic scene between Flavia and her fan that parallels the finale of Tosca. Brava! HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The Guido Brunetti novels have sold more than two million copies in North America, and the previous entry, By Its Cover, reached number seven on the New York Times best-seller list.--Ott, Bill Copyright 2015 Booklist