Dressed for Death // The Anonymous Venetian — Donna Leon

A BODY IN THE BANK EARNS A DIFFERENT KIND OF INTEREST

Respectable Venetians hardly notice the murder of a transvestite prostitute until the body is identified as the staid director of the Banca di Verona. While tongues wag over the scandal, only Guido Brunetti, the suave and sharp-eyed commissario of police, suspects foul play.

When Brunetti discovers a link between the banker and the city's most renowned institutions, the discerning detective is in hot pursuit--through tawdry underworld alleys, down sparkling thoroughfares, and straight into the unwelcome homes of Venice's most powerful citizens. En route, two more murders hound his every step, and Brunetti discovers that he must pursue his hunches with caution to avoid becoming just another corpse in a canal.