Beastly Things

 

Beastly Things by Donna Leon  372 pp.

And another Venetian mystery featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti: This time the body of a man is pulled from one of the canals. He was not drowned but stabbed and robbery doesn't appear to be the motive. It's not too difficult for Brunetti to learn the identity of the man, a veterinarian with a private practice and a part-time job as an animal inspector in a slaughterhouse. Aside from the affair that broke up his marriage, there is nothing in the victim's life that would point to him as a target for murder. Brunetti's investigation provokes another round of head butting with his superior, Vice-Questore Patta, whose main function in life seems to be protecting his status in Venice by keeping the old money aristocrats of Venice from any scandal. The whole mystery hinges on money and a ruthless murderer who seemingly can't get enough. This is one of the better books in the series. The funeral for the veterinarian is charming. 

Animals Make Us Human

Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals by Temple Grandin  352 pp.

Dr. Grandin has made the study of animal behavior her life's work. This book is mainly a discussion on the unique behavior's of different species including domestic dogs and cats as well as farm animals. She also delineates problems in the meat, poultry, and egg industry and delineates ways in which the animals can and should be treated humanely up to and including the slaughtering process. Many of these improvements in animal handling are actually more cost effective than what is being done now. Most of the time just retraining the handlers is all that's necessary. Much of her understanding of animal behavior has been learned from her own close observation of animals and relates them to her own thought processes as an autistic person. She also bemoans the fact that much of the study in animal behavior is now done strictly through computer modeling rather than observation in the field when ideally, both methods should be used. This is an interesting and informative book, now if only all the animal producers would listen to her.