A Commissario Brunetti Mystery

'Leon...has once again, apparently effortlessly, produced a wholly absorbing read.' Sunday Telegraph

It is a luminous spring day in Venice, as Commissario Brunetti and Inspettore Vianello take a break from the Questura to come to the rescue of Vianello's friend Marco Ribetti, who has been arrested while protesting against chemical pollution of the Venetian lagoon, only to be faced by the fury of Marco's father-in-law, owner of a glass factory on the island of Murano.

But it is not Marco who has uncovered the guilty secret of the polluting glass foundries of the island of Murano, nor he whose body is found dead in front of the furnaces which burn at 1400 degrees, night and day. The victim has left clues in a copy of Dante and Brunetti must descend into an inferno to discover who is burning the land and fouling the waters of the lagoon...

'As usual, Leon's witty portrayal of modern Venetian life, and Brunetti's model marriage, are as entertaining as the working out of the whodunnit. A joy from start to finish.' Evening Standard


'A smart and stylish, fast-paced case of intrigue and corruption, written with wit, affection and authority. . . . Impressive.' Los Angeles Times

'Complex and thought-provoking and lingers in the mind' Sunday Times

Neither Commissario Brunetti nor his wife Paola have ever had much sympathy for the Italian armed forces, so when a young cadet is found hanged, at Venice's elite military academy, Brunetti's emotions are complex: pity and sorrow at the death of a boy close in age to his own son, and contempt and irritation for the arrogance and high-handedness of the boy's teachers and fellow students.

The young man is the son of an ex-politician, a man of an impeccable integrity all too rare in Italian politics. But as Brunetti - and the indispensable Signorina Elettra - investigate further, no one seems willing to talk. Is this the natural reluctance of Italians to involve themselves with the authorities, or is Brunetti facing a conspiracy of silence?

'Silken prose and considerable charm . . . an unlovely story set in the loveliest of cities' Washington Post

'[Leon] has a wonderful feeling for the social complexities of Venice, where corruption is as old and deep and treacherous as the canals ... Like all the best detective fiction, Doctored Evidence not only solves a mystery, but also anatomises the setting in which the crime occurred' Daily Mail

When a wealthy Venetian woman is found brutally murdered, the prime suspect is her Romanian maid, who dies in a tragic accident while fleeing the city, carrying a considerable sum of money and forged papers. When the old woman's neighbour returns from abroad, confessing to have given the maid the money out of pity, questions begin to arise, and Commissario Brunetti decides to take the case on himself. But what could have been the true motive for the murder in such nebulous circumstances if not greed? Or is Brunetti thinking of the wrong sin altogether?

'Leon tells the story as if she loves Venice as much as her detective does, warts and all. The plot and subplots unfold elegantly; beauty and the beast march hand in hand, and the result is rich entertainment' Sunday Times

Winner of the Crime Writers Association Macallan Silver Dagger Award for Fiction

Commissario Guido Brunetti gets into trouble when Franco Rossi, a young bureaucrat, pays him a visit. Rossi is there to determine whether Brunetti's apartment was built with official approval, and when Brunetti is unable to provide any documentation, he faces the prospect of both fines and the dismantling of his home. But when Rossi rings Brunetti at work, clearly scared, and is then found dead, Brunetti is drawn into an investigation that unveils a world of corruption, drug dealing and moneylenders.

'All Donna Leon's novels are excellent in their evocation of place, while in Brunetti she has created a character who becomes more real in each book' Evening Standard

'Donna Leon goes from strength to strength ... This is her tenth novel but it's as fresh and entertaining as the first' Observer

When two clam fishermen are murdered on the island of Pellestrina, Commissario Brunetti is called to investigate. He has his work cut out for him - the people of Pellestrina are tight-knit, bound together by a code of loyalty and suspicious of outsiders. To break through, he enlists the help of his boss' secretary Signorina Elettra, who visits the island as an undercover agent. Soon, Brunetti finds himself torn between his duty to solve the murders, concern for Elettra's safety, and his not entirely straightforward feelings for her . . .

'A splendid series . . . with a backdrop so vivid you can smell it' Sunday Telegraph

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'A perfect blend of characters, place, mystery and social issues. [Leon’s] sixteenth Brunetti novel is also one of her best.' The Times

‘Leon builds her plot meticulously. [She] has her finger on the pulse.’ The Mirror

When Commissario Brunetti is summoned to the hospital to interview a senior paediatrician whose skull has been brutally fractured, he is confronted with more questions than answers. Three men burst into the doctor's apartment in the middle of the night, attacked him and took his young son – but why?

As Brunetti investigates, he quickly discovers that the kidnapping was not a one-off, but part of a multi-city raid targeting numerous families. It seems that small-town malice seethes beneath the surface of the beautiful city of Venice, and Brunetti must work together with Ispettore Vianelli – himself investigating a money-making scam between pharmacists and doctors – to uncover the truth. . .

‘As ever, Leon writes with an insider's knowledge of Venice, expertly navigating its complex geography.’ Sunday Times

'A classic example of detective-book murder . . . Leon whips up a brilliant narrative storm' Sunday Times

When Commissario Brunetti receives a visit from one of his wife's students with a strange and vague interest in investigating the possibility of a pardon for a crime committed by her grandfather many years ago, he thinks little of it, despite being intrigued by the girl's intelligence and moral conscience. But when the girl is found stabbed to death, Claudia Leonardo is no longer Paola's student, but instead becomes Brunetti's case.

Claudia seems to have no discernible living family, but lived with an elderly Austrian woman. When she in turn is found dead, the case begins to unlock long buried secrets of collaboration during the war, secrets few in Italy are happy to explore . . .

'Wholly engrossing' Evening Standard

'Leon's books are a joy, and the 19th Venice-based Commissario Brunetti novel is well up to her consistently high standard.' Guardian

As Venice experiences a debilitating heatwave, Commissario Brunetti escapes the city to spend time with his family. For Ispettore Vianello, however, the weather is the last thing on his mind. It appears his aunt has become obsessed with horoscopes and has been withdrawing large amounts of money from the family business. Not knowing what to do, he consults Brunetti and asks permission to trail her.

Meanwhile, Brunetti receives a visit from a friend who works at the Commune. It seems that discrepancies have been occurring at the Courthouse involving a judge and an usher with a flawless track record. Intrigued, Brunetti asks Signorina Elettra to find out what she can while he's away.

When news reaches Brunetti that the usher from the Courthouse has been viciously murdered, he returns to investigate. But why would someone want a good man dead, and what might his death have to do with the Courthouse discrepancies?

‘Super sleuth Brunetti again patrols Venice's dark canal ways in this Italian crimefest. Once again, Brunetti proves he's more than a match for the local mob’ Mirror

‘Elegant, effortless . . . another great Brunetti outing' The Independent

When Commissario Brunetti is visited by an investigator from the Carabinieri looking into the murder of a truck company owner, he is intrigued. Not long before his death, Stefano Ranzato had been caught hauling goods illegally for the Mafia, and was pressured into becoming an informant. The Carabinieri suspect that the Mafia killed Stefano to ensure his silence, but what did the man discover that cost him his life?

The stakes are high and the investigation complex as Brunetti is drawn into working with a rival Italian police department – and when another person connected to the case is murdered, Brunetti must race against time to uncover the truth before it happens again.

‘[A] brilliant series’ Sunday Telegraph

‘The seventeenth title in an excellent, unflagging series . . . The Girl of His Dreams marks an evolution, even a quiet revolution, in Leon's storytelling.’ Times Literary Supplement

'In The Girl of His Dreams, Donna Leon is writing at her fluent best.' The Independent

A priest recently returned from years of missionary work has made a personal request of Commissario Guido Brunetti—but the police detective suspects the man’s motives. A new, American-style Protestant sect has begun to meet in Venice, and it’s possible the priest is merely apprehensive of the competition. But the preacher could also be fleecing his growing flock, so Brunetti and Inspector Vianello, along with their wives, decide to go undercover. In the midst of the investigation, though, the body of a Gypsy child washes up in a canal—and Brunetti finds himself haunted by both the crime and the girl . . .

‘An artful examination of family ties as well as a clear-eyed survey of the pros and cons of political correctness’ Evening Standard

'Leon is a skilful plotter . . . Brunetti is a nicely shaded creation, a moral man who is also all too human' The Observer

A sudden act of vandalism has been committed in the chill Venetian dawn and Commissario Guido Brunetti soon finds out that the perpetrator is no petty criminal. For the culprit waiting to be apprehended at the scene of the crime is none other than Paola Brunetti, his wife.

As Paola's actions provoke a crisis in the Brunetti household, Brunetti himself is under increasing pressure at work: a daring robbery with Mafia connections is linked to a suspicious death and his superiors want quick results. As his professional and personal lives clash, Brunetti's own career is threatened and the conspiracy which Paola has risked everything to expose draws him inexorably to the brink . . .

'Donna Leon has established Commissario Guido Brunetti as one of the most engaging of fictional detectives' Sunday Times