In the thirtieth installment of Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti series, Brunetti is pushed to his limits as he is forced to confront an unimaginable crime. There must be something said for longevity. In this case, I refer to the latest release by author Donna Leon title Transient Desires, which is now the 30th installment…
Unto Us a Son Is Given is the twenty-eighth novel in Donna Leon’s best-selling mystery series. The apparent indiscretion of an elderly family friend involves a reluctant Commissario Guido Brunetti . . . until the sudden natural death of his friend sets in motion a murder. Each Donna Leon novel I read is a gift.…
Every Wednesday, we here at Criminal Element will put together a list of Staff Picks of the books that published the day before—sharing the ones that we are looking forward to reading the most! This week, Steve Berry's latest Cotton Malone thriller combines with the final completed Mickey Spillane novel to highlight a killer week…
The Temptation of Forgiveness by Donna Leon is the 27th novel in the bestselling Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series, where a suspicious accident leads Brunetti to uncover a longstanding scam with disturbing unintended consequences (available March 20, 2018). In this 27th installment of the Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series, our hero—a detective in the state…
Falling in Love by Donna Leon is the 24th mystery in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series set in Venice (available April 7, 2015). The mystery in Falling in Love, the 24th in Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti series, is centered on diva soprano Flavia Petrelli, last seen in 1996’s Acqua Alta, and before that in…
By Its Cover by Donna Leon is the 23rd Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery about the Venetian police chief, whose current investigation starts with stolen pages from old books and ends in murder (available April 1, 2014). Ah, I remember it well. Searching the dusty shelves of the library in the basement of the gothic building,…
The Golden Egg by Donna Leon is the 22nd Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery set in Venice (available March 26, 2013). My neighborhood’s long time crossing guard (whose name I don’t know) recently asked me if I knew what had happened to Helen, my neighbor of nine years; our houses are attached. I don’t know Helen’s…
The Jewels of Paradise by Donna Leon is a stand-alone traditional mystery (available October 2, 2012). Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like so many of them, she’s had to leave home to pursue her career. With a doctorate in baroque opera from Vienna, she lands in Manchester, England. Manchester, however, is no Venice.…
Beastly Things by Donna Leon is a Commissario Guido Brunetti of Venice mystery (available April 3, 2012). In Beastly Things, Donna Leon’s detective Guido Brunetti, Commissario di Polizia of the city of Venice, manages to retain his romantic side despite the intrigues, deceptions, and lies of the government because he feels fortunate to live amidst…
