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…
How does one account for the sheer number of mysteries in which food, both for good and evil, features prominently? So prominently that it’s virtually a character itself—or at least a character witness. Perhaps it’s because food (the cooking of it, the eating of it, the sharing of it) offers so many lovely options for…
In the 29th novel in Donna Leon’s Comissario Guido Brunetti series, a dying woman’s last words spark an investigation that could threaten the entire population of Venice. It feels beyond surreal to be reviewing this novel. Not just because of how drastically our world has changed in just a matter of weeks but that this…
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…
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 was a great week for readers looking to get away! Steve Berry released the 12th installment of his Cotton Malone series,…
Crime and mystery fiction’s diversity attracts a broad readership. For instance, I prefer the soft stuff and am attracted to the puzzle rather than grizzly details, while many of my friends enjoy peeled skin and body parts. Knowing that, it seems immensely impertinent for me to try to compile a “best of” list on my…
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! Check back every Wednesday and see what we're reading for the week!
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,…
