July 9th, 2024: A Refiner’s Fire
Donna Leon Stats: The highest rated book by Donna Leon on Book Notification is Wilful Behaviour, the 11th novel in the Guido Brunetti series. The second-highest rated book is So Shall You Reap (Guido Brunetti #32).
The most read book by Donna Leon on Book Notification is Death at La Fenice, the first novel in the Guido Brunetti series. The second most read book is Death in a Strange Country (Guido Brunetti #2).
Below is a complete list of Donna Leon books in publication and chronological order, broken down by series. The most popular series by Donna Leon is the Guido Brunetti Series.
Donna Leon was born on September 28th, 1942 and is currently 81 years old. Donna Leon was born in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
Donna Leon is the author of the Guido Brunetti series which currently consists of 33 novels. The Guido Brunetti series started in 1992 with the novel Death at La Fenice. The most recently released novel in the Guido Brunetti series was So Shall You Reap which was released in 2023. There is an upcoming novel for the Guido Brunetti series entitled A Refiner’s Fire which is being released on July 9th, 2024.
Donna Leon has also written the Non-Fiction series which has 5 books including Handel's Bestiary: In Search of Animals in Handel's Operas and Venetian Curiosities.
Leon's book, Friends in High Places won the Crime Writer's Association Award, Silver Dagger Award, in 2000.
Donna Leon books have also been nominated for multiple awards, Doctored Evidence was nominated for the Gumshoe Award, Best European Crime Novel, in 2005. Unto Us a Son Is Given was nominated for the Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award, in 2019.
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Donna’s Commissario Brunetti character is fantastic and his unique approach to solving crimes that he’s been assigned makes the books worth coming back to. He is a wonderful character and incredibly human, and Donna does a fantastic job of weaving Brunetti’s colleagues and his own family life, with the main plot through the whole story. As well as the political difficulties that Brunetti has to work around to learn the truth.
Each and every one of her books are worth checking out should you want to better understand the complexities in modern Italy as you still love the culture and the beauty.
There are few detective crime fiction authors that can pen stories so convincing, and vivid as Donna Leon. In the Commissario Brunetti series, she pens stories set in the background of a Venice so vivid one could almost smell it.
Another thing I loved about the series is that even if you are new to it, you could start from just anywhere and be up to speed with the lead, his coworkers and family in no time.
The novels of the Commissario Brunetti series are psychological dissertations, triptychs and character studies that Leon wraps around a compelling mystery.
I find that Leon is your ideal author if you are looking for a good mystery. Donna allows Brunetti to find comfort from the homely domestic rituals and the beauty of the city. It is from these that he draws the strength to push on when things get tough.
Donna Leon is one of the best mystery authors on my list. I like how he develops the plot and the main characters to keep the reader hooked to his stories. In Commissario Brunetti, the author does an excellent job of describing Venice city. Brunette is an exciting and fantastic character, unlike most of the detectives in mystery stories The Jewels of Paradise is an exciting mystery story about an inheritance left behind by a Baroque musician. His inheritance papers are in two trunks that have brought the war between two cousins. I liked the story’s theme; respect for life versus greed which motivated me to finish the book. The book has a very amazing character to make the story even more fascinating. I loved the Commissario Brunetti Tv series starring Joachim Król and Uwe Kockisch.
In ‘Death at La Fenice,’ the synopsis described Venice as a ‘Serenely beautiful floating city of mystery and magic, history and decay.’ That was it for me. This was the sentence that made me a Donna Leon fanatic.
Look at that sentence, the way it evokes Venice’s culture, history, and architecture in the fewest words possible. Donna is a genius. Even if the mysteries were poorly plotted, I would still read the Commissario Brunetti series because I can’t get enough of the setting.
Brunetti is just as appealing. I would happily read a 500-page novel chronicling his daily life. Don’t get me wrong. The mysteries are executed masterfully. But to me, the setting and characters are the primary attractions.
I have read every Donna Leon and enjoyed every single trip to Venice. I went Venice once and wandered around recognizing featured locations. Now I have pictures in my mind which help but Leon’s style of description – pleasurably wordy but to the point – paint a good picture too. I found it hard to believe she was not born in Venice, much less Italian. I like it that the characters age as time passes.
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