Search results for ""Author Donna Leon""

‘As the author reaches her 9th decade [this makes] for a fascinating insight into her life and world, albeit with discretion and leaving tantalising hints at what lies beyond. One for the fans (and friends).’ Crime Time'Leon's elegant, witty prose . . . is a joy. One of the best European novelists around' Amanda CraigIn a series of vignettes full of affection, irony, and good humor, Donna Leon narrates a remarkable life she feels has rather more happened to her than been planned.From a childhood in the company of her New Jersey family, with frequent visits to her grandfather's farm and its beloved animals and summers spent selling homegrown tomatoes by the roadside, Leon has long been open to adventure. In 1976, she made the spontaneous decision to teach English in Iran, before finding herself swept up in the early days of the 1979 Revolution. After teaching stints in China and Saudi Arabia, she finally landed in Venice. Leon vividly animates her decades-long love affair with Italy, from her first magical dinner when serving as a "chaperone" to a friend, to the hunt for the perfect cappuccino, to the warfare tactics of grandmothers doing their grocery shopping at the Rialto Market. Some things remain constant throughout the decades: her adoration of opera, especially Handel's vocal music, her advocacy for the environment, embodied in her passion for bees - which informs the surprising crux of the Brunetti mystery in Earthly Remains - and her eager imagination for crime as she watches unsuspecting travelers on trains. Yet as Leon inspects the cracks in the wall of a friend's bedroom, caused by the seven-story cruise ships making their way down Venice's canals, she admits regretfully that the thrill may be gone as mass tourism renders the city less and less appealing to its longtime chronicler.Having recently celebrated her eightieth birthday, Leon now confronts the dual challenges and pleasures of aging. Complete with a brief letter dissuading those hoping to meet Guido Brunetti at the Questura, and always suffused with music, food, and her fierce sense of humor, Wandering Through Life offers Donna Leon at her most personal.'Few detective writers create so vivid, inclusive and convincing a narrative as Donna Leon, the expatriate American with the Venetian heart' Washington Post

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

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'Donna Leon goes from strength to strength ... This is her tenth novel but it's as fresh and entertaining as the first' ObserverWhen 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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'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 TimesWinner of the Crime Writers Association Macallan Silver Dagger Award for FictionCommissario 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

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'Leon is a superb novelist . . .You can feel the tension, fear, horror - and wonder' The Times'They killed him. It was bad money.' A dying hospice patient gasps these cryptic words about her recently-deceased husband, who lost his life in a motorcycle accident. But what appears to be a private family tragedy turns into a bigger enigma when Brunetti discover the victim's ties to Venice's water supply. With the help of a Questura secretery, Elettra Sorzi, Brunetti will unveil the secret that lies behind the dying woman's accusation - one that threatens the health of the entire region.

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Venecia: ciudad de riqueza y de codicia. Gonzalo Rodríguez de Tejeda, originario de España, ha hecho una fortuna como comerciante de arte. Ya retirado, goza de una vida tranquila en Venecia en compañía de su joven amante, al que ha decidido nombrar su heredero. Pero su familia y sus amigos más cercanos creen que está cometiendo un error. Quién es su heredero elegido? El comisario Brunetti deberá investigar en lo más profundo del corazón humano.

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'Donna Leon's deft and descriptive words do for Venice what Canaletto did for this serenest of cities with his brushes and paint palette and bring it to life in all its reach and colourful gaiety...[An] intriguing tense thriller. The ending is to die for.' Daily ExpressA New York Times BestsellerA National Indie Bestseller__________________________________In Death at La Fenice, Donna Leon's first novel in the Commissario Brunetti series, readers were introduced to the glamorous and cut-throat world of opera and to one of Italy's finest living sopranos, Flavia Petrelli - then a suspect in the poisoning of a renowned German conductor. Now, many years after Brunetti cleared her name, Flavia has returned to the illustrious La Fenice to sing the lead in Tosca.As an opera superstar, Flavia is well acquainted with attention from adoring fans and aspiring singers. But when one anonymous admirer inundates her with bouquets of yellow roses - on stage, in her dressing room and even inside her locked apartment - it becomes clear that this fan has become a potentially dangerous stalker. Distraught, Flavia turns to an old friend for help. Familiar with Flavia's melodramatic temperament, Commissario Brunetti is at first unperturbed by her story, but when another young opera singer is attacked he begins to think Flavia's fears may be justified. In order to keep his friend out of danger, Brunetti must enter the psyche of an obsessive fan and find the culprit before anyone comes to harm.

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'There is no one better than Donna Leon at showing the ripple effects of a single traumatic event . . . Leon has recast the city in her own venerable image: full of surprises and hidden beauty.' Evening StandardFifteen years ago the teenage granddaughter of the grand Contessa Lando-Continui was rescued at the last moment from drowning in the canals. But young Manuela's life was never the same again. Now aged thirty, she lives trapped in an eternal youth.The Contessa, certain that this was no accident, implores Brunetti to find the culprit she believes ruined Manuela's life.But once Brunetti starts to investigate, he finds a murky past and a dark story at its heart . . .'Brilliantly done, with a sense of place rarely matched in any fiction' The Times'A sparkling summer read.' The Tablet

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'The book is written with that depth of thought about crime and humanity that characterises the best of Leon's work.' Jane Jakeman, IndependentMaclean's Magazine (Canada) National Bestseller__________________________________When a body is found floating in a canal, strangely disfigured and with multiple stab wounds, Commissario Brunetti is called to investigate and is convinced he recognises the man from somewhere. However, with no identification except for the distinctive shoes the man was wearing, and no reports of people missing from the Venice area, the case cannot progress.Brunetti soon realises why he remembers the dead man, and asks Signorina Elettra if she can help him find footage of a farmers' protest the previous autumn. But what was his involvement with the protest, and what does it have to do with his murder? Acting on the fragile lead, Brunetti and Ispettore Vianello set out to uncover the man's identity. Their investigation eventually takes them to a slaughterhouse on the mainland, where they discover the origin of the crime, and the world of blackmail and corruption that surrounds it. Both a gripping case and a harrowing exploration of the dark side of Italy's meat industry, Donna Leon's latest novel is a compelling addition to the Brunetti series.

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'[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 MailWhen 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?

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On a cold night shortly before Christmas, an immigrant street vendor is killed in Venice's Campo Santo Stefano. The nearest witnesses to the event are the tourists who had been browsing the man's wares before his death - fake handbags of every designer label - but they have seen nothing that might be of much help to the police.When Commissario Brunetti arrives on the scene, he finds it hard to understand why anyone would murder an illegal immigrant. They have few social connections and little money; in-fighting among them is the obvious answer. But once Brunetti begins investigating this unfamiliar Venetian underworld, he discovers that matters of great value are at stake in the immigrant community...

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'Crime writing of the highest order' GUARDIAN'Donna Leon has been giving unto us for all of the thirty years since Death at La Fenice introduced us to Brunetti' Val McDermidThe gifted Venetian detective returns in his 31st case - this time, investigating the Janus-faced nature of yet another Italian institution. Brunetti will have to once again face the blurred line that runs between the criminal and the non-criminal, bending police rules, and his own character, to help an acquaintance in danger.'Both tremendously enjoyable and deeply humane' JESSIE GREENGRASS, Costa-shortlisted author of The High House'Leon's elegant, witty prose . . . is a joy' AMANDA CRAIG

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'The multiple award-winning Leon has lost none of her talent for weaving intrigue, and the atmosphere of Venice is as beguiling as ever.' Living NorthA Washington Post BestsellerA New York Times BestsellerA Seattle Times Best Mystery and Crime Novel of 2014__________________________________By Its Cover is the much anticipated twenty-third instalment in Donna Leon's bestselling crime series, where Commissario Brunetti is better than ever as he addresses questions of worth and value alongside his ever-faithful team of Ispettore Vianello and Signorina Elettra.When several valuable antiquarian books go missing from a prestigious library in the heart of Venice, Commissario Brunetti is immediately called to the scene. The staff suspect an American researcher has stolen them, but for Brunetti something doesn't quite add up.Taking on the case, the Commissario begins to seek information about some of the library's regulars, such as the ex-priest Franchini, a passionate reader of ancient Christian literature, and Contessa Morosini-Albani, the library's chief donor, and comes to the conclusion that the thief could not have acted alone.However, when Franchini is found murdered in his home, the case takes a more sinister turn and soon Brunetti finds himself submerged in the dark secrets of the black market of antiquarian books. Alongside his ever-faithful team of Ispettore Vianello and Signorina Elettra, he delves into the pages of Franchini's past and into the mind of a book thief in order to uncover the terrible truth.

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'The familiar characters and Venetian location are described with remarkable freshness and, as always, the edifying result is both amusing and thought-provoking.' Sunday TelegraphA New York Times Bestseller__________________________________Celebrated by The Times as one of the 50 Greatest Crime Writers, Donna Leon brings Venice to life in the twenty-second Brunetti novel of this bestselling series, where our detective must uncover the mystery surrounding a mute man's murder.When making routine enquiries into a possible bribery case that could embarrass the mayor - a humiliation Vice-Questore Patta is very keen to avoid - Commissario Brunetti receives a call from his wife, Paola, who is evidently very upset. The middle-aged deaf mute with the mental age of a child who helped out at the Brunetti's dry cleaners has been found dead - an 'accidental' overdose of his mother's sleeping pills - and Paola is distraught by the news. To the neighbourhood he was just the 'boy' who helped out, but nobody knew much about him - not even his name. That a soul could have lived such a joyless life is too much for Paola to bear, and she asks Guido if he can find out what happened. It is a surprise to Brunetti just how little was known about this man-child - there are no official records to show he even existed. The man's mother is angry and contradictory when questioned about his death, and Brunetti senses that there much more to the story than she is willing to tell. With the help of Inspector Vianello and the ever-resourceful Signorina Elettra, perhaps Brunetti can get to the truth and find some measure of solace.

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[Leon's] portrait of Venice and modern Italy is, as always, captivating...The lively conversations between...characters, displaying Leon's sly humour, are a delight. Evening StandardA Kirkus Reviews Best Mystery 2011A Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Bestseller__________________________________A young woman returns from holiday to find her elderly neighbour dead on the floor. A heart attack seems the likely cause, but Commissario Brunetti is not so sure and decides to take a closer look. Soon he discovers that she was part of an organization that cares for abused women and that her apartment was a safe-house. Convinced that this is the lead he has been looking for, Brunetti begins his search for answers. But as he sets out to discover the truth behind her death, he is drawn into a decades-old story of lies and deceit that has blighted love and ruined lives - and has claimed this innocent woman as its newest victim. Brunetti's investigation takes him deep into the dark heart of his beloved Venice.

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

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