Death at La Fenice

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Donna Leon, born in New Jersey in 1942, has worked as a travel guide in Rome and as a copywriter in London. She taught literature in universities in Iran, China, and Saudi Arabia. Commissario Brunetti made her books world-famous. Donna Leon lived in Italy for many years, and although she now lives in Switzerland, she often visits Venice. The heady atmosphere of Venice and a galaxy of fully realized characters enrich this intriguing and finally horrifying tale, the fourth featuring Guido Brunetti, the stalwart and worldly Commissioner Continue reading » Rustin, Susanna. “Donna Leon: Why I became an Eco-Detective writer.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 Apr. 2017. Poggioli, Sylvia. “Donna Leon’s Venice: A Tale Of Two Cities.” NPR Books, National Public Radio, 20 Aug. 2007.

Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival. Commissario Guido Brunetti, out of a sense of guilt and at the urging of his compassionate wife, investigates the suspicious death of a disabled man, Davide Cavanella, in Leon’s intriguing 22nd Continue reading » Death at La Fenice (1992), the first novel by American academic and crime-writer Donna Leon, is the first of the internationally best-selling Commissario Brunetti mystery series, set in Venice, Italy. The novel won the Japanese Suntory prize, [1] and its sequel is Death in a Strange Country (1993). Over time, she has become deeply disillusioned by Italy's graft-ridden, dysfunctional political and economic systems. "Living here maddens me every day," she says.Growing up in New Jersey, Leon was the kind of conscientious kid who finished her homework before she went out to play (as an author, she delivers manuscripts on time or even early). But as she grew older, she realised she was completely devoid of ambition. "I just wanted to have fun." After finishing university, she accompanied an old schoolfriend to Italy and found an entire nation in tune with her philosophy. "I was just blown away by it," she says. "By the food, by the coffee, by the people. By how pretty the people were. They're the most beautiful people on the planet."

Leon's novels sell well in Switzerland, but she can go about her business undisturbed there. "Everyone is invisible in Switzerland," she has said. In Venice, she is regularly bailed up by people in the grip of Brunettimania, many of them from German-speaking countries ("The centre of the cult is Austria," she says). Venetians themselves leave her alone because, at her insistence, the books aren't published in Italian. Not that she minds much either way. She doesn't watch them – she has never owned a TV – and has no involvement in translating the novels to the screen. According to one of her friends, Toni Sepeda, Leon's attitude is cheerfully mercenary: "She goes, 'Here's the book, give me the money, thank you, goodbye.'"What a ripping first mystery, as beguiling and secretly sinister as Venice herself. Sparkling and irresistible.” –Rita Mae Brown A large part of the appeal of Leon's books lies in the fact that her principal characters are so charming, and lead such nice lives. Deftly plotted and smoothly written in the Ngaio Marsh cultural mode, but recommended even for readers who, like Brett Lynch, don't care for Verdi. Mid-morning, Brunetti might pop out for a glass of prosecco. At lunchtime, he goes home for a meal of, say, sea bass baked with fresh artichokes, lemon and rosemary. The family's apartment is at the top of five flights of stairs, with views over the Grand Canal from the terrace. Brunetti, who relaxes by reading Greek and Roman history, discovered after he and Paola bought the place that the previous owners had built it illegally, simply adding another floor to an existing building. The one blot on his happiness is the niggling fear that someone in the city administration will find out about it: "The bribes would be ruinous."