We find ourselves in the apartment of Donna Leon. She observes her neighbours, not only through the window, but also straight through the walls; mostly, however, she exchanges views with them directly. In this way, she is not only initiated into the secrets of the Italian kitchen and into their family life, but is also a witness of many Italian shortcomings, which she combats as if she were Commissario Brunetti in person.

Donna Leon has led an adventurous life, and with her tell-tale knack for observation, she turns her experiences in America, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Italy (of course) and Switzerland into a captivating read. She takes us on a journey around the world, from growing up on a farm, to curfew pajama parties in Iran, financial straits, and a Fiat 600. And we join Donna as she arrives in Italy as a chaperone, as she hunts for the perfect cappuccino, and as she encounters small marvels in the mountains.

»There is no worse crime than not having loved.«
Donna Leon

Donna Leon's interest not only in criminal injustice, but also in the pleasures of life, was already apparent in her Brunetti novels. The stories collected here are not only about fine dining, but also her passion for books and the opera and recuperation in the mountains. As an American woman in Venice, Donna Leon does not write merely of bella Italia, but also about machos and the mafia. From Venice, she looks out on America, Iran and Saudi Arabia. In her direct fashion, Donna Leon takes aim at the unexpected: Why is it undesirable to become the American special consul? How to find a husband for her best friend in New York? What do crime ladies such as Barbara Vine and Donna Leon speak about when they dine together? And why is it easier to cry when reading a novel than in real life? On the subject of novels, how does one write a crime story? And what do moles do at half past eight on a Sunday morning?

A luminous spring day in Venice, and Commissario Brunetti and Ispettore Vianello take a break from the Questura to come to the rescue of Vianello's friend Marco, who has been arrested while protesting against chemical pollution of the Venetian lagoon. They suceed in securing Marco's release uncharged, only to be faced by the fury of his father-in-law, owner of a glass factory on the island of Murano. The old man is seething with rage at his son-in-law, and his daughter shares with Brunetti her fear that he will actually harm her husband. But it is not Marco who has uncovered the guilty secret of the glass foundries, nor his body that is found dead in front of the furnaces which burn at 1400 degrees, night and day. The victim has left clues in a copy of Dante, and Brunetti must descend into an inferno to discover who is burning the island and fouling the waters of the laguna. A man is dead – but will politics and expedience protect the killer from the law?

›I'm no musician,‹ says Donna Leon. ›I can't read music. I know nothing about musical theory. I'm a follower, a groupie, call me what you will: I am a heart with a pair of ears stuck on, one that for over ten years has been listening almost exclusively to music by Handel.‹ While listening, it struck Donna Leon that Handel's music is teeming with animals, that he again and again gives voice to animals through his notation. What is Handel's intention when a snake hisses through an aria or when armies of frogs penetrate the King's chambers? Donna Leon investigates. She tells us how animals have informed the imagination, beliefs and superstitions since year dot. Handel's Bestiary reveals a different side to Donna Leon: she is not only an appreciator of music, but also an expert in the symbolism of medieval bestiaries. Michael Sowa has also taken inspiration from those animals to create these marvellous images.
The arias on the attached CD are performed by the Handel expert Alan Curtis and his orchestra, Il Complesso Barocco. Divertimento fantastico!

»In the hands of great authors, characters are like real people, merely realer«, Donna Leon once said. Perhaps this is why her life is so rich in characters and people accompanying her, both real and fictional.

Backstage presents a colorful troupe: the rock genius Frank Zappa, Veniceʼs most famous diamond dealer, a courageous sex worker and womenʼs rights activist, a clever composer, tragic heroes and admired colleagues. In the hands of Donna Leon, these encounters turn into sparkling jewels. A treasure trove of delightful discoveries.

The updated edition on the occasion of Brunetti’s 30th case.

In Brunetti’s footsteps: 13 literary walks through 30 criminal cases.

Calli, campi and cafes: throughout all these years, the Commissario has not just remained loyal to his family, but also to his favourite corners of the city. Toni Sepeda has meticulously traced Brunetti's whereabouts in the alleys of Venice, compiling what takes place around the Questura, in San Polo or at the Ospedale Civile. She allows readers to discover Brunetti's Venice on location or at home.

When a bloated corpse is found in the canal one early morning, an elegant leather shoe is the only clue Commissario Guido Brunetti has. That and his own memory: Even though the dead man's eyes are closed, the Commissario is convinced he knows their colour from somewhere. But from where? The dead man has a bull neck, a medical condition reportedly caused by a rare illness. But despite his gruesome appearance, he had a gentle soul, as Brunetti and Vianello discover in the course of their investigations. A case that leads them into the bowels of Venice, to Mestre. Family life, strolls and regular visits to the local bars and cafes – Brunetti needs all of this more than ever, while he is solving this upsetting case.

Late one night, Brunetti is called away from dinner to investigate the death of a widow in her modest apartment. Though there are some signs of a struggle, the medical examiner rules that she died of a heart attack. It seems there is nothing for Brunetti to investigate. But he can not shake the feeling that something or someone may have triggered her heart attack, that perhaps the woman was threatened. Conversations with the woman's son, her upstairs neighbour, and the nun in charge of the old-age home where she volunteered, do little to satisfy Brunetti's nagging curiosity. With the help of Inspector Vianello and the ever-resourceful Signorina Elettra, perhaps Brunetti can get to the truth and find some measure of justice. Insightful and emotionally powerful, Drawing Conclusions reaffirms Donna Leon's status as one of the masters of literary crime fiction.

As Venice braces for a winter tempest, Commissario Guido Brunetti, Donna Leon's intrepid Italian sleuth, finds out that an old friend has been savagely beaten at the palazzo home of reigning diva Flavia Petreli. Then, as the flood waters rise, a corpse is discovered - and Brunetti must wade through the chaotic city to solve his deadliest case yet.
Sinister and exotic, Acqua Alta is another chilling addition to Donna Leon's bestselling series.

Fifteen years ago, a teenage girl fell into a canal late at night. Unable to swim, she went under and started to drown. She survived thanks to a nearby man, an alcoholic, who pulled her out, though not before she suffered irreparable brain damage that left her unable to learn or mature. The lush claimed he saw her thrown into the canal by another man, but the following day he could not remember a thing. Now, at a fundraising dinner for a Venetian charity, a wealthy and aristocratic patroness – the girl’s grandmother – asks Brunetti if he will investigate. Brunetti is not sure what to do. If a crime was committed, it would surely have passed the statute of limitations. But out of a mixture of curiosity, pity, and a willingness to fulfill the wishes of a guilt-wracked older woman, who happens to be his mother-in-law’s best friend, he agrees. Brunetti soon finds himself unable to let the case rest, if indeed there is a case. Awash in the rhythms and concerns of contemporary Venetian life, from historical preservation, to housing, to new waves of African migrants, and the haunting story of a woman trapped in a perpetual childhood, The Waters of Eternal Youth is another wonderful addition to this series.

Who makes telephone calls to Eastern Europe, Ecuador and Thailand from a bar in the industrial suburb of Mestre on the outskirts of Venice? And why do some of the numbers he dialled appear without names in the address books of two men who die within a week of each other? Questions which would never have been asked if eight Romanian women who were being smuggled into Italy had not been killed. Shortly afterwards, the body of a lawyer who moved in influential circles of bankers and industrialists was found. Accident after accident, and with no apparent connection. But Commissario Brunetti's circle of connections stand him in good stead. His daughter Chiara, and the secretary of Brunetti's boss are only too glad to help Brunetti when it is a matter of tracking down shady characters and putting a stop to the perpetrators of crimes against innocent victims. Death and Judgment is both vivid and sensitive, endowed with an unparalleled humanity and warmth.

Brunetti has always regarded abduction as the most horrible of crimes, not only because he has two children of his own, but also because he is scandalised by the thought that a life may depend on an arbitrary ransom, a life which may be simply extinguished if the price is not paid. In a small village at the foot of the Italian Dolomites the gardens of a deserted farmhouse have lain untouched for decades. But the new owner, keen for renovations to begin, is summoned urgently to the house when his workmen disturb a macabre grave. The coat-of-arms on the dead man's ring leads to a rich and influential Venetian family, whose only son has been missing for some time. The father was only too willing to pay the ransom when his son was abducted, but the kidnappers had disappeared into thin air. Is there more behind it than just another kidnapping? Brunetti gets out the files and digs deeper than the body was buried. The motives of the action are not always as noble as the lineage the characters are descended from. And things are not always as idyllic as they are in the Brunetti family.

In ›Venetian Curiosities‹ Donna Leon tells amazing tales from the Venetian past, whilst ›Il Complesso Barocco‹ offers virtuosities by Antonio Vivaldi on the CD which accompanies this book. Venice is unique. And so is its history. But what is most remarkable are the stories that the inhabitants tell each other about what happened in the past. Donna Leon has picked up the most intriguing customs and events recounting anecdotes that might or might not be true, and thus the Serenissima is seen from an astonishing side. An elephant seeks refuge in the church of S. Antonin, courtesans are supposed to convert men to proper heterosexual behaviour, gamblers bet their palazzos, people are convicted though they prove to be innocent – Venice is full of curious and odd episodes. These stories are of as rich a diversity as the music of Antonio Vivaldi: The CD presents seven solo concerts: Violin, cello, oboe and bassoon, viola, violone and harpsichord, they all play their part. ›Il Complesso Barocco‹, founded in 1979 by Alan Curtis, is an international ensemble dedicated to Baroque music on original instruments. It has played a fundamental role in the modern revival of Baroque operas, especially those of Monteverdi, Vivaldi and Handel. ›Il Complesso Barocco‹ received the ›Antonio Vivaldi International Recording Prize‹ in 1997 as best production in the vocal section. For their Handel recordings they were awarded the ›Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik‹ in 2003 as well as, on several occasions, the international ›Handel Recording Prize‹.

The murder of two clam fishermen off the island of Pellestrina south of the Lido on the Venetian lagoon, draws Commissario Brunetti into the island's close-knit community, bound together by a code of loyalty and a suspicion of outsiders worthy of the Mafia. When the Questore's secretary Signorina Elettra volunteers to visit the island, where she has relatives, Brunetti finds himself torn between his duty to solve the murders, concerns for Elettra's safety, and his not entirely straightforward feelings for her…