Characters get interesting when Leon immerses you in Brunetti’s working life. He is stationed at the Questura (the city’s police headquarters) in Venice. His immediate superior is Vice-Questore Guiseppe Patta – a career bureaucrat and foil whom Brunetti must often work around to solve his cased.

The real delight in the Questura is Patta’s secretary: Signorina Elettra Zorzi. A woman of unfathomable charm and style with a sprinkling of mystery thrown in. Although she works for Patta she aligns herself with Brunetti and company to help rid their beloved Venice of the petty crime and occasional murder that plague the city.

Brunetti’s real partner in crime is Ispettore Lorenzo Vianello. Vianello sometimes provides the muscle and occasionally brings his gun along when the situation looks potentially dangerous. Brunetti doesn’t like guns. Leon is careful not to make her stories gun-driven; they are just part of a policeman’s kit. At the same time, Brunetti is a mentor to the younger Ispettore recognizing his intelligence and skills.

Another wonderful personality sharing the position of a Commissario is Claudia Griffoni. Despite being Napolitana she is blonde and gorgeous. If Brunetti wasn’t such an honourable guy committed to his wife and family, something might happen here because there’s an underlying attraction that is never acted upon. The same with Signorina Elettra. In this, Brunetti defies the stereotype of the Italian man. He is hard working, faithful and never once pinches the bums of tourists.

The cast of regular personalities is rounded out by several uniformed policemen and ranking officers. Leon seasons this cast with appearances by acquaintances and colleagues from the Carabinieri and the financial police, depending on whom he needs to bring the bad guys to justice.

Interestingly, many of the bad guys whom Brunetti must bring to justice are more incompetent than evil. They are generally driven by stupidity rather than guile. However, there are more than a fair share of corrupt industrialists, foreign crime groups, and of course the ever-present home-grown Mafia actors.

The plots are ingenious because of they are anchored in reality. Nothing quirky here. Leon doesn’t start her books with huge explosions like most crime writers do. The crimes just seem to percolate up from the mud and murky waters of Venice’s canals. And unlike a lot of crime writers, Leon doesn’t trumpet her triumphs.

Dona Leon left the United States a long time ago to live in the world. She made Venice her home for two decades and now resides in Switzerland returning to the Adriatic city on a regular basis. In this, she’s very similar to another crime writer: Georges Simenon. Although Simenon is Belgian, he set his Maigret stories in Paris and painted highly accurate and engaging pictures of the City of Light.

For people who enjoy the act of reading, Leon is someone to savour. Her style is intelligent and elegant. She does not write down to people, but she does have a wonderful working vocabulary that anyone who paid attention in school will not have any trouble dealing with. Although, I admit, she has sent me to the dictionary more than once. Her descriptions are at times photographic while at others nostalgic for a Venice none of us, other than a bred and born Venetian, can have any knowledge of. She is more Canaletto than Longhi.

Reading Leon is also the best travel guide you can get to Venice. Sure, she’s an American expat but she has an intimate knowledge of the city’s geography, it’s culture and institutions. When she walks you through the city, you feel like you’ve just crossed the Ponte de Rialto.

If I have one concern with the Brunetti series it is that I tend to put on weight reading it. I want to eat every meal Paola prepares for Guido and the kids. Leon even co-authored Brunetti’s Cookbook with recipes by Roberta Pianaro and essays by Leon.

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