Sometimes, when a successful series reaches double digit levels, the stories begin to seem repetitive or less interesting. Not so with Donna Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti series set in Venice. The character of Brunetti is multi-faceted and we seem to see different sides of him in each book. This latest book focuses on the investigation of a Sri Lankan immigrant's suspicious death. The main mystery story is augmented by Brunetti's reflection on his own idealistic university days, historical times of unrest in Venice, and even the philosophy of Buddhisim. While this may seem dark and depressing, there is always some warmth and humor infused in these Brunetti novels. They make you think, while still entertaining. Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Donna Leon does not disappoint. Wonderful descriptions of Venice and more illuminating interactions between our favourite characters. Excellent.

"In the thirty-second installment of Donna Leon's bestselling series, a connection to Guido Brunetti's own youthful past helps solve a mysterious murder. On a cold November evening, Guido Brunetti and Paola are up late when a call from his colleague Ispettore Vianello arrives, alerting the Commissario that a hand has been seen in one of Venice's canals. The body is soon found, and Brunetti is assigned to investigate the murder of an undocumented Sri Lankan immigrant. Because no official record of the man's presence in Venice exists, Brunetti is forced to use the city's far richer sources of information: gossip and the memories of people who knew the victim.

Curiously, he had been living in a small house on the grounds of a palazzo owned by a university professor, in which Brunetti discovers books revealing the victim's interest in Buddhism, the revolutionary Tamil Tigers, and the last crop of Italian political terrorists, active in the 1980s.

As the investigation expands, Brunetti, Vianello, Commissario Griffoni, and Signora Elettra each assemble pieces of a puzzle - random information about real estate and land use, books, university friendships - that appear to have little in common, until Brunetti stumbles over something that transports him back to his own student days, causing him to reflect on lost ideals and the errors of youth, on Italian politics and history, and on the accidents that sometimes lead to revelation."

Because my mom loved this series...

Featuring one of the most beautiful endings that I’ve ever read in my life, this book made me laugh, chuckle, sigh and tear up. After 32 novels, the characters have become as familiar to me as many people I know, and every single outing is a delight. Starting with a revelation about one of the recurring characters, Donna Leon takes her time setting up the main case. A Sri Lankan man that Brunetti just met the day before has been found murdered in a canal. As usual, the motive is not immediately apparent and Guido will need all his resourcefulness, as well as help from his colleagues to even begin to determine where the whole thing started. I loved every dialogue, every memory, every family lunch and dinner, every coffee. This time, besides Venice herself, a dilapidated palazzo is the main setting of the action, and the descriptions of the lush garden, the cracked walls and peaceful guest cabin were very accomplished. I’m not usually the type of reader that enjoys a lot of details, and my main focus tends to be the action. In the case of Brunetti’s novels, I care about both. I hope there are many more to come, because I want to keep following Guido even after he’s old and spends the day sitting with Vianello outside of the retirement home.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press!

Brunetti is in a meditative state throughout this book, recalling bygone days of his younger years. The murder plot almost seems secondary to the Commissario's state of mind. I prefer the livelier plots, but I appreciate the full character development that enables us to peek into their minds like this.

This is the first book in the series that I could not finish. Normally, I love to spend time with Guido Brunetti and the Venetian police as well as his charming wife and family. However, in this book, there was no plot, no goal, I couldn't figure what he was searching for or why. I kept falling asleep.

March is one of my favorite months because that is usually when Donna Leon’s latest Commissario Guido Brunetti book is published. I was fortunate enough to read an #ARC of 2023’s book.

In this case, Guido and his associates look into the death of a Sri Lankan immigrant, who has, coincidentally, been working for an old school friend of Brunnetti and living in a garden house on their property. The investigation takes the players back to the 1980s and the days of the terrorist group, The Red Brigade.

This is the thirty second installment of this series and I have read all of them. Obviously, I am a huge fan. Leon captures so well the the pulse and rhythm of Venice. Not the Venice that the hoards of day trippers experience, but the real city of the Venetians who reside there. It is a joy to read such a literate writer whose books touch on philosophy, classical literature, political science, history, justice.

The cases, while always intriguing, are almost secondary to the wonderful characterizations and musings and observations of life, especially Venetian life, by Brunetti. So nice to visit again with all the familiar actors, flamboyant Signora Elletra, strong and wise Paola, philosophical Guido, comical Patta, capable Griffoni, loyal Foa.

While there is an interesting plot, don’t read this book for fast action, but rather savor the words and thoughts, the pace of daily life in La Serenissima. And note that Brunetti’s mother has a lesson modern politicians would do well to heed.

It was so nice to visit again with all the familiar players, stroll past familiar Venetian landmarks, stopping for a coffee along the way. For anyone new to Brunetti, this can be read as a stand alone, but why deprive yourself? Go back to the beginning of the series and enjoy getting to know all of these memorable characters.

Thanks to #netgalley and #groveaatlantic #atlanticmonthlypress for the ARC.

Another great addition to this series.

In the middle of the night, an Asian man's body is found in one of the canals. Commissario Brunetti is surprised to discover that he has recently met this man. Brunetti quickly identifies the main suspect, but proving this crime and discovering its motives will not be easy, especially since the case may concern crimes from years ago. The plot of this book is set during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The story is as always very good. We also get a very interesting thread about the private life of one of Brunetti's co-workers. I'm very curious to see if this part will continue in future books. And of course we meet all the well-known characters. I read the book really quickly. The only thing I would change is that I might have missed some of the humor that this author has accustomed me to in this series. It's not like it's not there at all, but I think there was more of it in the previous books. Still, this story was probably for me easier and faster to read than some of the previous books in this series. The pace of this story is really good.

I recommend it to all fans of this series and Commissario Brunetti.

The latest episode in this long running series features Guido Brunetti in a reflective mood. You can feel his age here (though I’m not sure precisely what that is) as he wonders around his beautiful home city of Venice, picking out routes that will pass a certain church he hasn’t seen in a while or even one that features some flagstones he particularly likes. Guido is a senior police officer, a Commissario, a rank he’s held since Donna Leon first introduced him over thirty years ago. He’s an affable fellow, family orientated and in love with his city, but he can show a steely side when called upon to do so. This is crime fiction, so there’s always a crime here – but sometimes it’s hard to spot.

Three separate events occur in the opening section of this book: an officer who has played a minor part in the series is arrested at a pride parade; there’s news that a prolific burglar, well known to Brunetti, is back in business; Guido’s well connected and wealthy father-in-law has been asked whether a particular palazzo in the city is for sale. Which one of these will lead us to the core of the story this time? It’ll take a while, and in the meantime much coffee will be drunk (expresso, of course), meals will carefully described and consumed and internal police politics will forever linger in the background.

The beauty for me in these books is in the little things, the details of everyday life and small interactions between the city’s people. An atmosphere is created of a place unchanged on the surface but ever changing underneath. Brunetti harbours a certain resentment in respect of the incremental changes ongoing in this place, but isn’t that true of all of us as we reach a certain age? And as the story settles into the investigation of a recognisable crime, he gathers those police officers close to him (characters well known to regular readers) and, between coffees, they ruminate on possible motives and root around to discover information that might lead them to a suspect. As always, it’s beautifully done and once more I experienced a pang of regret when I reached the story’s end and had to say farewell to these people and this place until (hopefully) the next book in the series is published.

With So Shall You Reap we celebrate 30 years of strolling the magical streets of Venice with Inspector Guido Brunetti. Leon’s first book, Death at La Fenice, was published in 1992, and if you have been lucky enough, you have read the 31 preceding Brunetti mysteries which came before this latest, to be published March 14th. With this novel, Leon once again tackles one of her favorite topics — immigration — when an undocumented Sri Lankan man is found dead in a canal.

To say that the actual whodunit is really of no consequence in a Leon book is obvious once again here. But of course, we do not read about Brunetti, his wife Paolo and his family to enjoy a mystery puzzle. Instead, we read Leon to experience that magical stroll around Venice with a good man and contemplate current issues of the day as the simple mystery unfolds around us.

Leon takes on classism in So Shall You Reap as well as the refugee issue, which currently is a major concern in Italy. And as Leon herself is now 80 years old, her Brunetti reflects back on the politics of the 1980’s in Italy. Students like Brunetti, and like many of us in the US in the 70’s and 80’s, fought against the greed of capitalism, the power of corporations and injustice of government. We were determined and arrogant enough to believe we could fix it all, but as with Brunetti looking back to that time in his current case, are any of us really able to note any progress? And how do we look at that greed, power and injustice now with an older lens?

I could read Leon over and over and never tire of Brunetti and his entire family — how I would love to sit down and enjoy a dinner at their home in Venice. My daughter and her friend, who recently discovered Donna Leon, are reading all 32 of the Brunetti mysteries from the beginning. What a delightful discovery! How I envy them. I am not sure how many more Brunetti books there will be given Leon’s age, but I will treasure each one as they come out as much as I did the first and all the other books since then. 5 of 5 stars.

This ARC title was Netgalley.com at no cost, and I am providing an unbiased review.

Venice. Hidden places!

Inspector Brunetti is transported back to his student days, to the Italy of the red brigade activists — bombing, kidnapping, disappearances.
What prompted this? A body was found. It was a pleasant Buddhist Sri Lankan, Inesh Kavinda, who was living in the garden shed of the Palazzo Zaffo Sri Leonie.
Brunetti had met him. Days before he’d enquired for his father-in-law if the rumour was true that the palazzo was for sale, a hidden palazzo with its abandoned gardens. (And ok, I’d just viewed a Monty Don program about the gardens of Venice. So I was all a quiver at the idea of mysterious spaces unknown to Brunetti)
At that time the owners were away. It turns out the wife is an old friend of Guido’s from his childhood, Gloria Forcolin.
Mindful of the past, Brunetti has much to ponder. Meanwhile one of his officers runs into trouble at a Gay pride parade. The past and present are on a collision course.
As always an insightful foray into Venetian life, the past, the various laws of inheritance, including titles, and of course food.

A Grove Atlantic ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

I have read a number of books in Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti’s Venice-based detective series. Leon is a terrific writer; I can easily get lost in her world and believe it to be non-fiction until I awake from my coma and realize Ms. Leon is writing fiction. Then I remind myself that she is not a native Venetian. (I still don’t believe that!).
This is the 32nd installment in the series and despite a solid —and contemporary storyline—I believe I am growing a bit weary with the series. Please understand: I don’t believe Ms. Leon has lost a few MPH off her fastball. I just feel as if I have returned once too often to her world. This story began slowly for me with the focus on a minor character revealing his sexuality that seemed to be forced into the narrative. About 1/2 way through the narrative gets more focused and began to drive my page-turning. We also get to meet a younger, more rebellious Brunetti via flashbacks that may tie into the current mystery. So now I’m thinking I will continue to read more of the 32 stories in the canon and the future books, also.
4 stars for “So Shall You Reap.”

This is not one of the best in the series. The first one third is very slow and nothing happens. The actual crime takes place in the middle one third and then there is some whimsical musings by Guido. The police investigation doesn’t happen and the chief brings in some connection to the characters through a new algorithm that she acquired in a conference and then the case gets solved. The book didn’t grasp my attention nor interest. 2.5 stars

This is the 32nd volume of the Guido Brunetti saga of a Commisario based in Venice. (Note that Leon was a resident of Venice for thirty years.) It should be noted that over the time in the series, though it keeps up with the times, the people in the books age 15 years. During all the time of the books only one character has been promoted.

In the case of this book, Leon seems not to have a real mystery to reveal, yes there is police problem and a crime but its' almost secondary. A lot of time is spent by Brunetti daydreaming about his childhood and youth in Venice. It feels to me like an extended diary entry. As a longtime reader it was as if Leon (who is 80) was looking for a way to wind down the series.

The book is enjoyable in a summarizing way of the series, but is not up to her normal product.

Brunetti - a comfort blanket

Reading one of Leon's Brunetti's is like diving into the calm warmth of summer sea, where you feel enveloped and comforted. You might say that being comforted by death and crime is rather puzzling and yet I kind of feel so safe when Brunetti is here, he cares.

The years of our youth are conflicted ones, we have to see our way forward, to follow a credo, to impress our peers or those we want to be our peers, at the same time we have the wisdom our loved ones, parents, have tried to give us. If our surroundings are in turmoil as well than the matter is further complicated. Leon here explores youthhood in the 'anni di piombo', the 1970's and 1980's. She then picks up from the present day a Sri Lankan immigrant fresh from the horror of the Sri Lankan civil war and puts him amidst the remnants of Italian's past. The rest ensues..........

It's a pity that immigrants try to escape the bad times at home and make a new place, home somewhere else but then violence, humanity, finds them anyway. And we look on ..... as usual.

Greatly appreciated the wonderful Sara and Benedetta and the magnificent Elettra.

An ARC gently provided by publishers - Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press/author via Netgalley.

Another solid book by Ms Leon. Each book is different and all were good, and this is no exception. Very readable and well written.

I love this series and look forward to Leon's latest, but this book seemed rushed with many questions remaining at the end. Plot was a bit different as it centered on Italian political history and characters' secrets but that aspect of the book was not explained fully.

I’ve been a big fan of the Guido Brunetti series and have made my way through the first 24 of them. Thanks to Netgalley, I’m jumping ahead to So Shall You Reap, # 32 in the series. It’s also the first of the series I’ve read, rather than listened to. It works just as well in either format.
The story begins when Alvise is detained at a gay rights demonstration in Treviso for resisting arrest. It gives Paola a good laugh that Guido has never realized after years of working with him that Alvise is gay.
Things soon take a more serious turn when a hand is seen in a canal and the body of an undocumented worker is soon found.
There’s lots of humor in this story, but also some deeper themes, in this case the idealism of youth when it comes to politics. “Young people longed to change the world, regardless of the cost to themselves or others. Older people longed for the world not to change so there would be no cost to themselves.” We learn more about both Brunetti and Vionello as they reveal their own youthful thoughts and actions. I enjoyed the look back into the history of the Red Brigade.
These stories rarely move at a brisk pace. This one meanders as Brunetti attempts to find connections between the past and present. The ending was very satisfactory (especially for an animal lover) even if it was fairly obvious.
My thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance copy of this book.

So shall you reap is already the thirty-second volume written by Donna Leon about Guido Brunetti (and his family and colleagues).
I won't pretend to have read all the books but I certainly read a lot of them and I keep coming back to this series. Not only because the books are well written and very evocative when it comes to Venice, but mainly because in every book the author addresses one or more social themes in a way that makes these books far more than a mere detective novel. Even after so many books I still love the interaction between Brunetti and his colleagues and the stories about his family.

In this episode Brunetti investigates the death of a Sri Lankan immigrant who, judging from his bookcase, had a lot of diverse interests: Buddhism (not surprisingly), the revolutionary Tamil Tigers, and the Italian political terrorist during the "anni di piombo". Apart from political terrorism in Italy in the 80s, Donna Leon addresses the acceptance of gays in the current Italian police force and xenophobia.

I want to thank Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange form my honest review.

I give this book 5 stars, not only for this episode but also because the books are so consistently of high quality.

4.5 upped to 5
This is a book set after COVID pandemic but with strong links to the so-called Years of Lead, one of the most complex age in Italian history as there was a lot of political violence, a real deep state and real complot to subvert the democracy, and thousands of deaths.
If you lived during those year as I did you will find this book riveting and disturbing at the same time.
It's not the best mystery in the series but it's important to understand how the characters in the series converted their political extremism in desire to fight for justice.
I think it could be a bit confusing if you don't know what happened in Italy and it's an interesting take on a tragic historical moment.
Donna Leon did an excellent job and the historical background is well researched.
i want to know more about Alvise, Sara, and the nuns
I found the solution a bit rushed but I couldn't stop reading till I turned the last page.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine