I read this ARC to give an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I love Donna Leon and this series
Love the pace, character developments and the backdrop of Venice is always a treat

Highly recommend
A wonderful read

In November 2003, a suicide bomber in Nasiriyah, Iraq explodes a truck outside an allied forces military compound that kills 18 Italian servicemembers. That act represents the largest Italian military disaster since World War II and sends the country into a period of deep mourning. Desperate to find a hero in the tragedy, military and political officials settle on a single man—an officer in the Carabinieri deployed at the base—who appears to have risked his life to save two others. However, that appearance proves to be deceptive, and the man soon fades from the collective memory. Twenty years later, modern day Venice is beset with the damaging and violent conflict between rival groups of under-aged youths—baby gangs, they are called—and when one of the gang members turns out to be the son of the Hero of Nasiriyah, it sets off a chain of events that involves mayhem such as blackmail, various physical assaults, arson, and the destruction of ancient artifacts. In A Refiner’s Fire, we see this story unfold and learn how Commissario Guido Brunetti and his colleagues at the Venice Questura resolve things.

For me, the real pleasure in reading a new Brunetti novel lies less with the details of the mystery at the heart of the story and more with the incredible sense of time and place that the author creates. Indeed, as has been the case in so many of the previous volumes in this series, the city of Venice—with both its incomparable beauty and its many warts— once again becomes the main focus. Leon’s descriptions of the city as it passes through the changing seasons are simply stunning and so evocative that, for readers familiar with La Serenissima, it is easy to follow along in the footsteps of the people as they go about their daily lives. Beyond that, each new book brings us back in touch with what are by now a beloved collection of characters, starting with Brunetti and his wife Paola, as well as Brunetti’s trusted associates Claudia Griffoni, Enzo Bocchese, and Signorina Elettra in this tale.

As to the actual plot of A Refiner’s Fire, I enjoyed the historical basis for the story, which was a more pronounced feature here than in most of the books that have come before it. The author does a nice job of weaving harrowing facts from the past with some creative modern fictional elements to make a compelling narrative in which the myriad pieces fit together quite nicely. My only quibble (if that is even the right word to use) would be that the ending felt a little rushed given the elaborate set up that preceded it and that not all the plotlines seemed to be fully resolved. Also, while I have always appreciated the thoughtful and allusive way in which Leon chooses the titles for these novels, I thought that this one—with its apparent Biblical reference—was particularly obscure and left me wondering until the very end how it tied into the story. Those minor points aside, this was an extremely satisfying reading experience from a talented author who, having now produced 33 volumes in this series, remains at the top of her game.

A Refiner’s Fire by Donna Leon- Always intriguing and accessible the Guido Brunetti series with its beautiful back drop of Venice is a joy to read. This is book number 31 in the series and still fascinating to read. Gang wars predominate the action along with the usual behind the scenes skullduggery. Thanks to NetGalley for this enjoyable ARC

Just another lovely book in this well established and brilliant series. The pace is gentle, the characters are well developed, credible and interesting and the plot ingeniously contrived so that all the separate parts come together at the end in a satisfactory and believable manner.

As always the hero of the book is Venice itself, and I relish the opportunity to visit her again every year in the company of such a gifted author and such wonderful characters.

A Refiner's Fire may not be the best choice for this novel's title, but the novel is a good choice to read as author Donna Leon goes all out to present interesting situations. I always enjoy the slice of Venice life she portrays, but this time the Questura is busier than usual...and some of the methods used are pretty questionable.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

Once again, Donna Leon has crafted an introspective, fascinating mystery for Guido Brunetti to to solve in modern-day Venice. it begins with a fight between two baby gangs--disillusioned male teens searching for something to connect to. Guido's colleague Claudia Griffoni ends up chaperoning one of the boys home late at night-- which opens a mass of trouble for her. Eventually Leon ties in an attack on one of Guido's colleagues, a deadly bombing in the Middle East, and the theft of guns and artifacts. A very moving entry, one that made me stop and contemplate as I neared the end.

I suppose this series featuring Donna Leon's much-loved detective Commissario Brunetti must go back a good thirty-five years now, and I've read most of the titles. While the characters and the setting have maintained their magic over the years, I regret to say that the narratives have grown thinner and thinner. Some of the recent ones have been damn near transparent. The narrative of A REFINER'S FIRE could hardly be described as muscular, but it is a considerable improvement over a number of recent titles in the series.

But, let's face it, nobody comes to Donna Leon's Brunetti series looking for compelling narratives. We return again and again because of the characters we love and the place they inhabit. It would be nice, I sometimes think, to have those characters and place better deployed, displayed again as they were in the early tiles in more absorbing contexts, but perhaps that's not strictly speaking necessary. Brunetti moves at his own pace, and so he should. He's very much not Jason Bourne, nor would we want him to be.