From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Death in a Strange Country (Commissario Brunetti, #2)

Donna Leon

Start date: October 15, 2022

Finish date: November 6, 2022

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Following on from our read of the first Brunetti book.
[close] Following on from our read of the first Brunetti book.

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Buddy reads

* Willful Behaviour by Donna Leon (Brunetti #11) (Oct/Nov 25)
By Susan · 18 posts · 11 views

last updated 12 hours, 12 min ago

* Willful Behaviour - SPOILER Thread - (Brunetti #11) (Oct/Nov 25)
By Susan · 3 posts · 7 views

last updated Oct 23, 2025 12:57AM

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What Members Thought

Feb 15, 2023 Julie Durnell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I'm really enjoying the Commissario Brunetti series. This book pulls together cultural differences between Italians and Americans; and the intricate relationships Brunetti has with his superior, his family, and his father-in-law, Count Orazio Falier. The environmental issues do not portray either Italy, Germany, or America in a good light. Venice is a supporting character and beautifully described. ...more

21 likes · Like · see review

Sep 29, 2022 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is the second in the long-running Brunetti series. I read the first few some years back and am now re-reading, from the beginning, and enjoyed this more the second time around.

The first novel was a more traditional mystery, with a murder in an opera house. Leon now moves Brunetti away from the glitz and glamour and offers up the reader a far more nuanced and political novel. It begins with a body found in a canal, a young American seemingly murdered in a botched robbery. However, things are ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 21, 2022 Jill rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: donna-leon

Leon definitely takes the reader to Venice in these books. I have never been there myself but her description of it, certainly gives me a feel for it. I hadn't known that the Americans had such a large part of it with their Army base. This book starts with the discovery of an American man found floating in one of the canals, leading to Brunetti's investigation into the death. Which in turn, leads to Brunetti having to visit the base and some of the officers there. We were told in the first book ...more

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Apr 25, 2019 Janet rated it really liked it

Very enjoyable book. Interesting, well drawn characters, scenic descriptions that put the reader inside the activity, and wonderful, current and relevant plot.

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2016 ShanDizzy rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites

She said, "You haven't told me how your trip to America was."

..."It was very clean, and everyone smiled a great deal....I wonder why it is, that they always smile so much."

She turned away from the risotto and stared at him. "Why shouldn't they smile, Guido? Think about it. They're the richest people in the world. Everyone has to defer to them in politics, and they have convinced themselves, somehow, that everything they have ever done in their very brief history has been done for no purpose othe ...more

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Oct 28, 2022 Sandy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-detective-grp, rread-2022, mystery

While the subject matter is depressingly realistic, the book is a pleasure to read. Brunetti, his family and staff are wonderful people to spend time with. I am happy there are so many more in the series.

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