Donna Leon has lived in Venice for many years and previously lived in Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, England, Iran and China, where she worked as a teacher. Her previous novels featuring Commissario Brunetti have all been highly acclaimed, most recently 'Friends in High Places', which won the 'Crime Writers' Association Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction.
http://www.groveatlantic.com/leon/author.htm
The first book I read was Acqua Alta by Donna Leon. She writes about a Venetian detective named Guido Brunetti. What delighted me most about her writing is the attention to detail provided about the characters. How they hold a glass, to the folds in their clothing, to smells in the air during a long walk. She introduced me to the city of Venice with its complex history, decaying beauty, and intricate social customs and traditions. Her characters are not stereotypes, neither are they "normal" straight heterosexual beings. I met an arrogant state officials with touches of homophobia and faithfulness to an erring spouse, a famous female opera star who loved both men and women, transvestite prostitutes caught in a complex housing swindles, gypsies who are considered dangerous, unwanted minorities with their own social systems, Italian mafia who wish to have their own state. I've read 4 books so far and am anxious to finish her series.
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