Willful Behavior (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery)

First Sentence: The explosion came at breakfast. A student of Insp. Guido Brunetti's wife, Paola, visits him inquiring whether someone who had been convicted of a crime and is now dead could be officially cleared if shown innocent. Brunetti is not given enough information initially, but the question peaks his interest. When the student, Claudia Leonardo, is murdered, the question goes from being a matter of curiosity to an investigation. Leon is a wonderful writer. Her writing is intelligent, literary and thought provoking with cracking good dialogue. She is merciless toward the tempering of historical information, the corruption of the government and American tourists. She imbues her story with an underlying theme; in this case, honour. Leon gives us such wonderful characters in Brunetti, about whose childhood we learn more, his wife, Paola, and the strength of their 20-year marriage, and the intriguing Signorina Elettra. One cares about her characters; not only the principals but, in this case, Claudia and her grandmother, because, I believe, of the strength of her central, Brunetti. The city of Venice is almost another character in the story. The sense of place is so strong and, in spite of its faults, the obvious love Brunetti has for his city. The descriptions of the family meals make me want to join them. Yet, coming back to the theme of honour, Brunetti would have left his city because of a point of honour. Under all this, is a well-plotted, fascinating, couldn't-tell-where-it-was-going story. I particularly like that the reader learn the information at the same time as Brunetti. When he is lead down the wrong path, so are we; when he begins to suspect, so do we. I am a true fan of Ms. Leon's writing and am happy that I've many more books ahead of me.

To me, the best mysteries can be viewed more as novels than as puzzles to be solved. Donna Leon successfully crosses into this high ground of mystery writing with Wilful Behaviour. In fact, such a successful novel can be read independently of the other books in a series. Wilful Behaviour also meets that test. Do you like a book with memorable characters? Wilful Behaviour delivers both with characters that you meet in the novel and those who are described by other characters. Do you like an intricate plot where all the pieces fit together in multiple dimensions? Wilful Behaviour once again is a good book in terms of this quality. Do you like novels that reflect other novels, rewarding the well-read? Donna Leon delivers here as well. Although I have always liked this series, Wilful Behaviour breaks out above the clouds in terms of being much better than the earlier offerings in the series. In the story, Professoressa Paola Brunetti is approached by one of her better students, Claudia Leonardo, about a legal question that the student hopes Professor Brunetti's husband, Commissario Guido Brunetti, can answer. Guido resists providing any information without receiving more details. He meets Claudia and finds that her question relates back to the difficult days of World War II while Italy was part of the Axis powers. Not knowing much about those days, Guido begins to exercise his curiosity and learns about many hidden crimes from those days. All of this becomes not so academic after Claudia is murdered, and many new questions are presented. In the process of investigating Claudia's murder, Brunetti learns about new levels of deception and depravity that some employ to achieve their selfish ends. I have read a number of novels that relate to those days in World War II in Italy, and I found this one to be one of the very best. Enjoy!

To me, the best mysteries can be viewed more as novels than as puzzles to be solved. Donna Leon successfully crosses into this high ground of mystery writing with Wilful Behaviour. In fact, such a successful novel can be read independently of the other books in a series. Wilful Behaviour also meets that test. Do you like a book with memorable characters? Wilful Behaviour delivers both with characters that you meet in the novel and those who are described by other characters. Do you like an intricate plot where all the pieces fit together in multiple dimensions? Wilful Behaviour once again is a good book in terms of this quality. Do you like novels that reflect other novels, rewarding the well-read? Donna Leon delivers here as well. Although I have always liked this series, Wilful Behaviour breaks out above the clouds in terms of being much better than the earlier offerings in the series. In the story, Professoressa Paola Brunetti is approached by one of her better students, Claudia Leonardo, about a legal question that the student hopes Professor Brunetti's husband, Commissario Guido Brunetti, can answer. Guido resists providing any information without receiving more details. He meets Claudia and finds that her question relates back to the difficult days of World War II while Italy was part of the Axis powers. Not knowing much about those days, Guido begins to exercise his curiosity and learns about many hidden crimes from those days. All of this becomes not so academic after Claudia is murdered, and many new questions are presented. In the process of investigating Claudia's murder, Brunetti learns about new levels of deception and depravity that some employ to achieve their selfish ends. I have read a number of novels that relate to those days in World War II in Italy, and I found this one to be one of the very best. Enjoy!

All of Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti books have a different theme, sometimes two. The first, "Death at La Fenice", besides introducing the series, was about the opera house of that name and the world of classical music. Later books have taken up art theft and the Mafia, illegal immigrants and blood diamonds, and moneylenders and Venetian property. "Wilful Behaviour" is about coming to terms (or not) with Facism and Italy's World War II past. It does its job as a mystery, and keeps you wondering what the connection is among all the various elements. Like the other books, Italy seems rife with corruption and networks of friends and contacts that are (apparently) unknown here in squeaky clean Sweden. And like the other books in the series, you get to travel around Venice, by foot or water bus. Having just been there, this was fun. Especially endearing was the put-down of the tourist watering hole Harry's Bar (other books have made fun of the industry in mask and plastic gondola souvenirs). Unlike the other books, this one actually starts with Brunetti's wife Paola, although her presence is perhaps somewhat restricted this time around. And once again one is amazed at Brunetti's huge home-cooked lunches with the family and forced to ponder what the working hours are in Italy?

This book is a superb novel on its own, and a first-rate installment in a wonderful series. I hope that it gets published here in the U.S.; I found a British edition in a used bookstore and am still marveling at my good luck. What is wonderful about the Leon/Brunetti series is that Donna Leon writes superb novels about Venice and the corruption of Italian society that also have murders and mystery; they're not mere examples of the genre, but are rather the kind of book that you can recommend to a literary snob who claims, "Oh, I never waste my time with mysteries."