Dona Leon has amassed devoted fans around the world for her atmospheric and intelligent Commissario Brunetti series. A Sea of Troubles offers a rare glimpse into the scrupulous Commissario’s personal life. When Brunetti investigates the murder of two local fishermen on the island of Pellestrina, the small community closes ranks, forcing him to accept Signorina Elettra’s offer to visit her relatives there to search for clues. Though loyal to his beloved wife, Paola, he must admit that less-than-platonic emotions underlie his concern for his boss’s beautiful secretary. Suspenseful, provocative, and deeply unsettling, A Sea of Troubles is an explosive and irresistible addition to Leon’s marvelous series.
Download and start listening now!
"Exciting read with substantial character development and the first foray into another character's mind. The storm scene at the end reminded me of Dicken's writing in description and crazy action and pace. The villan comes a bit from left field but makes up for it in entrance."
— Jennifer (4 out of 5 stars)
“The sophisticated but still moral Brunetti, with his love of food and his loving family, proves a worthy custodian of timeless values and verities.”
— Wall Street Journal, praise for the series“In this stunning novel…featuring dogged, intuitive Venetian police detective Guido Brunetti…combines an engrossing, complex plot with an indictment of the corruption endemic to Italian society...dark, cynical tale of widespread secrecy, violence, and corruption.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review), praise for Blood from a Stone“The evocative Venetian setting and the warmth and humanity of the Brunetti family add considerable pleasure to this nuanced, intelligent mystery…Highly recommended.”
— Library Journal (starred review), praise for Blood from a Stone“The appeal of Guido Brunetti, the hero of Donna Leon’s long-running Venetian crime series, comes not from his shrewdness, though he is plenty shrewd, nor from his quick wit. It comes, instead, from his roll as an everyman…Not so different from our own days at the office or nights around the dinner table. Crime fiction for those willing to grapple with, rather than escape, the uncertainties of daily life.”
— Booklist (starred review), praise for the series" I usually love all of these Brunetti books pretty much equally, but this one just didn't click with me. (This might be what took me so long to finish it?) In most of the others, the focus is on the police, procedure, political problems, recalcitrant bureaucracy, local dilemmas, etc. Brunetti himself is a central character and plot device by which all these other issues are examined. In this book, however, we have to explore the feelings of Brunetti and Elettra, which is not exactly what I signed on for, based on my experience with the rest of the series. The mystery with the local fishermen, which I was interested in, was only superficially explored, and seemed like it was used as a vehicle to explore everyone's feelings, instead of the other way around. "
— Virginia, 2/16/2014" #10 (or 14?) Elettra, and set on Pellestrina. Boats. "
— LDuchess, 2/12/2014" Par for the course with this series. You will learn about something clam dredging and like on one of the smaller lagoon islands. Not much mystery. Same environmental horror stories which somehow lose their luster after a dozen or so repetitions. The storm scene is well written but as usual, the plot meanders and is weak on closure, "
— William, 2/9/2014" The best so far. More developed, more exciting. But less food, unfortunately. "
— Kathy, 2/3/2014" liked the map as reference. been to venice:learned quite a bit as well as enjoyed the story. "
— Jane, 1/23/2014" Another good read in the Guido Brunetti series. In this installment Signorina Elettra goes undercover and Paula wonders if she should be jealous. "
— Bonnie, 1/13/2014" I love these books, they always make me hungry! "
— Sharon, 1/4/2014" As this was a reread for me, I remembered parts of it, but not very much. For this series, I found this title slightly disappointed--there wasn't enough police work and/or detective work done to prove the murderer for me. "
— Patti, 1/3/2014" Read cos i was in Venice "
— Sheena, 12/21/2013" One of her best, I think. "
— Fred, 12/16/2013" good view of life into a part of Venice most don't see. "
— Wanda, 12/16/2013" This was my favorite one so far in this series. In the first books, I felt like Venice was the main character and the people were secondary characters. As the series has progressed, Venice has become a fascinating back drop to complex and intriguing people. "
— Vickie, 12/11/2013" Delightful. She has made a thoughtful subplot of the relationship between Brunetti and his wife and that adds a great bit to this one. "
— Tomchicago, 8/11/2013" Very good indeed. Old Brunetti is a modern hero. "
— Rafa, 6/2/2013" Another satisfying and enjoyable detective novel set in Venice. "
— Jill, 10/14/2012" Another awesome Commissario Guido Brunetti novel! "
— Chris, 8/1/2012" Quite an entertaining episode in the life of Inspector Brunetti. A pleasant way to pass a few hours. "
— Kathy, 7/6/2012" OK. It kept me interested...but only just! "
— Lizbuf, 6/25/2012" One of her best. (I've read 6 of hers and am delighted that there are 8 - 10 more I haven't read; but I will space them out.) "
— Paul, 3/6/2012" one of the better written Brunetti "episodes", I found Leon's writing voice to be much stronger, eloquent & at times even poetic (thought-wise). Really enjoyed this one! "
— Teresa, 12/27/2011" This was not as exciting as many of Brown's other books. However,It kept my attention and has a rather thrilling end. "
— Joanne, 9/18/2011" liked the map as reference. been to venice:learned quite a bit as well as enjoyed the story. "
— Jane, 9/16/2011" Another excellent Donna Leon Commissario Brunetti book. "
— Kacki, 9/11/2011" I enjoyed this Commissario Brunetti mystery even more than most because of the action-packed finale. "
— Janelle, 8/3/2011" I love all of her books, but this one was not as descriptive as the others. Lacking in depth for the characters in comparison to other books. Missed out on the day to day lives of the people. The mystery portion was that bad. "
— Janie, 8/2/2011" one of the better written Brunetti "episodes", I found Leon's writing voice to be much stronger, eloquent & at times even poetic (thought-wise). Really enjoyed this one! "
— Teresa, 7/15/2011" I read this in 24 hours!!<br/><br/>Really, really good! "
— Linda, 7/3/2011" This was my first Donna Leon book. I wasn't that impressed, it was quite boring. I will give some of her earlier work a shot. "
— Karen, 6/26/2011" Consistently enjoyable mysteries with Venice as a backdrop. "
— Dhartridge, 6/2/2011" This book has no scenes between Brunetti and his wife, his home life, or his children. I missed that alot. Until the last chapter, which made it alright. "
— Celeste, 2/16/2011" Tension is very slow in coming here. But at least they eat well "
— Richard, 12/3/2010Donna Leon is the author of the much-loved, New York Times bestselling series of mystery novels set in Italy featuring Commissario Brunetti. She was named one of the London Times' 50 Greatest Crime Writers. The Brunetti Mysteries have won numerous awards around the world, including the CWA Silver Dagger for Fiction, and hsbr been translated into thirty-five languages.
David Colacci is an actor and director who has directed and performed in prominent theaters nationwide. His credits include roles from Shakespeare to Albee, as well as extensive work on new plays. As a narrator, he has won numerous Earphones Awards, earned Audie Award nominations, and been included in Best Audio of the Year lists by such publications as Publishers Weekly, AudioFile magazine, and Library Journal. He was a resident actor and director with the Cleveland Play House for eight years and has been artistic director of the Hope Summer Rep Theater since 1992.