Wilful Behavior

Commissario Brunetti #11

by Donna Leon

In this “powerful” novel in the New York Times–bestselling series, an Italian police detective delves into two deaths and a dark era of history (The Times, London).   When Commissario Guido Brunetti first meets her, Claudia Leonardo is merely one of his wife’s students. Intelligent and serious, she asks for his help in obtaining a pardon for a crime once committed by her now-dead grandfather. Brunetti thinks little of it—until Claudia is found dead.   Unable to find any living relatives, he visits the elderly Austrian woman who was once Claudia’s grandfather’s lover and with whom Claudia was close—and is stunned by the extraordinary art collection she keeps in her otherwise modest apartment. When she, too, is murdered, Brunetti’s investigation uncovers shocking skeletons in the closet of Nazi collaboration that few in Italy want revealed . . .   “[A] widely admired series.” —Chicago Tribune   “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 role as an Everyman . . . [his life is] 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

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Italy, Audiobook, Detective, Mystery Thriller

370 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Donna Leon (born September 29, 1942, in Montclair, New Jersey) is an American author of a series of crime novels set in Venice and featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti.

Donna Leon has lived in Venice for over twenty-five years. She has worked as a lecturer in English Literature for the University of Maryland University College - Europe (UMUC-Europe) in Italy, then as a Professor from 1981 to 1999 at the american military base of Vicenza (Italy) and a writer.

Her crime novels are all situated in or near Venice. They are written in English and translated into many foreign languages, although not, by her request, into Italian. Her ninth Brunetti novel, Friends in High Places, won the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger in 2000.

Series:
* Commissario Brunetti

Reviews

[Zain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expensive?

Commissario Brunetti is a great detective and he’s on his eleventh episode.

When a young student of Paola is murdered he has his attention turned all over her. Was it a crime of passion or did it involve expensive paintings?

The young lady is going to be examined from head to toe to see if she has personal enemies.

He looks up on a few clues that seems promising. But he doesn’t have enough information to get the answers he needs.

Donna Leon once again brings the city of Venice to life as she has Brunetti travel the calles of the neighborhood.

He is definitely a thinking man and he wants to go with his instincts. Will his instincts be an effective tool for his search for the criminals?

Five fabulous stars. ✨✨✨✨✨

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s always a joy to return to Brunetti. I love the lifestyle of the Venetians. Imagine a daytime lunch so relaxed you have Prosecco and Calvados. It’s those glimpses into Brunetti’s Venetian life that make this series so engaging.
This time, a student of Paola’s asks Brunetti a question that brings up the history of WWII. Just as Brunetti is looking into the issue behind her request, the student is found murdered in her apartment. Leon provides us an interesting glimpse into the Italian perspective of WWII. We learn of profiteers, collaborators, and those that still adhere to the fascist beliefs.
Donna Leon reminds me a lot of Louise Penny. There’s a thoughtful inspector, who is as much a student of human nature as a detective. She spends more time on character development than on the mystery itself.
I’ve been enjoying listening to this series and especially have appreciated David Colucci as the narrator. So, it was a shock to my system to hear a different voice for this one. Steven Crossley didn’t even attempt an Italian accent and an English accent for everyone really didn’t work. I was so glad to see that Mr. Colucci returns for the rest of the series.

[Blaine DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 11 of the Commissario Brunetti series delves into the topics of wealth, honor and peripherally consumerism as Brunetti comments on how huge Americans have become, the need to drink continually as if it will bring everlasting life, etc. And set among this is the murder of a very thoughtful 18-year old college student who was taught by Brunetti's wife and who came to Guido for advice just a few days before her death. Little is known about the girl and for a good while there are no breaks in the case, but that allows Brunetti to contemplate beauty vs. wealth, and how people care less about true beauty (art) than how much something costs or will grow in value. Very different book by Donna Leon, and I enjoy her plot and how she handles issues that many people think about.
About 350 pages and a fast read, I totally enjoy a book that raises issues, makes me think and can wrap all that around an interesting murder investigation.

[Gisela Hafezparast · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better one of the series (although I like them all). As always the crime story is not the most interesting part about this book and like most of them the actual solving of the crime is a bit banal. It's the insight into Italy, it's culture, changing life style, politics and "system" which is fascinating. When I read these books, the paradoxical, frustrating and then again, enchanting, Italian-way-of-life/survival makes me shake my head continuously and go "What, how can you live with this". The corruption, mismanagement and bureaucracy are breath-taking. As a German national, I find the anti-German sentiments in the series sometimes a bit hard to take, but the lovely Brunetti and his very clever wife make up for it. I have never been in Venice as I don't like mass tourism, but these books have changed my mind (even if it will greatly and undertandably,annoy Brunetti.
Good relaxing read.

[Alex is The Romance Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Willful Behavior, (Commissario Brunetti Series #11 by Donna Leon) takes us along with Guido Brunetti as he delves into buried secrets dating back to WW2 - Nazi collaboration, Italy's Anti -Semitic past, the exploitation of Italian Jews during that period, something that a lot of people are prepared to kill to keep it buried.

Once again, we watch Brunetti using his connections to help solve the murders of one of his wife Paola's students and the owner of an extraordinary art collection. His ability to observe human behavior is another part of this character that I really like.

And as we have come to realize is that solving the murder does not always have the result as we perceive as true justice.

I so enjoy the interaction between the characters in this series. And of course the Venice setting.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now that I've read 2/3rds of all the Brunetti series published before 2016, I have a good idea of what the pace, style, depth maintains for this bunch. There are times Donna Leon scales the heights in her insight and ability to peel down and more. Especially in those moments when Guido resounds within echoing thoughts his joy and gratitude of what he knows he holds. In this one, I got some of that, but much less than in the more recent volumes in the series. This is more toward "the front" and although the kids are middle school, and teenager- his mood was far more gloom. For good reason, but it was not as enjoyable for me as the reader.

A 20 year old good girl, a virgin, has been murdered. One of Paola's students and they learn she was extremely wealthy. And the reason why she was killed may be associated by the questions she was asking about her family's past- during the WWII years.

Of course there was some delicious food. Two times Paola made a special mid-day meal. And in fact an egg plant and ricotta dish that I do make myself in one instance for dinner. And Paola is not terribly snobby either here, just annoyingly formal in attitude (to me). The best part was her Father, the Count, as he recalled his experiences to Guido in private conservation. That part, getting some insight into the Count and his art collection, was the 4 star part of this one.

But amid this kind of art, the beauty of the churches and other places described so well - with the juxtaposition of so few (nary one with any real joy except for a few moments of Guido's distraction)appreciating those 16th and 17th century treasures? And with the politico commenting now and again, as well, with such arrogance? Guido and Paola almost turned me off from the beauty and Venice itself, in this one. My least favorite so far from the 15 or so I have read.

The way he (Guido) described the empty churches in the same mode just before or after his consistent repeating attitudes (thought, thought and rethought for the negatives) about initiative and the interests of tradition that he wasn't up to in belief or didn't care enough to concern about relating to his kids? Meh. I found Guido and Paola rather lazy too in their intellectual side, with oodles of self-serving judgments. Judgments rather conveniently present tense when they never had to deal with the real brunt of those in the '50's aftermath that did.

Guido and Elettra too, when I think about it- seem way too cynical for where they live and how they live too during this one. The latter years' insight into the positives of the everyday seem less achieved. Especially when you consider the amount of banking hacking and illegal interface Elettra scores in this one. Grim, morose is usually far from their interplay of words- but in this one seemed more "at home". Even their sarcasm and mutual dislike of Scarpa and his patsy boss Patta usually holds more brightness in the bigger picture with their cutting asides intact- kept between these two co conspirators.

This flashback criteria investigation also held the least plot yet- and the most outlandish answer. Not the money making schemes angle but the violent act by this perp against Claudia? With Claudia acting so staid? I didn't think the plot (and I know they are secondary in these novels) satisfied either up to the usual Guido read average of intertwine.

But still- a good read. Much more if you are intrigued about WWII in Venice.

[Barbara]

3.5 stars

In this 11th book in the 'Commissario Guido Brunetti' series, the Italian policeman investigates the murder of a young woman.



One of my favorite things about these novels, set in Venice, is the leisurely pace. Unlike detectives on American television shows, who are always running around at a frenetic pace, Commissario Brunetti ambles around Venice by foot and on vaporettos (water buses); walks home for lunch most days; goes out for coffee - or a glass of wine - with his colleagues in the middle of the work day; and so on.



It's also fun to get glimpses of Brunetti's home life, with his wife and teenage children. Guido's wife Paola, an English professor, prepares delicious meals, and the family discusses all manner of interesting things, like the novels of Henry James; celebrities the children like; whether the teens need telefoninos (that's a hard no from Paola); and more.



This addition to the Commissario Brunetti series addresses a sensitive topic in Italy - the extortion of Jewish families during World War II. Some rapacious Italians 'purchased' valuable artworks from desperate Jewish people, paying a tiny fraction of their worth. After the war, the (few) Jewish survivors found it almost impossible to get their valuables back.

*****

As the story opens, Paola approaches Guido on behalf of one of her university students, a 20-year-old woman called Claudia Leonardo. Claudia wants to know if the conviction of a person after WWII can be reversed. Of course Brunetti needs to know more about the matter, and ends up speaking with Claudia at the Questura (police station).



Though Claudia is very circumspect, Brunetti puts Claudia's story together with the help of Signorina Elettra, the fashionable secretary who's a whiz at using computers to get helpful information.



The tale goes as follows: During WWII, Claudia's grandfather 'purchased' MANY artworks from desperate people for a few lira, and was suspected of outright stealing several priceless drawings.



After the war, grandpa was convicted and made a deal with the Italian judges: he would go to an asylum for a year or two and then be freed. However grandpa died in the asylum, and a woman called Signora Jacobs - whom Claudia views as her grandmother - wants grandpa's conviction reversed, to restore his 'good name'.



Before Brunetti can even make official inquiries about the matter, Claudia is murdered in her apartment. During Brunetti's investigation, he interviews people Claudia interacted with, including her roommate; her landlady; a notary; the director of a World War II commemorative library where Claudia volunteered; and Signora Jacobs - a chain smoker whose cheap apartment is filled with fabulous artworks. Signora Jacobs still supports the fascist movement, as do some old army veterans in the book.



When another death occurs, a number of clues lead Brunetti to a hard truth.

During Brunetti's inquiries, he thinks about the ugliness of armed conflict, and his own father's service during the second world war. A conversation between Brunetti and his father-in-law, the Conte, brings home some of the worst aspects of sending young people out to kill.



This is one of the more serious books in the series, and lacks the humor inherent in some of the Brunetti novels. Still, I enjoyed the mystery, and would recommend the book to fans of suspense novels.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com

[Karl Jorgenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Donna Leon is a special treat. Her Commissario Brunetti series puts us inside the culture of Venice: travel by vaperetto, disdain of tourism, gourmet food at every meal, espresso four times per day, wine with every meal and snack, and the rampant corruption at every level of government, from the police, to taxes, building permits, and even museums and art. Everybody is running a scam and everybody accepts this as part of life in the city. Brunetti manages to do his job, in spite of the culture, investigating the murder of a young woman. It’s a satisfying mystery with interesting and complicated connections all the way back to the war, steeped in the evolving society, and informed and shaped by the good and bad characters who live there.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite Brunetti book yet! The mystery is actually compelling (for once), and the tangled history of Venice during World War II really worked for me. It added complex layers to many of the characters that have been around for 11 books at this point, especially Count Falier: the conversation between Brunetti and Falier is possibly the most sincerely gut-wrenching scene Donna Leon has ever written. At the same time, this book is full of one-liners that made me laugh out loud. The combination of humor, history, and an interesting case made this a great read.

It wouldn't be a Donna Leon review without my list of OTHER FEATURES:

- Marco successfully obtaining the mussel filling from Signora Maria's restaurant as a payment for a debt (a Herculean challenge for sure)
- Truly beautiful descriptions of Paola cooking an entire sea bass and Brunetti smelling eggplant and ricotta regretfully as he's called away from dinner
- The Count dismissing all claims to aristocracy that don't go back at least a thousand years
- Elettra and Brunetti exchanging words about Brunetti arriving unannounced ("like a mugger?" "no, like a lion")
- The fact that pashmina is "mega-out," according to French Vogue
- Several distinctions between informal and formal pronouns, as well as Marco's exclusive use of declarative sentences
- Yet another passage about how fat American tourists are when they're standing on the vaporetto, followed by this beautiful moment at the end of the book:

He didn’t hasten his steps but strolled along the bacino, taking the opportunity offered by a day cast in silver to look across to San Giorgio, then turned completely around and looked at the cupolas of the churches that lined the water on the other side of the canal. The Madonna had once saved the city from plague, and now there was a church. The Americans had saved the country from the Germans, and now there was McDonald’s.

[Labijose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written before the writer started to decline in the series. A very good read.

[Ruby Grad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like others in the Commissario Brunetti series, the murder isn't always an obvious figure. This isn't a spoiler, because there are lots of characters who are not the obvious culprits. This book describes corruption in even more detail than earlier ones, and deals with the aftermath of World War II and the effect of Italy's participation (both as Axis and then Ally) on generations both immediately after the war and later generations. And we get to learn a bit more about Paola's father's history, fleshing him out as a character.

[Herb Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A return to form in the Brunetti series.

[Martine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Madonna had saved the country from plague, and now there was a church. The Americans had saved the country from the Germans, and now there was McDonald's".

There is a timeless, meditative quality to Donna Leon's writing, the idea that history never fully resolves because human beings are a flawed and doomed species. And yet, there are characters who are good, kind, and ethical. The author maintains a delicate balance in the way she develops her characters, and this helped to keep me engaged.

She creates a sense of place, Venice, authentic and intimate. I felt as if these stories could only take place there, a feeling that was reinforced by the attention she pays to the observance of family meals, what is served, and the ebb and flow of dinner table conversation. And I must say, just reading about these meals prepared with love and care made me want to up my game in the kitchen!

I love the fact that Brunetti, her detective, is a principled man with a happy marital life. The women are well-developed and treated with respect, as if the author wishes to turn the trope of the sidekick female love interest on its head.

The mysteries themselves take a far second place to the characters and their world, how they inhabit it, and how they relate to one another. They don't seem all that realistic to me, they aren't police or legal procedurals. And I am swept along willingly anyway.

She also avoids the stereotypical mystery ending with all the loose ends neatly tied up. For example, in Wilful Behaviour, the murderer is merely a lost and sad victim, expertly manipulated by trusted loved ones who are lying sociopaths. And yet, they go on, unpunished and esteemed by society, as we see them do in real life. I like that.

[Nadeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am going to do this review in two parts one for the book and one for the audio edition.

The book is another thoughtful addition to the Commissario Guido Brunetti series.There is always a mix of mystery, ethics and politics that are blended together to make it an engaging series with a mix of both thoughtful characters and inept impediments to solutions and progress. I enjoyed the book quite a bit and would recommend it.

This was an audio "read" for me as has been most of the series. They are perfect for audio and the reading by David Colacci, who narrates most of the series, always gives it an Italian / Venetian flare that transports you to Brunetti's surroundings. I can hear the characters in my head with his voice when I read one of the books. So I was not prepared for this one narrated by Steven Crossley. Suddenly Brunetti has an English accent as do all the rest of the characters. It was unsettling and I couldn't get used to it. I am not opposed to change but having Brunetti sound English just didn't make the pasta sit right. It was a skillful narration but it just felt wrong...

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third Brunetti book I've read and there is a definite pattern here; albeit one I was warned of -- that however the case gets wrapped up, absolute justice is never done. In fact, the only justice which seems to regularly operate successfully is a sentimental kind. Not 'poetic', because that implies that the actual perpetrators are punished, and it never seems lik they are. However, the reader's feelings are soothed by the end of the book by pieces of providential good fortune that happen upon *someone* as a result of the investigation. Impossible to say more without spoilers, but I was impressed by the dramatic pathos of the this book's ending, how brutally unfair it was for some characters and glorious for others. I only give it 3 stars because the main victim of the case was such a thoroughly uninteresting person it was difficult to feel particularly bad about her death. And the most interesting female character literally did not appear until the last 15 pages of the book; such a wasted opportunity.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Paola's university students asks her a legal question seeking the advice of Paola's husband Commissario Guido Brunetti, a former law student. The question involves a man who died while serving a sentence in a mental institution for a conviction during the World War II years. While Brunetti doubts a modern trial would produce a different result, when the girl turns up dead, he knows her questions probably resulted in her murder. They mystery involves art in a private collection and a somewhat hidden library where the girl volunteered. I enjoyed this mystery, but I did not enjoy the narrator as much as I enjoyed the usual narrator for the series. Crossley mispronounced names and other proper nouns, and I really didn't like his voice for Guido which made him seem less authoritative.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh thank goodness this is over; what a desecration of Brunetti to have anyone but David Colacci read it! And an Englishman, no less! Even allowing for the English accent, it’s a problem when your substitute narrator doesn’t pronounce regular characters’ names the same. Two stars because the reading was so distracting that I didn’t absorb much of the first 3/4 of the book.

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for one of the best in the atmospheric Venetian series I’ve read so far.

[Sven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donna Leon haar verhalen spelen zich meestal af in Venetië. Zelf woonde ze er dertig jaar waarna ze verhuisde naar Zwitserland. Naast schrijven houd ze zich ook wat bezig met Barokmuziek. (Heb ik dan toch even moeten googlen wat het was.) Klassieke muziek gecomponeerd in het Barok tijdperk.
Met Wilful Behaviour schreef ze het elfde deel in de serie rond politie inspecteur Brunetti.
In dit verhaal wordt Brunetti benaderd door een studente die les krijgt van zijn vrouw Paola. Ze had graag info gehad over een misdaad begaan door haar grootvader vele jaren geleden. Wat op het eerste gezicht niet zoveel voorstelde, groeit aanzienlijk wanneer het meisje dood terug gevonden word. Daardoor wordt het meisje omgetoverd van Paola’s studente tot Brunetti’s moordzaak.
Het verhaal zit zeer goed in elkaar. Als lezer zoek je naar de dader maar die vind je niet. En als je dan denkt van op een spoor te zitten zet het verhaal een sprint in om dan een plot kronkel van jewelste tevoorschijn te toveren.
Ze slaagt er ook wel in om je zomaar een rondleiding te geven door Venetië. Ze beschrijft de omgeving genoeg zodat je je een beeld kunt vormen van de omgeving. En hier en daar wordt je getrakteerd op een woordje Italiaans of Venetiaans.
De personages vind ik wel goed uitgewerkt. Donna creëert begrijpbare personages. Ik kan er zeer gemakkelijk een band mee kweken. Als ze hun hersenen kraken om de dader te vinden dan denk ik even hard mee. Dit wordt zo gecreëerd door de beschrijvingen van hoe ze onderling met elkaar omgaan.
Het slot heeft me toch nog verrast. Wanneer alle lijnen samenkomen en alles opgelost wordt blijf ik toch wat verbaasd achter. Ik had blijkbaar te weinig in de juiste richting gekeken. De richting van waaruit de dader nu effectief kwam.
Conclusie
Terug een zeer geslaagd deel in de reeks rond Brunetti. Een reeks die zich afspeelt in het mooie Venetië. Ze konden het ook niet laten om hier en daar een mondje Venetiaans te verwerken in de Engelse tekst. Een zeer mooi verhaal met een verrassend einde en een verlangen om nog een boek van Donna Leon te lezen.

Engels
Donna Leon's stories are usually set in Venice. She herself lived there for thirty years, after which she moved to Switzerland. In addition to writing, she is also involved in Baroque music. (I had to google what it was after all.) Classical music composed in the Baroque era.
With Wilful Behavior she wrote the eleventh part in the series about police inspector Brunetti.
In this story, Brunetti is approached by a student who is taught by his wife Paola. She would have liked information about a crime committed by her grandfather many years ago. What at first glance didn't seem like much, grows considerably when the girl is found dead. As a result, the girl is transformed from Paola's student to Brunetti's murder case.
The story is very well put together. As a reader you look for the culprit, but you cannot find it. And if you think you are on a track, the story starts a sprint to conjure up a plot twist.
She also manages to give you a tour of Venice just like that. She describes the environment enough so that you can form a picture of the environment. And here and there you will be treated to a word of Italian or Venetian.
I think the characters are well developed. Donna creates understandable characters. I can bond with it very easily. If they crack their brains to find the culprit, then I think along just as hard. This is created by the descriptions of how they interact with each other.
The ending still surprised me. When all the lines come together and everything is resolved, I am left somewhat surprised. Apparently I hadn't looked in the right direction enough. The direction from which the perpetrator now effectively came.
Conclusion
Another very successful part in the Brunetti series. A series set in beautiful Venice. They also couldn't resist adding a bit of Venetian to the English text here and there. A very nice story with a surprising ending and a desire to read another book by Donna Leon.

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Commissario Brunetti is drawn back into time to World War II and the disappearance and reappearance of stolen artwork when one of his wife's students begins to ask about a possible pardon for a crime committed by her grandfather during that era. Before too long, the young woman is stabbed to death and Brunetti finds himself seeking answers to who she was, who was her family and what is it about her and her family that got her killed.

Donna Leon has once created a solid story, a mystery that draws in the reader and keeps them hooked until the very end. Her characters and their stories are strong, three-dimensional and real from start to finish. There are complex emotions and twists to this story and Leon explains and details it all so well. The result is an enthralling story with characters you like, you want to know about and a mystery you can't wait to hear how it ends.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shortly after one of his wife's students comes to Brunetti to inquire about the possibility of obtaining a posthumous pardon for her grandfather for a crime he was convicted of decades prior, the young woman is found murdered in her apartment. The investigation has Brunetti digging not only into her life, but also into long buried secrets from Italy's unsavoury WWII past.

A quite intriguing case, and as always a quick and entertaining read. Also a reminder that sometimes I really don't like Paola much, but oh well.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Das war mein erster Brunetti in Buchform. Es liest sich weniger als Krimi, sondern eher als Führung durch Venedig und die kulinarische Seite Italiens. Der Fall an sich entwickelt sich eher langsam und steht gar nicht so sehr im Vordergrund, vielmehr die Figuren, die in der Reihe (vermutlich) öfter auftauchen, und deren Entwicklung. Die Art, mit der Donna Leon das verbindet, gefiel mir ganz gut, ich hätte den Fokus aber gerne woanders gesehen.

[Brenda]

For the record, I've listened to about 20 of the Commissario Brunetti books but not this one. Why? It has a different narrator/reader. David Colacci's voice is the ONLY one who can be Brunetti!

[Carolyn Fagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just loving this series. Love the familial relationships of the Brunetti family and the relationships of Guido with Vianello and Signorina Elettra. Reading each one just gets better and better!

[Chris Nickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've long been a fan of Donna Leon, not just for the way she makes Venice such a lively, tactile place, but also for Brunetti, his family and colleagues. But in this book she's outdone herself. A story that starts simply and becomes labyrinthine. There's family and history, Venice and Italy, greed and lust and twisting around each other. And at the core, family and innocence betrayed, love and hate. To my taste, this is Leon at her very best, moving and affecting, yet also majestic. There's the greyness of sorrow and loss over it all, but that makes it more effective.

[Hannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toen ik aan dit boek begon, had ik niet verwacht dat het zo interessant zou zijn. Ik heb een keer eerder een boek uit deze serie gelezen en die vond ik niet zo goed als deze. Bij dit boek was mijn nieuwsgierigheid al vanaf het begin gewekt. Het verhaal is niet heel spannend, maar wel boeiend. Daardoor bleef ik lezen. Het was dan ook moeilijk het boek weg te leggen. Daarom heb ik vandaag zelfs overdag een stuk gelezen. Iets wat ik normaal alleen doe bij boeken waar ik echt in het verhaal zit. Dat zegt wel iets over de kwaliteit van het boek. De ontknoping zit ook goed in elkaar. Zeker een aanrader.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is masterful. Again, it revolves around art, art collecting and agents, but ranges far beyond to the fate of Venetian-owned masterpieces during the second world war and those who "disposed" of them. Literature plays a large role as well...Paola's teaching and Guido's policing flow in parallel streams of frustration. It's satisfying to learn more about the character of Paola's father and, in Guido's friend Lele's memories, into Guido's father as well. Characters formed in the war, for better or worse. Leon deepens her insight into all the familiar characters in each book of this series.
Paola's secretive student Claudia is an unforgettable person despite her youth and her brief time upon the stage. We mourn her even while fascinated by the many significant false trails hiding the reason for her murder -- which turns out to be an ordinary old Italian story of greed and jealousy.

Upon re-reading:
Maybe not such an ordinary story. Greed and jealousy magnified by the hateful madness of those years.
This time I noticed much more detail about the period after WW II - the fact that the real history of the war was falsified. Count Falier says, "Just like the French, we couldn't forget what happened during the war years fast enough. You know my feelings about the Germans...But to give them credit, they looked at what they did...The Allies, once the Nuremberg trials were over, would never had pushed the Germans' noses in it. But they chose to examine the war years, at least to a certain degree. We never did, and so there is no history of those years, at least none that's reliable."

And of the Fascists who remain...Vianello says,
"'You can understand young people believing all that shit. After all, the schools don't teach them anything about what really happened. But you'd think people who lived it, who were adults all during it and who saw what happened, you'd think they'd realize.'
'I'm afraid it costs people too much to abandon what they believe,' Brunetti offered by way of explanation. 'If you give your loyalty and, I suppose, your love to ideas like that then it's all but impossible to admit what madness they are.'"

Sobering in the light of the United States right now.

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

WILFUL BEHAVIOUR (Pol. Prod.-Ins. Guido Brunetti-Venice, Italy-Cont) - Ex
Leon, Donna – 11th in series
Arrow Books, 2003, UK Paperback – ISBN: 9780099415183

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.

[Carol Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t read the Commissario Guido Brunetti series in order. I jump around depending on what’s available at the library. The series is currently at 28, so Willful Behavior is toward the middle.

Paola, Guido’s wife, brings the case to his attention. One of her students has a question about receiving a pardon for her dead grandfather. She doesn’t provide many clues, just enough to make Brunetti curious. And then she ends up dead, killed.

This time the mystery involves events from World War II and Guido talks to his father-in-law and some friends about their experiences during the war and stories they’ve heard.

The most interesting part of the story for me was the history of Italy during World War II. I honestly don’t know much about Italy during that time period. The mystery here centers around art. During the War, many Italian were desperate to leave the country and unscrupulous art brokers took full advantage of that, snagging masterpieces for pennies. The dead young woman was the heir to a fortune in art. But who knew that, let alone was willing to kill over it? I was a little sad about the killer and the motive. Leon manages to make even her secondary characters have their own personalities.

These books always make me want to go to Venice, even if Brunetti hates fat American tourists.