Transient Desires

'The series that has shadowed Brunetti for three decades is an epic achievement' The TimesChosen as Star Pick in the Sunday Times Crime ClubChosen as a 'Best New Crime Novel' in the Sunday TimesWhen two young American women are badly injured in a boating accident, joy riding in Venice's Laguna with two young Italians, Commissario Guido Brunetti's curiosity is aroused by the behaviour of the young men, who abandoned the victims after taking them to the hospital. As Brunetti and his colleague, Claudia Griffoni, investigate, they discover that one of the young men works for a man rumoured to be involved in more sinister night-time activities in the Laguna. To get to the bottom of the mystery, Brunetti needs to enlist the help of both the Carabinieri and the Guardia Costiera. Determining how much trust he and Griffoni can put in these unfamiliar colleagues only adds to the difficulty of solving this peculiarly horrible crime.Donna Leon's landmark thirtieth Brunetti novel is as powerful as any she has written, testing Brunetti to his limits, forcing him to listen very carefully for the truth. 'Leon's books are a joy' Guardian'She is a truly fine novelist, period, and should be acclaimed as such.' TLS

The climax is nothing less than a trip - across the laguna - into the heart of darkness . . . Leon's special skill is to splice glimpses of la dolce vita with acute analysis of moral and ethical dilemmas , It's colourful and beautifully written, Needless to say, by venturing outside the comfort zone of his own prejudices, this deeply simpatico detective learns a lot about his city, his countrymen and himself. And so do we, Make way for the thirtieth novel in Leon's beloved, bestselling series about Commissario Guido Brunetti, Leon's devoted audience may be shocked to realize that this latest Guido Brunetti novel is the thirtieth in the series, which only goes to show that sometimes abiding relationships never lose the shock of the new . . . Leon's beloved series shows no signs of aging

Donna Leon was named by The Times as one of the 50 Greatest Crime Writers. She is an award-winning crime novelist, celebrated for the bestselling Brunetti series. Donna has lived in Venice for thirty years and previously lived in Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Iran and China, where she worked as a teacher. Donna's books have been translated into thirty-five languages and have been published around the world. Her previous novels featuring Commissario Brunetti have all been highly acclaimed; including Friends in High Places, which won the CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, Fatal Remedies, Doctored Evidence, A Sea of Troubles and Beastly Things.