Brunetti S Cookbook

“Fans of Donna Leon’s mysteries set in Venice and starring her cosmopolitan detective, Commissario Guido Brunetti, will be delighted to have this cookbook” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Aside from their puzzling mysteries, Donna Leon’s novels featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti have long been celebrated for their mouth-watering descriptions of food: multicourse lunches at home with Paola and the children, snacks grabbed at a bar with a glass of wine or two, a quick sandwich during a busy day, or a working lunch at a neighborhood trattoria in the course of an investigation have all delighted Brunetti, as well as Leon’s readers and reviewers. In Brunetti’s Cookbook, Leon’s best friend and favorite cook Roberta Pianaro brings to life these fabulous Venetian meals. Eggplant crostini, orrechiette with asparagus, pumpkin ravioli, roasted artichokes, baked branzino, pork ragu with porcini these are just a few of the over ninety recipes for antipasti, primi, secondi, and dolci. The recipes are joined by excerpts from the novels, four-color illustrations, and six original essays by Donna Leon on food and life in Venice. Charming, insightful, and full of personality, they are the perfect addition to this “enticing” volume of delicious delights (The New York Times Book Review).

Food plays an important role in Donna Leon's bestselling Commissario Brunetti novels. In A Taste of Venice, Roberta Pianaro invites readers into the Brunettis' kitchen to learn how to prepare for themselves the delicious meals Paola Brunetti cooks for her family. We are given the secrets to Brunetti's favourite pasta (penne rigate), Paola's famous apple cake, a lasagne recipe from Brunetti's mother, Donna Leon's favourite meal (risotto di zucca), and a host of other sumptuous and authentic Italian classics. Beautifully illustrated with vignettes by Tatjana Hauptmann, and with culinary stories by Donna Leon and extracts from the Brunetti novels, this is so much more than a cooking guide - it is a wonderful journey, full of ideas for recreating the delights of Venetian cuisine in your own home. So whether you want to eat spaghetti with clams, aubergine and prosciutto roulades or baked omelette with courgettes, you'll find all you need here to create the perfect Venetian feast.

A New York Times–bestselling series: A murder mystery set on Italy’s secretive island of Murano, renowned for its world-famous glass. On a luminous spring day in Venice, Commissario Brunetti and his assistant play hooky from work to help a friend, Marco Ribetti, arrested during an environmental protest. They secure his release, only to be faced by the fury of the man’s father-in-law, Giovanni De Cal, a cantankerous glass factory owner who has been heard in the bars of Murano making violent threats about Ribetti. Brunetti’s curiosity is piqued, and he finds himself drawn to Murano to investigate. Is De Cal the type of man to carry out his threats? Then one morning the body of De Cal’s night watchman is found. Over long lunches, on secret boat rides, in quiet bars, and down narrow streets, Brunetti searches for the killer . . . “One of the best of the international crime writers.” —Rocky Mountain News “[A] superlative series.” —The New York Times Book Review

An assault on a pediatrician reveals a web of corruption and deception in the New York Times–bestselling, Silver Dagger Award–winning series. When Commissario Brunetti is summoned in the middle of the night to the hospital bed of a senior pediatrician, he is confronted with more questions than answers. Three men—a young Carabiniere captain and two privates from out of town—have burst into the doctor’s apartment in the middle of the night, attacked him, and taken away his eighteen-month-old baby boy. What could have motivated an assault by the forces of the state so violent it has left the doctor mute? Who would have authorized such an alarming operation? At the same time, Brunetti’s colleague Inspector Vianello discovers a moneymaking scam between pharmacists and doctors in the city. But it appears as if one of the pharmacists is after more than money . . . This is a smart, suspenseful novel in the series set in a beautifully realized Venice, a glorious city seething with small-town vice. “Leon deserves her place not only with the finest international crime writers (Michael Dibdin and Henning Mankell, for example) but also with literary novelists who explore the agonies of the everyday (Margaret Drabble and Anne Tyler, among others).” —Booklist

The New York Times–bestselling author delivers “a real tour de force” celebrating the fauna in Handel’s operas—with original illustrations by Michael Sowa (News—Austria). When acclaimed novelist Donna Leon is not conjuring up tales of crime and corruption in Venice—or appreciating its delicious cuisine—she revels in music. And for Leon, that usually means the work of her favorite composer, George Frideric Handel. Over the years, Leon has noticed that the great musician filled his operas with arias that make reference to animals. Rich in symbolism, the perceived virtues and vices of the lion, bee, nightingale, snake, elephant, and tiger, among others, resonate in his works. Here, Leon draws on her love of Handel and her expertise in medieval bestiaries, illustrated collections of animal stories, to assemble a one of her own—twelve chapters that trace twelve animals through history, mythology, and the Handel arias they inhabit. Each exploration is joined by whimsical original illustrations by German painter Michael Sowa. A fascinating, utterly original book that is “as clever as it is entertaining,” Handel’s Bestiary springs to life with Leon’s knowledge, passion, and wit (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung—Germany).

“A brilliant writer . . . an immensely likable police detective who takes every murder to heart.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review Late one night, Guido Brunetti is called away from dinner to investigate the death of a widow in her modest apartment. Though there are some signs of a struggle, the medical examiner rules that she died of a heart attack. It seems there is nothing for Brunetti to investigate. But he can’t shake the feeling that something or someone may have triggered her heart attack, that perhaps the woman was threatened. Conversations with the woman’s son, her upstairs neighbor, and the nun in charge of the old age home where she volunteered do little to satisfy Brunetti’s nagging curiosity. And with the help of Inspector Vianello and the ever-resourceful Signorina Elettra, he intends to get to the truth. “One of her best . . . She has become a must-read for all those who favor character-driven crime stories.” —Booklist, starred review “[A] wickedly entertaining series.” —Publishers Weekly

“By far the best” in the New York Times–bestselling, Macallan Silver Dagger–winning series featuring Venetian detective Commissario Brunetti (Evening Standard). In this vivid and atmospheric mystery, Commissario Brunetti is visited by a young bureaucrat investigating the lack of official approval for the construction of Brunetti’s apartment years before. What began as a red tape headache ends in murder when the bureaucrat is later found dead after a mysterious fall from a scaffold. Brunetti starts an investigation that will take him into the unfamiliar and dangerous areas of drug abuse and loan-sharking, and will reveal, once again, what a difference it makes in Venice to have friends in high places. “Beautifully written and immaculately plotted, Friends in High Places is further proof still that Leon can do no wrong.” —Scotsman “Carefully plotted and full of colorful as well as sinister characters, this is crime writing of the highest order: powerful, relevant and all too full of human failings.” —The Guardian “Leon tells the story as if she loves Venice as much as her detective does, warts and all. The plot and subplots unfold elegantly; beauty and the beast march hand in hand, and the result is rich entertainment.” —The Sunday Times (London) “Leon’s best so far . . . I don’t think I could really understand a crime fan who didn’t love Donna Leon.” —Scotland on Sunday “Leon is a skillful plotter . . . Brunetti is a nicely shaded creation, a moral man who is also all too human. Friends in High Places is a splendid read, clever and provoking.” —Observer (UK)

The New York Times–bestselling series and its Italian detective explore the seedy underworld of Venice: “Procedural writing at its best” (The Washington Post). Commissario Guido Brunetti’s hopes for a refreshing family holiday in the mountains are once again dashed when a gruesome discovery is made in Marghera—a body so badly beaten the face is completely unrecognizable. Brunetti searches Venice for someone who can identify the corpse but is met with a wall of silence. He then receives a telephone call from a contact who promises some tantalizing information. And before the night is out, Brunetti is confronting yet another appalling, and apparently senseless, death. “[One of] the real charms of this series [is] the endearing character of Brunetti and his compassionate insights into the heart of Venice and the soul of its people. . . . Truly, a refreshing hero.” —The New York Times Book Review “Despite the gruesome way in which this murder, and subsequent ones, take place, it’s really a cheery, breezy mystery, filled with good humor and adventure. The ending can only leave the reader waiting avidly for the next time we meet Brunetti and his lively friends and cohorts.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Leon delivers her plot in an unassuming, graceful and beautifully paced prose that hides its measured elegance.” —The Washington Post “One of the most appealing of recent detectives, Brunetti stars in a case that brings out his canniness and his compassion—and shows his creator spreading her wings more powerfully than ever.” —Kirkus Reviews “Richly evocative. . . . Venice takes on a deep noir tint in Leon’s latest well-crafted work.” —Publishers Weekly