Willful Behavior

A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery

By: Donna Leon

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

From acclaimed author Donna Leon, Commissario Guido Brunetti dredges up dark secrets from Italy’s anti-Semitic past in his captivating eleventh case.

Mystery lovers everywhere are addicted to Donna Leon’s ever-honorable Commissario Guido Brunetti and her portrayal of Venice’s beautiful but sinister byways and canals. In Willful Behavior, Brunetti is approached for a favor by one of his wife’s students. Intelligent and serious, Claudia Leonardo 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. Soon, another corpse and an extraordinary art collection lead Brunetti to long-buried secrets of Nazi collaboration and the exploitation of Italian Jews—secrets few in Italy want revealed.

Lackluster

Probably the book “reads” better in hard copy than an audiobook; I got distracted by the male narrator’s efforts to mimic female voices, which drove the plot. His interpretation of Paola, especially, came off rude and snarky. The other female characters didn’t fare much better. Also wasn’t much into World War II stolen artwork, but this was published in 2002 and relevant a generation ago…

New Narrator Is a Disaster

I wasn't aware of the change in the narrator when I purchased this audible book. He completely destroyed thr entire world of Brunetti so carefully constructed during the prior books. He narrates everything from a British cultural perspective rather than capturing the rich Italian cultural ambience built by the author and nurtured in the earlier narrations. I couldn't get past the first chapter.