European Detectives

In the sequel to the Nebula finalist The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, Mary Jekyll and the rest of the daughters of mad scientists from literature embark on a madcap adventure across Europe to rescue another monstrous girl and stop the Alchemical Society’s nefarious plans once...

The new mystery series for fans of Agatha Christie and cozy crime. Penny Küfer has finally realized her lifelong dream by beginning her first week of training as a detective. But instead of the hoped-for well wishes from friends and family, she finds herself disinherited by her class-conscious mother and dumped by her grasping fiancé. There is only one consolation left to her: the long-dreamed-of trip on the Occident Express, the most luxurious train ever to run on Europe's rails. But even before the ambitious young sleuth can enjoy her first glass of champagne, she finds herself with a ...

Murder is the new black. 2025 IPPY AWARDS – GOLD MEDAL – BEST MYSTERY/THRILLER EBOOK 2025 BOOK EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNER – BEST MYSTERY/THRILLER 2025 READERS’ FAVORITE SILVER MEDAL – THRILLER ESPIONAGE Get ready for a heart-pumping journey through the worlds of fashion and espionage in WALKING THE CAT: AN INTERNATIONAL FASHION SPY THRILLER. As former CIA operative Louise Moscow attends Paris Fashion Week, she never expects to be caught up in a murder investigation. But when a beautiful American photographer is killed, Louise must use her spy skills to clear her friend's name. With ...

On a luminous spring day in Venice, Commissario Guido Brunetti and Inspector Vianello play hooky to help get Vianello’s friend Marco Ribetti—an environmental activist arrested during a protest against toxic waste being dumped into the city’s waters—released from prison. But on the steps...

Unlocking Secrets and Ancient Mysteries: When Eliza Bennett, a textile scientist fresh off a whirlwind European conference tour, lands on the sun-soaked shores of Santorini, she’s expecting a well-earned break. But when her charming, talking feline companion, Merlin, leads her to an old friend, Caleb, their holiday takes a thrilling turn. Caleb, driven by his grandfather’s lifelong quest, reveals a discovery that could change history: the keys to Atlantis II, hidden beneath the Aegean waves. Together, they embark on a quest to unlock its secrets before the malevolent Ambrosios and his ...

Venetian Commissario Guido Brunetti’s hopes of escaping the sweltering heat of Venice in August for a refreshing family holiday in the mountains are dashed when a gruesome discovery is made in a field in Marghera—a body so badly beaten the face is completely unrecognizable. Brunetti searches...

In Death and Judgment, the fourth novel in Donna Leon's bestselling Commissario Guido Brunetti series, a truck crashes and spills its dangerous cargo on a treacherous road in the Italian Dolomite Mountains. Meanwhile, a prominent international lawyer is found dead aboard an intercity train bound...

Winner of the CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, Friends in High Places is the ninth novel in Leon's bestselling and highly acclaimed Commissario Guido Brunetti series. “Leon tells the story as if she loves Venice as much as her detective does, warts and all. The plot and subplots unfold...

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...

"Wonderfully ingenious and altogether satisfying."---Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review Just after midnight on December 23, 1980, a night flight bound for Paris plummets toward the Swiss Alps, crashing into a snowy mountainside. Within seconds flames engulf the plane, which is filled...

A young man from a privileged family, Jan Mydlar, is about to graduate from medical school when a sudden shift of fate changes his life forever. He becomes stuck in the most detested profession for the rest of his life—an executioner. Master Jan Mydlar finds himself in the middle of historical events of Bohemia. The religious and political turmoil in the Habsburg empire reaches its climax in the beginning of the 17th century. When Protestant leaders throw imperial Catholic governors out of the window of their offices at the Prague Castle, a civil war between Protestants and Catholics in ...

In the sixteenth novel in Donna Leon’s bestselling Commissario Guido Brunetti series, a mysterious kidnapping leads the Venetian detective into the darkest corners of the medical establishment. “Donna Leon is the undisputed crime fiction queen...[Her] ability to capture the city’s social...

In the seventeenth novel in Donna Leon’s bestselling Commissario Guido Brunetti series, Brunetti investigates two groups—a Christian sect, and the gypsies—and tries to understand the tragic death of a young girl. When a friend of Commissario Guido Brunetti’s brother, a priest recently...

When the body of a man is found in a canal, damaged by the tides, carrying no wallet, and wearing only one shoe, Commissario Guido Brunetti has little to work with. No local has filed a missing-person report, and no hotel guests have disappeared. With Inspector Vianello, Brunetti canvasses shoe...

A cozy mystery full of twists that will keep you turning pages! Axel Sandorf, business magnate and visionary, has achieved what others have only dared to dream about: he is cruising the oceans aboard the largest private submarine yacht the world has ever seen. Penny can’t believe her luck when she, of all people, receives an invitation from the elusive billionaire. It’s supposed to be a pleasure cruise under the sea—but where Penny goes, the first murder attempt isn’t long in coming. Instead of chasing exotic fish, the ambitious young detective is soon facing a poisoner who seems to...

In Donna Leon’s brilliant twentieth mystery, Brunetti must prove that all is not what it seems in the death of an elderly widow. Late one night, 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...

In the tenth novel in Donna Leon’s bestselling Commissario Guido Brunetti series, Brunetti infiltrates a clannish island community to investigate the murder of two local fishermen. Donna Leon has amassed devoted fans around the world for her atmospheric and intelligent Commissario Guido...

From “the undisputed crime fiction queen” (The Baltimore Sun), one of Commissario Guido Brunetti’s most enigmatic cases: leading Donna Leon’s iconic detective from the local dry cleaner all the way to Vienna’s most elite aristocrats. Over the years, Donna Leon’s bestselling...

“A stunning novel, the best of this brilliant series, with a twist at the end that will leave even the most sophisticated reader gasping.” —The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Donna Leon’s bestselling series featuring the principled, warmhearted Venetian Commissario Guido Brunetti has won her...

Venetian detective Commissario Guido Brunetti is called to investigate the death of a young cadet. The boy has been found hanged, a presumed suicide, in Venice's elite military academy. Brunetti's sorrow for the boy, so close in age to his own son, is rivaled only by his contempt for a community...