Falling in Love: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery [Paperback]

Donna Leon’sDeath at La Fenice, the first novel in her beloved Commissario Guido Brunetti series, introduced readers to the glamorous and cutthroat world of opera and one of Italy’s finest living sopranos, Flavia Petrelli—then a suspect in the poisoning of a renowned German conductor. Years after Brunetti cleared her name and saved the life of her female American lover inAcqua Alta, Flavia has returned to Venice and La Fenice to sing the lead inTosca, and Brunetti has tickets to an early performance.

The night he and his wife, Paola, attend, Flavia gives a stunning performance to a standing ovation. Back in her dressing room, she finds bouquets of yellow roses—too many roses. Every surface of the room is covered with them. An anonymous fan has been showering Flavia with these beautiful gifts in London, St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, and now, Venice, but she no longer feels flattered. A few nights later, invited by Brunetti to dine at his in-laws’ palazzo, Flavia confesses her alarm at these excessive displays of adoration. Brunetti promises to look into it. And when a talented young Venetian singer who has caught Flavia’s attention is savagely attacked, Brunetti begins to think that Flavia’s fears are justified in ways neither of them imagined. He must enter in the psyche of an obsessive fan before Flavia, or anyone else, comes to harm.

Praise forFalling In Love

ANew York TimesBestseller
A Midwest Independent Booksellers Association Indie Bestseller
A National Indie Bestseller

“Donna Leon’s first love is opera. . . . So choosing Teatro La Fenice for the setting of Falling in Love, her latest mystery featuring the erudite and oh-so-sympathetic Commissario Guido Brunetti, makes this elegant novel something of a mash note to a longtime lover. . . . The audacious investigation, conducted by Brunetti’s confederate Signorina Elettlƒ˝