The Girl of His Dreams: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery [Paperback]

When a friend of Commissario Guido Brunetti’s brother, a priest recently returned from years of missionary work in Africa, calls on him with a request, Brunetti suspects the man has hidden motives. An American-style Christian group has begun meeting in private homes in the city, and it’s possible the priest is merely wary of the competition. Nevertheless, Brunetti and his wife, Paola, decide to go undercover. But when a girl’s body is found floating in a canal, Brunetti must put everything aside to investigate the secretive world her people, the gypsies, who exist on the fringes of Italian society. Originally published in 2008, Donna Leon’sThe Girl of His Dreamsis classic Donna Leon.

Praise forThe Girl of His Dreams:

“Gorgeously written . . . [A] superlative series.”—Marilyn Stasio,New York Times Book Review

“Donna Leon is best known for her subtle and enduring Commissario Guido Brunetti detective series, set in Venice . . .The Girl of His Dreamsis Leon’s 17th Brunetti outing and one of her finest; a cunning novel of great depth.”—Anna Mundow,Boston Globe

“The Girl of His Dreamshelps me understand why Leon has such a fervent following . . . Brunetti is a marvel: smart, cultured and dedicated to his work, all the more so when the pompous inept superior tries to rein him in . . . Free of coincidence of obvious contrivance,The Girl of His Dreamsis a showcase of nuanced characterization, acute observation and seamless plotting.”—Washington Post

“Book by book, expatriate American writer Donna Leon has been telling a secret history of Venice. Her 17th Commissario Guido Brunetti book, not surprisingly, is bookended by funerals. In between she delves into crimes against the Romany, political correctness and the comforts of family in times of loss in a story so perfectls›