Donna Leon Books in Order: Guido Brunetti Series & More

Most Donna Leon books in order belong to her Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series. Set in Venice, the novels follow a thoughtful police commissario whose cases expose murder, corruption, abuse of power, and the tensions beneath the city’s beauty.

Leon has also written one standalone novel, several nonfiction and essay collections, and books inspired by her interests in Venice, food, and classical music. This guide brings those works together with the complete Brunetti series order and the screen adaptations.

Jump to:

• Guido Brunetti Series Order
• Donna Leon Nonfiction and Essay Collections
• Donna Leon Standalone Novel
• Donna Leon Book-to-Screen Adaptations
• Who is Donna Leon?

Guido Brunetti Series Order

Donna Leon has published 33 novels featuring Venetian police commissario Guido Brunetti. The stories follow the same chronological and publication order, so there’s no separate timeline to untangle. The individual mysteries are generally self-contained, but Brunetti’s family life, colleagues, and relationships develop throughout the series.

I recommend starting with Death at La Fenice and reading straight through in publication order. Several early novels reached British readers years before their first U.S. editions, which is why the U.S. publication years below don’t always move forward in sequence. Some were also published under different titles in the two markets, so both names appear where useful.

1. Death at La Fenice (1992)
2. Death in a Strange Country (1993)
3. Dressed for Death / The Anonymous Venetian (1994)
4. Death and Judgment / A Venetian Reckoning (1995)
5. Acqua Alta / Death in High Water (1996)
6. Quietly in Their Sleep / The Death of Faith (1998)
7. A Noble Radiance (2003)
8. Fatal Remedies (2007)
9. Friends in High Places (2008)
10. A Sea of Troubles (2009)
11. Willful Behavior / Wilful Behaviour (2010)
12. Uniform Justice (2003)
13. Doctored Evidence (2004)
14. Blood from a Stone (2005)
15. Through a Glass, Darkly (2006)
16. Suffer the Little Children (2007)
17. The Girl of His Dreams (2008)
18. About Face (2009)
19. A Question of Belief (2010)
20. Drawing Conclusions (2011)
21. Beastly Things (2012)
22. The Golden Egg (2013)
23. By its Cover (2014)
24. Falling in Love (2015)
25. The Waters of Eternal Youth (2016)
26. Earthly Remains (2017)
27. The Temptation of Forgiveness (2018)
28. Unto Us a Son Is Given (2019)
29. Trace Elements (2020)
30. Transient Desires (2021)
31. Give unto Others (2022)
32. So Shall You Reap (2023)
33. A Refiner’s Fire (2024)

A Refiner’s Fire is the thirty-third published Brunetti novel and was published in the United States in 2024.

Optional Brunetti Companion

Readers who want to explore the real Venice behind the mysteries may also enjoy Brunetti’s Venice: Walks with the City’s Best-Loved Detective (2009) by Toni Sepeda. It isn’t a Donna Leon book, so I don’t count it in her bibliography, but its walks follow locations connected to Brunetti and the novels.

Donna Leon Nonfiction and Essay Collections

Leon’s nonfiction ranges from Venice and classical music to memoir and the writing life. Brunetti’s Cookbook is primarily by Roberta Pianaro, with original essays and other contributions from Leon, so I think of it as a Brunetti companion rather than a conventional solo work.

1. Brunetti’s Cookbook (with Roberta Pianaro) (2010)
2. Handel’s Bestiary: In Search of Animals in Handel’s Operas (2011)
3. Venetian Curiosities (2012)
4. My Venice and Other Essays (2013)
5. Gondola (2014)
6. Wandering through Life: A Memoir (2023)
7. Backstage: Stories of a Writing Life (2025)

Donna Leon Standalone Book

Leon’s only standalone novel is set outside Brunetti’s Questura but remains firmly rooted in Venice and classical music. Because it has no connection to the Brunetti storyline, it can be read at any point.

1. The Jewels of Paradise (2012)

Donna Leon Book-to-Screen Adaptations

The German-language television-film series Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries ran from 2000 to 2019 and produced 26 feature-length films. Joachim Król played Brunetti in the first four films, with Uwe Kockisch taking over from the fifth. Barbara Auer played Paola in the first four, followed by Julia Jäger.

The films adapt Leon’s novels out of publication order, and their English screen titles don’t always match the books. I wouldn’t use the television sequence as a reading order. Start with the novels in the numbered order above instead.

A separate English-language adaptation was announced in 2024 as a project in development at 20th Television, with Julian Fellowes attached to write and executive produce. At the time of the announcement, the project had no confirmed cast or release date.

Who is Donna Leon?

Donna Leon was born in New Jersey in 1942. Before becoming a novelist, she worked as a travel guide in Rome and a copywriter in London, and she taught literature in Iran, China, and Saudi Arabia. She lived in Italy for many years and now lives in Switzerland, while continuing to visit Venice.

Her first Brunetti novel, Death at La Fenice, was published in 1992 and introduced the thoughtful, principled commissario who made her work known around the world. Leon writes the novels in English and has chosen not to publish them in Italian.

In my view, the series lasts because Brunetti is more than a detective. His marriage to Paola, his family meals, his friendships, and his frustration with corruption give the mysteries a personal center, while Venice remains essential to every case.

Looking for similar books in order?

If you want more mystery authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Mystery Books in Order index.

• Books in Order (Full Index)
• Louise Penny Books in Order
• Alexander McCall Smith Books in Order
• Ann Cleeves Books in Order