Donna Leon, A Refiner’s Fire, A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, Grove Atlantic, July 2024.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

Donna Leon’s writing is such a joy, something to savour, as Guido Burnetti and his family navigate their personal lives and the newest case to be investigated. In this novel Burnetti’s investigation highlights the attraction of gangs, in this case ‘baby gangs’ named as such because of the followers’ and leaders’ youth, the importance of a cult figure and the devastation such a figure can create in ordinary peoples’ lives. Throughout is woven the central theme: the ethics surrounding the making of a war hero.

What seems to be solving a simple crime, becomes a more complex narrative. Burnetti must deal with the crime and its perpetrators at the same time as having to deal with the morals associated with the motivation and behaviour of a war hero and his government supporters being laid bare. Burnetti’s decisions about what approach he must take to each of the complex issues he faces draws the reader into the morass of crime, youth, heroes and government motivation.

Readers of Dona Leon’s novels are accustomed to dealing with complex issues as this warm, family centred detective deals with crime and destructive social behaviour. Within these narratives is the social commentary that gives Donna Leon’s detective novels that additional verve that makes them addictive. A Refiner’s Fire continues this interchange between writer, narrative and reader.

A Refiner’s Fire is the thirty-third book in the Commissario Brunetti series by award-winning American-born author, Donna Leon. Early spring in Venice, and the baby gangs are out and about. Mostly under prosecutable age, they gather in the late evening to fight, for no other reason, it seems, than to be able to boast about it.

When two gangs choose Piazza San Marco just on the police change of shift, they are rounded up, their details recorded, and their parents summoned to collect them. When Orlando Monforte’s father is unreachable in the early hours, duty Commissario Claudia Griffoni offers to see him safely home, even offering the shivering boy her scarf and trying to save him embarrassment in front of his neighbours by not revealing herself as police, kindnesses that backfire on her.

That same morning, Vice Questore Patta offers up Commissario Guido Brugnetti’s services to a new American resident to vet a facilitator recommended to help her deal with the copious paperwork involved in making her rental property habitable. A quick check confirms for Guido that retired Carabiniere Dario Monforte is the hero of an incident in Iraq that cost many Italian lives but, when he meets the man, something doesn’t sit quite right, and Guido resolves to get Signorina Elettra Zorzi to do some digging.

One of the gang members, it turns out, is the grandson of retired Judge Alfonso Berti, and thus the airbrushing of the behaviour of the gang by the Gazzettino, a publication usually eager to sink its teeth into crime and shake it around until there was some blood on the walls, and the Vice Questore’s admonition to keep it quiet.

While Elettra works her magic, Officer Dano Alvise, perhaps by dint of his own obvious curiosity in the lives and welfare of the people he speaks to, becomes an auditor to tales of human peculiarity and learns that not everyone is full of praise for the “convenient hero”.

But it’s when a colleague whom Guido considers a friend is attacked, having already expressed his fear of a local gang member, that the Vice Questore uncharacteristically gives Guido full rein, even offering Elettra’s talents, and unfettered database access.

Leon manages to convey her setting with consummate ease. She gives the reader a very appealing protagonist who readily admits his faults and failings and seems utterly devoid of arrogance. His inner monologue is often engaging, and his philosophical musings are insightful. Just one statement to Claudia demonstrates his attitude: “I’m not sure I really understand what makes us – men, almost always – put violence on the list of possible choices when we have to respond to something.” This is intelligent crime fiction at its finest.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Grove Atlantic

The story has two plot lines one involving the father and another involving the son and his teenage gang. The gang part was plain while the plot on the father was interesting and the police investigation and conclusions of events that happened in Iraq twenty years ago was engaging. I wish that part was given full focus.

3.5 stars

In this 33rd book in the 'Commissario Guido Brunetti' series, the Italian policeman investigates a local man who was deployed during the Iraq war.

One of my favorite things about this book, set in Venice, is the slow pace. Unlike detectives on American television shows, who are always running around and chasing suspects, the detectives in this story amble around Venice on foot, taking time to enjoy the beauty of the city.

The story can be read as a standalone, but readers familiar with the characters will enjoy it more.

*****

As the story opens, teenage gangs in Venice are using Instagram to arrange a 'rumble', and when two groups of boys meet at the Piazzetta del Leoncini after midnight, surveillance cameras catch them tussling, throwing punches, smashing windows, thieving, etc. The delinquents are rounded up by the Carabinieri, taken to the Questura, and mothers and fathers are called. All the boys are picked up by their parents except for fifteen-year-old Orlando Monforte, who explains that he lives in Castello with his father Dario Monforte, who turns off his phone at 11:00 PM.

Commissario Claudia Griffoni, on duty that night, decides to act 'in loco parentis' and walk Orlando home. Along the way, Orlando confides that he can come home any time he wants, and he wishes his father paid more attention to him. Griffoni feels bad for the boy, and they stop for coffee and brioche, and - since it's cold out - Griffoni lends Orlando her red scarf.

The next day, Commissario Griffoni consults with Commissario Guido Brunetti about the teen gangs, which the cops call 'baby gangs'. In fact, pressure from influential parents ensures that the police and newspapers write up the 'rumble' as an argument about soccer, that ended with name-calling.

Later, Brunetti's boss, Vice-Questore Patta - who never saw a job he couldn't evade doing - passes a task to Brunetti. A wealthy American woman is buying a house in Venice, and needs someone to get permits and take care of administrative procedures. A wealthy American woman is buying a house in Venice, and needs someone to get permits and take care of administrative procedures. She's considering hiring Dario Monforte, and she wants him vetted. Brunetti recognizes Dario as the father of baby gang member Orlando Monforte.

The name Dario Monforte strikes a chord with Brunetti, and a computer search reveals that Dario was 'The Hero of Nasiriyah.' Over twenty years ago, a suicide bombing at the Italian embassy in the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah claimed nineteen victims. Dario Monforte was widely lauded for saving two comrades while being badly burned himself. Something about the Dario Monforte story doesn't sit right with Brunetti, and further research, aided by Signorina Elettra - who's a whiz at data mining - reveal that there's MUCH MORE to the tale, including illegal activities.

Dario Monforte doesn't appreciate being under the Questura's microscope, and to halt the inquiries, he gets a shady lawyer to allege that Commissario Claudia Griffoni acted inappropriately when she walked Orlando Monforte home after the baby gang clash. It's clear that Dario Monforte has something to hide, and a good part of the novel involves Brunetti trying to figure out what was going on with the Italians in Nasiriyah during the Iraq war.

As this is going on, Brunetti's colleague, forensic lab technician Enzo Bocchese is very upset, and he tells Guido that his teenage neighbor is harassing him. The neighbor boy, Gianpaolo Porpora, who's tall and built like a bull, trips Enzo on the stairs, bumps into him, and has threatened Enzo's treasured statuettes, which the technician collects. All this has dire consequences, including another, much more dangerous, clash of the baby gangs.

For me, the part of the story that concerns Dario Monforte's schemes in Nasiriyah was especially compelling. I also enjoyed the domestic vignettes in the novel, like Guido and his wife Paola meandering around Venice, looking at the lovely sights.

There are also homey domestic scenes in the book, when Guido is at home with his wife and children. In one of of the best family scenes, Guido, Paola, their teenage children Raffi and Chiara, and Paula's parents (the Conte and Contessa), enjoy a delicious meal while discussing literature, history, education, influencers, and more. This is a family it would be a pleasure to know.

My minor quibble with the novel would be a thread left hanging at the end, which I wish had been tied up.

Thanks to Netgalley, Donna Leon, and Atlantic Monthly Press for a copy of the book.

Walking the streets of Venice with Commissario Guido Brunetti and his wife Paola is an experience that keeps me coming back to this series. Venice is changing, but it is not just the changing storefronts that the Brunettis notice. Baby gangs, teenagers who gather at night, are causing fights and vandalism. One such encounter is broken up in a plaza at one a.m. and the teens are taken to the Questura, where Commissario Claudia Griffoni is on duty. Parents are called and all of the teens are picked up except for Orlando Monforte, who Griffoni escorts home. When Brunetti is asked to vet a contractor, he discovers that it is Dario Monforte, Orlando’s father. The name is familiar and Brunetti remembers that he was celebrated as a hero after an attack on an Italian compound in Iraq twenty years earlier. While he was celebrated, he never received an award for his actions, making Brunetti curious. He asks Signora Elettra to work her magic and dig into the records to learn more.

Enzo Bocchese, the head of the Questura’s labs, is a collector of statues and Brunetti’s friend. He has been agitated lately and confesses that lately he fears for his life. One of the baby gangs’ leaders lives in his building and he has been threatening him and breaking into his apartment. Checking on Bocchese, Brunetti finds him beaten and his prized collection in shambles. The attack on his friend now becomes his priority. The gangs are planning something BIG and the event will bring Monforte and the gangs together in a fiery conclusion.

While Monforte was made a hero, he was involved in theft and the disappearance of another man in Iraq that had been under investigation at the time. He is given a chance to redeem himself, however, at the gang event, remaining a hero to his son. In her elegantly written tale, Donna Leon explores the beauty found in literature, works of art and simply observing the nature around us. She is an author who never disappoints. I would like to thank NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing this book.

There are many strands to this story. Guido Brunetti’s love affair with Venice is a major theme throughout the books. The descriptiveness of Venice and Venetians is for me the first draw in the series, the police story is secondary.

Here Brunetti deals with the onset of teenage gangs and a steady increase in violence. Linked to this is an old story going back to an Italian contingent based in Iraq. There are coincidences galore which do not bode well for the Police. It culminates with the violent attack on one of their own which leads to all in the Police joining forces unraveling a mystery which has remained hidden for years.

Beautifully written the politics of government service, along with corruption and ambition which may cloud judgement are also featured in this story. It is a commonplace subject but sadly very evident in every field of work. Meticulously detailed of police procedures this was good reading to see how other countries operate.

What’s happening in Venice?

Young teenagers are forming what are called “baby gangs” They’re fighting each other on the streets of Venice late at night. They’re highly volatile, pumped up with testosterone, and heedless of anyone crossing their path when in the grip of battle fever. Commissario Claudia Griffoni confesses to Brunetti the danger she feels, and the trouble brewing.
Arrests are made after one battle in the Piazzetta. Griffoni is on duty that night, taking part in recording names and arranging for parents to collect their sons. All are picked except for one boy, Orlando Monforte. Griffoni walks him home, a somewhat unwise move as it transpires. They have coffee and pizza at various places enroute to his residence.
It turns out Orlando's father is a hero of the Iraq War. His troop was on duty as peace keepers in Iraq when their headquarters was rammed by a truck filled with explosives. A conflagration happened, a fireball erupted. Many were killed. Italy was in shock. Amidst the raging fires, Dario Monforte rescued two of his comrades. Newspapers called him the “Hero of Nasiriyah.”
How then did this “baby battle” suddenly have Brunetti immersed in blackmail, investigating a hero’s past, looking into possible art thefts, finding a friend being threatened and his valuable statues smashed, and the baby gangs letting it be known that something BIG was about to happen.
Brunetti is on the cusp of a changing world. His Venice is disappearing, change is afoot. Yet it’s old memories that will shine light on new challenges.
An enigmatic, reflective work, thought provoking without much being said.
As always a pleasure to read Leon’s elegantly crafted and refined works. An exquisite read.

A Grove Atlantic ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Brunetti books always feel like coming home, even though I don’t live in Venice…

In a series with thirty-three books (!!!), one could be forgiven for thinking that it would be hard to keep producing engaging books that draw readers in, while also making them think. But Donna Leon consistently pulls this off, and A Refiner’s Fire is quite simply the latest example.

Venice is changing with the times, hollowing out so that more tourists visit, but fewer people actually live there. And into some of that empty space have come “baby gangs” of young teens who organize on social media, but then sometimes get together to fight for real. Although no one - including, apparently, the teens themselves - can really figure out why they’re fighting.

A Refiner’s Fire opens with one such scene, which the police manage to control, bringing the erstwhile combatants to the station to be picked up by their parents. But one of the kids doesn’t get picked up by his war-hero dad, Dario Monforte. So Commissario Claudia Griffoni channels her colleague, Commissario Brunetti, and walks the boy home - a simple courtesy that doesn't seem as if it should have repercussions. Meanwhile, in what seems to be a separate incident, the station’s usually taciturn chief technician, Enzo Bocchese, confides to Brunetti his fears of his neighbors’ nasty and aggressive son. And in what is still the small town of Venice, where coincidences aren’t that surprising, Brunetti gets asked to check out Monforte’s background, as a favor for an acquaintance of Brunetti’s boss, Vice-Questore Patta - and finds that there are definitely some irregularities there. Mix all that together, and there is plenty for readers to figure out, following along with Brunetti and his usual crew.

One of the things I really appreciate about Leon’s books are that she helps me think about things that are often easier to gloss over. But a book that just makes you think might be rather bleak, and in the end, I’m reading mysteries for pleasure too. So it’s worth mentioning that A Refiner’s Fire still has all the good things that also keep me coming back to read each new book in the series: Brunetti’s humanity and decency, even in circumstances that would make many quite cynical; Paola’s quirky but rock-solid sense of ethics; Brunetti’s team, who reflect back his own good attributes; and even Paola’s parents, sharp and engaged. And of course, Signorina Elettra, of whose “extraordinary research abilities” it is said that “any database protection was a garden in which she delighted to play”. And even more of course, Venice itself.

When ranked among all Brunetti books, A Refiner’s Fire is somewhere in the middle for me. But the real ranking shouldn’t be against all the other Brunetti books, but against all the other books I could have chosen to read, and in that pond, it shines brilliantly. (Apologies for the mixed metaphor, but you get the idea…) Still, if you’re new to the series, I don’t think I’d choose this one to read first, but would head for the earlier ones, and read in order. Luckily, though, one of the nice things about this series is that the books tend to go on sale fairly often. So even once you get hooked, which you will, you won’t have to spend a lot of money while you read.

And finally, my thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the review copy.

Around one AM on an early spring morning, two teenage gangs are arrested after clashing violently in one of Venice’s squares. Commissario Claudia Griffoni, on duty that night, perhaps ill-advisedly walks the last of the boys home because his father, Dario Monforte, failed to pick him up at the Questura. Coincidentally, Guido Brunetti is asked to vet Monforte for a job by a wealthy friend of Vice-Questore Patta. Surprisingly empowered by Patta, supported by Signorina Elettra’s extraordinary research abilities and by his wife, Paola’s, empathy, Brunetti, with Griffoni, gradually discovers the sordid hypocrisy surrounding Monforte’s past, culminating in a fiery meeting of two gangs and a final opportunity for redemption.
The thirty third outing for Brunetti, I do love this series & look forward to each addition. I love Guido & his family & friends. I also love the insight into venetian life & the author’s descriptions bring Venice to life. An intriguing case & my interest was held all the way through. I did feel that this book wasn’t as good as others & there were some loose ends but I’ll still eagerly await book thirty four
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

This is a very good addition to a series which I have loved for many years. Two teenage gangs have a fight in Venice, and the police step in and bring them all to the station. The police call the parents to come get the boys, but one boy's father can't be reached, and Griffoni offers to walk Orlando home. The father of the boy, Monforte was celebrated as a her0 many years before when he was with the Caribineri in Iraq. Meanwhile, Brunetti is asked to see Bocchese who tells him his neighbor's son has been trying to trip Bocchese on the stairs and Bocchese believes the boy has been into his apartment. Lastly Bocchese says he is going to sell his collection of statues and wants Brunetti to go to his apartment to help him pick which three statues to keep. The next morning Bocchese doesn't show up for work. When Brunetti finally decides to go to his apartment, he finds Bocchese lying on his bedroom floor in a pool of blood. Brunetti calls the ambulance, the then finds the statue room is in great disarray with the statues strewn around the room broken and scratched. Meanwhile, Elettra has been researching Monforte, and found that he was not the hero he had pretended to be.

Near the end of the book the two gangs get together again, and there is a very exciting ending to the story. I thank Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC which allowed me to read the book before publication.

While I have not read all of these the ones that I read were good, 4* good. I love Brunetti and his relationships but this one didn't land for me. The setting was not a romantic Venice filled with beautiful things but comes across as seedy and sad. The story begins with a problem they have with baby gangs and the mischief they are causing. One of the young men is the son of carabinieri who was a hero in Iraq. Then things got muddy. The head of the crime lab is attacked in his home by a neighbor's son. Griffoni is accused of making advances on one of the young men in the baby gang and there is an investigation into whether or not the man was really a hero. I kept reading in the hope that it would all tie together and it did, kind of, but there seemed to be a lot of plot points just missing. Sure I will continue to read about Brunetti because I know how good Leon can really be.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a digital copy.

Written by a talented favorite author, this is a tale of gangs…the law enforcement tries to settle problems and save lives…not easy…a cast of diverse characters work together…mostly…some not…intriguing…thanks Netgalley.

As always, this is as much about Venice as it is about crime and punishment, Fans of this long running series will be pleased to spend time once again with Guido and Claudia but might wish that some of the dangling plot elements had been tied up a bit better (mind, the end is quite. well, no spoilers!). This is grounded in a lie dating back to the Iraq war when a man was deemed a hero but was he? It all unravels when his son is picked up in a sweep of baby gang members. Leon can transport the reader to time and place (and Venice) and this is no exception. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

Donna Leon's fire is refining her writing and her characters and her Venice. For me it continues to feel such a comfort to read because I've been reading this series for years now and each book apart from creating it's own memories brings up the memories of the past.

Leon plays with fire in this one, an inferno from the past with lasting effects into the present. What's forged in that inferno has the present firmly in it's grasp and the lies that are a foundation for the present will take their own toll.

Superbly done as always.

An ARC kindly provided by author/publisher via Edelweiss - Netgalley

Another great one from Donna Leon. I appreciate how she continues to make the topics of these books relevant. Great characters and some sad https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/54995319?ref=nav_profile_l

This book No. 33 in Commissioner Brunetti's series tells of the Nassiriya massacre and how it was connected to the theft of Iraqi artwork. Obviously it is a work of fiction, as is the Venice that is a victim of baby gangs, partly because I don't think enough kids can even be found to go to school in present-day Venice anymore, but I'm surely wrong. Anyway, Brunetti is always a sure read, and this time too I enjoyed reading a good detective story where there is actually no victim until the penultimate page.

Questo libro n. 33 nella serie del commissario Brunetti, racconta della strage di Nassiriya e di come fosse collegata al furto delle opere d'arte irachene. Ovviamente é un'opera di fantasia, cosí come la Venezia vittima delle baby gang, anche perché non credo che si trovino nemmeno piú sufficienti ragazzi per andare a scuola nell'attuale Venezia, ma sicuramente mi sbaglio. Comunque Brunetti é sempre una sicurezza e anche stavolta mi sono divertita a leggere un buon giallo dove in realtá non c'é una vittima fino alla penultima pagina.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

"In the thirty-third installment of Donna Leon's magnificent series, Commissario Guido Brunetti confronts a present-day Venetian menace and the ghosts of a heroism that never was.

Around one AM on an early spring morning, two teenage gangs are arrested after clashing violently in one of Venice's squares. Commissario Claudia Griffoni, on duty that night, perhaps ill-advisedly walks the last of the boys home because his father, Dario Monforte, failed to pick him up at the Questura. Coincidentally, Guido Brunetti is asked by a wealthy friend of Vice-Questore Patta to vet Monforte for a job, triggering Brunetti's memory that twenty years earlier Monforte had been publicly celebrated as the hero of a devastating bombing of the Italian military compound in Iraq. Yet Monforte had never been awarded a medal either by the Carabinieri, his service branch, or by the Italian government.

That seeming contradiction, and the brutal attack on one of Brunetti's colleagues, Enzo Bocchese, by a possible gang member, concentrate Brunetti's attentions. Surprisingly empowered by Patta, supported by Signorina Elettra's extraordinary research abilities and by his wife, Paola's, empathy, Brunetti, with Griffoni, gradually discovers the sordid hypocrisy surrounding Monforte's past, culminating in a fiery meeting of two gangs and a final opportunity for redemption.

A Refiner's Fire is Donna Leon at her very best: an elegant, sophisticated storyteller whose indelible characters become richer with each book, and who constantly explores the ambiguity between moral and legal justice."

My Mom sure knew how to pick good mysteries series. This was a favorite of hers.

Venice’s glow seems to be a bit tarnished, and a bit duller in this 33rd installment of the Commissario Guido Brunetti series as youth gangs, pickpockets and even an occasional mugger have become a bit more prevalent than in the past. Even Brunetti’s boss has been mugged, although in his case the results may be positive. Leon’s story revolves around the so-called baby gangs, and the 2003 truck bombing of an Italian Carabinieri headquarters in Nasiriyah, Iraq, killing 18 service members.. Leon weaves the two stories together in a way I’ve come to love, and as always, Brunetti’s reflections on the issues he faces are well written and sometimes thought provoking. The ending left me wanting a bit more, and the overall feeling of sadness added to that. I would still highly recommend the book to other readers who love the series, although it’s not one of my favorites. One can only hope Venice can find her way through the problems she’s facing, some that are unique to her, so the name La Serenissima continues to be appropriate.

This is a wonderful if slightly scary view of modern Venice. Fewer and fewer people populate the streets and houses and gangs are forming among the bored teens who remain. Knowing that Leon frequently uses real life headlines for her tales, makes me wonder if the Venetian tourist board will like her story--well, maybe they will since they seem to hope for fewer tourists . As always, her plotting and continual insights into the mind of Detective and his family kept me glued to the page. However, I did feel that this latest installment seemed a bit rushed at the end.
I was saddened to see one of the series stalwart side characters, Bocchese, will be leaving the series--well , the Questura at least. He is not moving out of town, so he might appear in another episode.
This is the 34th episode of the adventures of Inspector Brunetti, yet Leon makes it fresh. If you have never read any of the series and start with this one, you will not be lost, but I'm not sure this one will make you want to read the rest of the series--but let me say, you should. This is good, but others rise to the level of magnificent.
Giving this a 4 or 3.75 if I cold .

With a long-running series like the Brunetti novels, it is difficult to find something new and original to say! Suffice it to say that La Serenissima comes across as a jewel, as always, Guido is on top form, the writing exemplary and the plot very interesting.