Guido Brunetti

Inspector Guido Brunetti is a Venetian, living with his family in Venice. He takes his work very seriously, and he does not necessarily literally adhere to the instructions of his superiors. His workplace is across the Campo San Lorenzo, at the Canale di San Marco.

His office, located on the fourth floor, provides him with a view of the brick facade of the San Lorenzo Church. The office of his boss, Vice-Superintendent Patta, and his secretary, Signorina Elettra, are on the second floor.

Brunetti is a rather unsung hero, often melancholic, who can, unfortunately, not always solve a case to his complete satisfaction. However, he always clears up the events and identifies the perpetrators and the masterminds behind the missions. Since these are mostly powerful backers with far-flung contacts, he often does not succeed in bringing these the actual perpetrators to justice.

The Brunetti Family

Guido Brunetti is happily married to his wife, Paola. The couple has 2 children, the elder son, Raffaele, and the younger daughter, Chiara. Guido's wife, Paola, is the daughter of Count Falier, and thereby a part of one of the oldest families in Venice. She works as a professor of English literature. The family lives in a spacious apartment with a large roof terrace on the fourth floor that may be reached by going up 95 steps. From the bedroom, the couple has a view of the tower of the nearby San Polo Church.

The private lives of the two children is not further described in the novels. Paola and her children have an intimate relationship both with Paola's parents and also to Brunetti's mother. Guido's relationship with his father is not exactly tensioned, but a bit stiff. Nevertheless, Brunetti occasionally receives information from his father, helping him solve a case.

Brunetti's Colleagues

Brunetti's superior is Venice police chief Vice. He is depicted in both the novels and the films as being incapable and mostly in disagreement with his subordinate. Moreover, Patta is easy impressed by a title or by a person's popularity. However, Patta’s incompetence and claims to other procedures do not prevent Brunetti from solving a case in his way.

Inspector Patta’s constant companion is the loyal Sergeant Vianello, who always makes a good impression and who firmly believes that there must also remain time to eat during an investigation. Sergeant Vianello repeatedly surprises his superiors, for example Brunetti, when he found out that Vianello is physically very active and environmentally conscious. Vice Inspector Pata’s antechamber is Signorina Elettra’s place of work, Patta’s secretary since the third novel.

Signorina Elettra is a modern and independent woman, constantly helping Brunetti and Vianello with her computer skills. Without bothering too much about complying with the laws or usual practices, she obtains information that you one not necessarily get in the ordinary way. If she cannot find the desired information, she usually has a friend or acquaintance in a decisive position, willing to do her the favour.

An equally common figure is Inspector Alvise, who was brought by Vice Inspector Patta when he took office. Alvise makes a moderately intelligent impression and always plays by the rules, thinking little about a case. Nevertheless, he is appreciated by Patta, because he adheres strictly to the approved procedures.

The Books

The scope of Inspector Brunetti’s cases includes current topics such as environmental scandals, dealing with asylum seekers, corruption, bribery in construction administration, sex tourism, and more. The characters and locations are described in detailed so that you get a wonderful impression of the flair of Venice and can research the locations with the help of a city map.

The charm of this series does not rely on the extraordinary, but on the ability to relate entirely to the characters. With every newly published book you get the feeling that you are seeing good old friends again. Eating and drinking with them, laughing and mourning with them. And you get to know the characters better with every book.

Death at La Fenice. Inspector Brunetti's first case

Death in a Strange Country. Inspector Brunetti's second case

The Anonymous Venetian. Inspector Brunetti's third case

A Venetian Reckoning. Inspector Brunetti's fourth case

Acqua Alta. Inspector Brunetti's fifth case

The Death of Faith. Inspector Brunetti's sixth case

A Noble Radiance. Inspector Brunetti's seventh case

Fatal Remedies. Inspector Brunetti's eighth case

Friends in High Places. Inspector Brunetti's ninth case

A Sea of Troubles. Inspector Brunetti's tenth case

Wilful Behaviour. Inspector Brunetti's eleventh case

Uniform Justice. Inspector Brunetti's twelfth case

Doctored Evidence. Inspector Brunetti's thirteenth case

Blood from a Stone. Inspector Brunetti's fourteenth case

Through a Glass, Darkly. Inspector Brunetti's fifteenth case

Suffer the Little Children. Inspector Brunetti's sixteenth case

The Girl of His Dreams. Inspector Brunetti's seventeenth case

About Face. Inspector Brunetti's eighteenth case

A Question of Belief. Inspector Brunetti nineteenth case

Drawing Conclusions. Inspector Brunetti twentieth case

Inspector Brunetti on TV

The series is shot on location in Venice, however, not in the order of the books. Even in terms of the events, the writers do not necessarily comply with those described in the originals novels.

For example, new people and subplots are introduced and sometimes not even the resolutions of the cases reflect those in the original novel.

Main Characters in the Series

Inspector Guido Brunetti: Joachim Krol (episodes 1–4) / Uwe Kockisch (since episode 5)

Paola Brunetti (his wife): Barbara Auer (episodes 1–4) / Julia Jager (since episode 5)

Raffaele „Raffi“ Brunetti (his son): Patrick Diemling

Chiara Brunetti (his daughter): Laura-Charlotte Syniawa

Vice-Questore Patta: Michael Degen

Sergente (Lorenzo) Vianello: Karl Fischer

Signorina Elettra Zorzi: Annett Renneberg

Sergente Alvise: Dietmar Mossmer

Dottore Aurino: Ueli Jaggi

Signora Volpato: Monica Bleibtreu

Supporting Characters

Signora Brunetti (Guido’s mother): (since episode 7) Christel Peters

Conte Orazio Falier (Paola‘s father): Peter Fitz

Case Order in the Series

1. A Venetian Reckoning (Brunetti’s 4^th case)

2. The Anonymous Venetian (Brunetti‘s 3^rd case)

3. Fatal Remedies (Brunetti‘s 8^th case)

4. A Noble Radiance (Brunetti’s 7^th case)

5. Death at La Fenice (Brunetti’s 1^st case)

6. Friends in High Places (Brunetti’s 9^th case)

7. The Death of Faith (Brunetti’s 6^th case)

8. Acqua Alta (Brunetti’s 5^th case)

9. Doctored Evidence (Brunetti’s 13^th case)

10. Uniform Justice (Brunetti’s 12^th case)

11. Death in a Strange Country (Brunetti’s 2^nd case)

12. A Sea of Troubles (Brunetti’s 10^th case)

13. Wilful Behaviour (Brunetti’s 11^th case)

14. Blood from a Stone (Brunetti’s 14^th case)

15. Through a Glass, Darkly (Brunetti’s 15^th case)

Other roles in the individual episodes were played, among others, by Axel Milberg, Peter Weck, Helmut Zielr, Gunnar Moller, Rosel Zech, Saskia Vester, Heiner Lauterbach, Esther Schweins, Monica Bleibtreu, Gottfried John, Suzanne von Borsody, Tilo Pruckner, Leslie Malton , Gesine Cukrowski, Udo Schenk, Alexander Held, Tatjana Blacher, Simone Thomalla, Julia Richter, Maria Furtwangler and many more.

The American author Donna Leon lives and works in Venice.