A Refiner's Fire Audiobook By Donna Leon cover art

A Refiner's Fire

The Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries, Book 33

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

A Refiner's Fire

By: Donna Leon
Narrated by: David Colacci
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.00

Buy for $20.00

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

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 a.m. 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.

©2024 Donna Leon and Diogenes Verlag AG Zurich (P)2024 Recorded Books
Hard-Boiled International Mystery & Crime Mystery Police Procedurals Italy Emotionally Gripping
Compelling Characters • Contemporary Subject Matter • Redemptive Storyline • Intriguing Settings • Great Performance
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
The book was gripping and had a great storyline. I love all of Donna Leon's books, and this was one of my favorites.

One of the best of a wonderful series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The narration on this audiobook is excellent, adding to guidos character and appeal The cast of characters around him continues to be interesting. Good plot

Another great Guido brunetti story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

As I said above, the character development was wonderful. However, there is no mystery here. It was evident very early what the theme would be, and there was no intricacy related to a mystery. I found this extremely disappointing. The book is worthwhile read because the characters are so compelling, but I do miss the mystery

As always, wonderful character development

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

"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."

Donna Leon: Always a Winner

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I’m a longtime and loyal fan of Donna Leon’s Brunetti series and will remain so. But this was not among her best. Familiar but a bit boring.

Performance as good as ever, but story disappointing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Loved the story and definitely the narration.

What was disappointing in the story was Guido’s sullenness to take his colleague seriously after being threatened by the son of a neighbor. That’s not what friends, even ‘work friends’, would’ve done.
I expected him to have been killed. But perhaps that would’ve weighed too heavily on Guido moving forward.

In any event, I have loved the series and this book! I can’t wait look for #34!!

One of Donna Leon’s Best!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This story is a far cry from the intelligent complex stories that we are used to getting from Donna Leon. I’m a huge fan of Brunetti, which is the only reason I finished the book. The plot was mediocre and the story just plodded along. I suppose even the best authors should be excused for the occasional stinker.

Not up to Leon’s standard

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Not up to her usual standard. Weak and uninteresting plot, missing much of the usual and enjoyable descriptions of Venice as a background character. Guido, always a delight, seemed less engaged and not as strongly drawn in this one. Maybe Ms. Leon is tiring of the series, seemed like not much effort went into this one. David Colacci’s narration always great.

Disappointing -

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I always enjoy being back in Venice with Guido and his team and his family. Venice is such a major character in these books. The team of Donna Leon with her amazing writing and story and David Colacci and his narration made this a great summer read/listen.

Even the 33rd book is a winner

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I love Donna Leon's books. Venice has always been my favorite town. Having read all of her books, I feel as if I know Brunetti and his extended family, also his Questura family. I have also seen yhe German mystery series based on the books

Teenagers are the same all over.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews