2011 book 315

Donna Leon's Death in a Strange Country
I was looking for a new mystery series to get into and Elizabeth recommended this one, about a police commissioner in Venice, saying that although the mysteries themselves were pretty standard stuff, the relationship between the protagonist and his wife was pretty great--and since I tend to like mysteries that are more about the characters than the crimes they solve (cf. the Spellman books and that series about cupcakes), that seemed promising. This is actually the second in the series (the first isn't available for the Kindle) but I didn't feel like I was missing anything major.  The crime here involves a murdered guy from a nearby American Army base who seems to have been a robbery victim--but the commissioner soon realizes there's much more to the story than that. It all plays out in a manner both compelling and melodramatic, but the main character is great and I did really enjoy his family dynamics. I'll definitely be reading the next one. B/B+.