Terri Gerritsen has been, like Clare Mackintosh, a lucky find at a thrift store that turned into a favourite author. The Summer Guests is the second in the series about a group of retired spies living in a small rural area in Maine, where they help the local police officer solve crimes.
The Donna Leon novel is the first I have read in the Commissario Brunetti series. I chose this one because it was about the theft of rare and ancient books from libraries. It was a quick and enjoyable read – maybe four hours – and quite simple. I know I jumped into the middle of the series but I did not enjoy all the Italian words in the book. Donna Leon is American but lived for many years in Venice. She has not allowed her books to be translated into Italian and yet uses many words in the original Italian, which is confusing if you don’t speak it. I am multilingual, work as a translator, and have read translated books, but none of the French/Swedish/Norwegian/German translated books I have read in English have left two or so words per page in the original language. This may be something you pick up as you move through the series though.
I found that annoying too when I read Donna Leon.
Oh thank goodness! I thought it was just me.