Donna Leon is best known for her series of crime novels set in Venice, Italy, featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti. In Backstage (2025) Donna Leon discusses her writing life and the authors and books that affected it.

While writing about “Redentore” Leon declares that one of her favorite mysteries (p. 69) is Ruth Rendell’s A Judgement in Stone (1977). In fact, Ruth Rendell is one of Leon’s favorite mystery writers.

In “Great Expectations” Leon confesses: “One book that I keep returning to is Dickens’s Great Expectations, which I fell in love with the I was fifteen.” ( p. 85) Leon falls in love with several books. “First things first: let’s dismiss any idea of impartiality or measured, neutral judgement in this review. Toss the the window even-handedness, restraint, objective. I do not like Patrick O’Brian, I adore him.” (p. 109). I like Patrick O’Brian and, like Donna Leon, I’ve read all of O’Brian’s Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of nautical historical novels—20 completed and one unfinished—by English author Patrick O’Brian, set during the Napoleonic Wars and centring on the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his ship’s surgeon Stephen Maturin, a physician, natural philosopher, and intelligence agent.

In “With a Little Help from Lew Archer,” (p. 132) Leon admits she learned a lot from Ross Macdonald’s private detective from reading all his mysteries.

I’m always interested in the influences that affect writers and their writing process. Donna Leon shares a lot of her secrets in Backstage and I enjoyed them immensely! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Early in Life  

Cedric — 3 

Tell ‘Em Anything — 12 

Jack and Jill –21 

Heroes  

Getting Zapped — 29 

Detectives and Villains — 35 

Orlando’s a Nutcase — 38 

String-Pulling in Venice  

The Diamond Man — 45 

Venice 1729 — 54 

With a View of San Marco — 61 

Redentore — 65 

Mortal Danger  

Getting Out — 75 

Great Expectations — 85 

Regina — 88 

Trips  

San Gennaro — 101 

Master and Commander — 109 

The Beauty of the Unknown — 116 

Behind the Scene  

A New Case for Brunetti — 123 

On the Move — 127 

With a Little Help from Lew Archer — 132 

Amorality  

Dirt — 137 

Janus-Faced Deity — 144 

A Complex Character –155 

Love  

Dear Guido — 161 

Gardening — 163 

A Book of a Lifetime — 167 

Moment of Truth  

The Death of Ivan Itych — 171 

The Big Bow Wow — 175 

Show, Don’t Tell — 180 

Ends  

The Big Sleep — 191 

Loneliness — 196 

Addio –201 

In Memoriam — 205 

The 6-2 Buffalo Bills travel to Florida to take on the 2-7 Miami Dolphins (aka, Dumpster Fire). Miami fans are appalled at their team’s poor performances and misguided trades. The Bills are 9 1/2 point favorites, despite the rash of injuries on Defense.

How will your favorite NFL team perform today?

Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show 46 times. I’m sure I saw all 46 because my parents were big fans of The Ed Sullivan Show and watched it faithfully. And, of course, my brother and sisters and I watched it, too.

Stiller and Meara’s son, Ben Stiller, during the Pandemic, decided to make a documentary film about his famous parents.

Ben Stiller does not sugar-coat his parents’ relationship–which was rocky at times. Anne Meara developed a drinking problem. Anne Meara also had acting ambitions and considered comedy inferior to “real drama.”

Jourdain Searles of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars and wrote that it’s “a fascinating snapshot of American comedy history, illustrating how much the industry has evolved over time.

I found Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost (2025) deeply personal and honest. Ben Stiller presents his parents in sharp detail. Nothing is Lost and nothing is hidden in this brilliant documentary. GRADE: A

Mick Herron‘s Down Cemetery Road was first published in 2003. With the success of Herron’s dysfunctional spy series, Slow Horses, on Apple TV+,  Morwenna Banks adapted Down Cemetery Road for an 8-episode series directed by Natalie Bailey for Apple TV+.

I’m very impressed by Emma Thompson who plays the private investigator Zoë Boehm, a woman of grit, determination, and intelligence. Zoe’s new client, Sarah Tucker (played by the glorious Ruth Wilson), is looking for a missing child.

The two women join forces as they untangle a nefarious Government plot. I’m enjoying the Apple TV+ version of Down Cemetery Road (you can read about it here) but this largely forgotten novel launched Mick Herron’s career that is now celebrated by the Slow Horses series. The novel shows the glimmer of talent that will burst into fame for Mick Herron in the years ahead. GRADE: B+

Zoë Boehm series:

1. Down Cemetery Road (2003)
2. The Last Voice You Hear (2004)
3. Why We Die (2006)
4. Smoke and Whispers (2009)

Back in 1987, my sisters fell in love with Dirty Dancing. Well, more accurately, they fell in love with Patrick Swayze who plays dance instructor Johnny Castle in the movie. Set in a vacation resort in the 1963 Borscht Belt, the film made $214 million worldwide. Clearly, there was an enthusiastic audience the seething sexual chemistry between Swayze and Jennifer Grey.

When I saw Dirty Dancing I was impressed by the soundtrack of the movie. Dirty Dancing included more music than many of the films in theaters at that time. There was a lot of dance music–after all this is a movie about dirty dancing–but there was also a surprising number of songs from the early 1960s included like “Be My Baby” by the The Ronettes, “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by The Four Seasons, “Stay” by Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles, and “Some Kind of Wonderful” by The Drifters.

Are you a fan of Dirty Dancing? Do you remember the music in this movie? GRADE: B

TRACK LIST:

1	The Ronettes–	Be My Baby Producer – Phil SpectorWritten-By – Phil Spector / Ellie Greenwich / Jeff Barry*	2:38
2	Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons*–	Big Girls Don’t CryWritten-By – Bob Gaudio / Bob Crewe*	2:22
3	Michael Lloyd & Le Disc–	Merengue Producer – Michael LloydWritten-By – Erich Bulling, John D’Andrea, Michael Lloyd	2:16
4	Michael Lloyd & Le Disc–	Trot The Fox Producer – Michael LloydWritten-By – John D’Andrea, Michael Lloyd	2:04
5	Michael Lloyd & Le Disc–	Johnny’s Mambo Producer – Michael LloydWritten-By – Erich Bulling, John D’Andrea, Michael Lloyd	3:00
6	The John Morris Orchestra–	The Time Of My Life (Instrumental Version) Producer – John MorrisWritten-By – Donald Markowitz, Franke Previte, John DeNicola	0:41
7	Tom Johnston–	Where Are You Tonight? Engineer – Gene FosterMusic Consultant – Inside Track, Inc.Producer – Leon MedicaWritten-By – Mark Scola	4:01
8	The Contours–	Do You Love Me Producer – Berry Gordy Jr.*Written-By – Berry Gordy Jr.*	2:52
9	Otis Redding–	Love Man Written-By – Otis Redding	2:14
10	Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs–	Stay Written-By – Maurice Williams	1:34
11	The Surfaris–	Wipeout Producer – Charles Bud Dant*Written-By – Robert Earl Berryhill*, James Evans Fuller*, Patrick Vincent Connolly*, Ronald Lee Wilson*	2:37
12	Eric Carmen–	Hungry Eyes Engineer – Jim DeMainProducer – Eric CarmenRemix – George Sipl, Jim DeMainWritten-By – Franke Previte, John DeNicola	4:08
13	Zappacosta–	Overload Engineer – Jeff McCullochEngineer [Assistant] – Andy Koyama, Walter Soeczak*Producer – Alfie Zappacosta*Written-By – Marco Luciani, Alfred Zappacosta*	3:40
14	Bruce Channel–	Hey Baby Producer – Major Bill Smith Written-By – Bruce Channel, Margaret Cobb	2:23
15	Michael Lloyd & Le Disc–	De Todo Un Poco Producer – Michael LloydWritten-By – Lou Perez	2:28
16	The Drifters–	Some Kind Of Wonderful Producer – Jerry Leiber And Mike Stoller*Written-By – Carole King / Gerry Goffin*	2:34
17	Otis Redding–	These Arms Of Mine Written-By – Otis Redding	2:27
18	Solomon Burke–	Cry To Me Written-By – Bert Russell	2:31
19	The Shirelles–	Will You Love Me Tomorrow Written-By – Carole King / Gerry Goffin*	2:41
20	Mickey & Sylvia–	Love Is Strange Written-By – Ellas McDaniels*, Mickey Baker, Sylvia Robinson	2:55
21	The Blow Monkeys–	You Don’t Own Me Engineer – Ben KapeProducer – Peter WilsonWritten-By – David White (5), John Madara	3:02
22	Merry Clayton–	Yes Arranged By – Gene PageEngineer – Carmine RubinoEngineer [Assistant] – Jimmy Hoysan*Producer – Michael LloydWritten-By – Neal Cavanaugh, Terry Fryer, Thomas Graf*	3:16
23	The Five Satins–	In The Still Of The Night Written-By – Fred Parris	3:05
24	Patrick Swayze Featuring Wendy Fraser–	She’s Like The Wind Engineer – Carmine RubinoEngineer [Assistant] – Dan NebenzalOrchestrated By [Additional] – John D’AndreaProducer – Michael LloydWritten-By – Patrick Swayze, Stacy Widelitz*	3:52
25	The Emile Bergstein Chorale–	Kellerman’s Anthem Written-By – Michael Goldman	2:29
26	Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes–	(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life Arranged By – Gene PageArranged By [Additional] – John D’Andrea, Michael LloydEngineer – Carmine RubinoEngineer [1st Assistant] – Dan NebenzalEngineer [2nd Assistant] – Jeff DeMorrisProducer – Michael LloydRemix – Carmine Rubino, Dan Nebenzal, Jimmy Ienner, Michael LloydWritten-By – Donald Markowitz, Franke Previte, John DeNicola	6:46

It was a very sad day in 2022 when I read Patricia A. McKillip had died at the age of 74. I’d been reading McKillip’s wonderful fantasies for decades. It started back in 1976 when I first read The Riddle-Master of Hed. By the final page of the book, I knew I had just read what would be considered a classic.

I went back and read McKillip’s 1975 fantasy, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Brilliant! And, as the years went by, I read every McKillip book that came my way. In addition to being a gifted novelist, McKillip could dazzle readers with her short stories, too.

Tachyon Press has honored Patricia A. McKillip with a marvelous collection of her best fantasy stories. And, surprisingly, two non-fiction pieces–“What Inspires Me” and “Writing High Fantasy”–shares McKillip’s approach to writing and her love for fantasy. These insights made me appreciate McKillip even more! If you haven’t read Patricia A. McKillip, The Essential Patricia A. McKillip is the perfect place to start! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction by Ellen Kushner

Stories
“Lady of the Skulls”
“Wonders of the Invisible World”
“The Lion and the Lark”
“The Harrowing of the Dragon of Hoarsbreath”
“Out of the Woods”
“The Fortune Teller”
“The Witches of Junket”
“Byndley”
“Jack O’Lantern”
“The Stranger”
“The Gorgon in the Cupboard”
“Mer”
“Weird”
“Hunter’s Moon”
“Undine”
“Knight of the Well”

Nonfiction
“What Inspires Me”: Guest of Honor Speech at WisCon
“Writing High Fantasy”

Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox, reprising the role from the Netflix series and a few appearances in the MCU) dons his pointy red ears again and battles rampant crime. This nine-episode series gets off to a slow start–the first episode is just a rehash of what happened to Daredevil leading up to this new series. But, once it gets going Daredevil: Born Again delivers action and entertainment.

“Wilson Fisk, (aka, Kingpin played by Vincent D’Onofrio), a crook, bully, and prime Daredevil rival who hijacks the electoral system and becomes the Mayor of New York City. Once in office, the imposing thug uses his power to personally enrich himself and get vengeance on his personal enemies. Sound familiar?”

In addition to Kingpin, Daredevil also faces the Muse, Poindexter (Wilson Bethel), and other criminals. But the main attraction to this new series is the resistance to a tyrant who has taken over the City. GRADE: Incomplete, but trending towards a B+

The Fantastic Detective Notebook is a browser’s delight! Gary Lovisi has updated the limited paperback edition from 40 years ago and Stark House has included dozens of eye-popping full-color covers to make this book a necessity for book lovers!

If you’re a fan of fantastic fiction and detective stories–a unique genre blend–Gary Lovisi takes you on a guide tour up and down the mean streets and menacing space ways. Just check out the Table of Contents. You’ll see dozens of authors you’re familiar with who write about Science Fiction Private Investigators and wizardly detectives.

The combination of great full-color cover artwork and bibliographic detail with insightful analysis makes The Fantastic Detective Notebook a great book for readers and collectors. And, it would make a marvelous holiday gift for that hard to please book lover on your Shopping List! Don’t miss this important and unique volume from Stark House! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction to the 2025 Edition — 9

Preface to the Original Edition — 11

THE AUTHORS:

Mario Acevedo — 21

Lou Anders — 22

Donna Andrews — 22

Neal Asher — 23

Isaac Asimov — 24

Janet Asimov — 31

Robert Aspirin, Linda Evans — 31

Kage Baker — 32

Bruce Balfour — 32

John Barnes –33

K. A. Bedford — 35

Alfred Bester — 36

Lloyd Biggie, Jr. — 37

P. L. Blair — 38

Algernon Blackwood — 39

David Brin — 40

Rosel George Brown — 40

Eric Brown — 41

Fredric Brown — 45

Jim Butcher — 46

Dennis R. Caro — 48

Caleb Carr — 48

Michael Chabon — 49

Jack L. Chalker — 49

Curt Clark (Donald E. Westlake) — 50

Hal Clement — 51

Barney Cohen — 53

James Nelson Coleman — 55

Glen Cook — 55

John Connolly — 60

Arthur Byron Cover — 64

Jamie Craig — 65

John Dalmas — 65

Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois — 66

Maurice G. Dantec — 66

Avram Davidson — 68

Len Deighton –68

Lester del Rey — 69

Mirian Allen deFord — 70

Marianne de Pierres –71

Philip K. Dick — 72

William C. Dietz — 75

J. M. Dillard — 75

George Alec Effinger — 76

P. N. Elrod — 78

Philip Jose Farmer — 81

Jonathan Fast — 81

Joe Clifford Faust — 82

Alan Dean Foster — 82

Andrew Fox — 84

George Foy — 84

Colin Free — 85

Robert Frezza — 86

Eric James Fullilove — 86

W. D. Gagliani — 87

Eric Garcia — 88

Randall Garrett — 89

Jean Mark Gawron — 91

Chet Gottfried — 92

Stephen Goldin — 92

Ron Goulart — 93

Rob Grant — 101

Simon R. Green — 102

Terence M. Green — 104

Martin H. Greenberg — 106

Guy Haley — 106

Warren Hammond — 107

Harry Harrison — 108

Isidore Haiblum — 109

Peter F. Hamilton — 110

Colin Harvey — 111

Lynn S. Hightower — 111

Douglas Hill — 112

Edward D. Hoch — 113

William Hope Hodgson — 114

James P. Hogan — 115

Trevor Hoyle — 116

Bob Ingersoll & Tony Isabella — 116

Maxin Jakubowski & M. Christian — 117

Laurence M. Janifer –117

K. W. Jeter — 118

Colin Kapp –119

Lee Killough — 120

Joe Kimball — 121

Andrew Klavan — 122

Victor Koman — 123

Dean Koontz — 124

Keith Laumer — 124

Stanisław Lem — 125

Jonathan Lethem — 126

Paul Levinson — 128

Frank Belknap Long — 129

Jean Lorrah –129

Katherine MacLean –130

James D. Macdonald — 131

Alan Marks — 131

A. Lee Martinez — 132

Steven E. McDonald — 133

Mike McQuay — 134

Sam Merwin — 135

Chris Moriarty –135

Sam Merwin — 135

Chris Moriarty –135

Lyda Moorehouse — 136

Robert K. Morgan — 136

Robert Morgan (C.J. Henderson) — 139

Ed Naha — 141

Larry Niven — 142

William F. Nolan — 144

Eric Norden — 146

Warren Norwood — 149

Alan E. Nourse –150

Mel Odom –151

Robert O’Riodan — 152

Stephanie Osborn — 153

Alexei Panshin — 154

Robert C. Peterson — 156

Mark Philips — 156

Charles Platt — 157

Fletcher Pratt — 158

Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child — 160

Seabury Quinn — 160

J. Michael Reaves — 161

David V. Reed — 163

Robert Reed — 164

Mike Resnick — 165

Alastair Reynolds — 165

Mack Reynolds — 166

J. D. Robb (Nora Roberts) — 170

Stephen Robinett– 176

Christopher Rowley — 177

Kristine Kathryn Rusch — 178

James Schmitz — 181

William Shatner — 182

Robert Sheckley — 185

John Shirley — 186

Steven I. Shewsbury — 186

Martin Siegel — 186

David Alexander Smith — 187

L. Neil Smith — 188

Wen Spencer — 191

Steven Spruill — 192

Sean Stewart — 194

John E. Stith — 195

Dan Stout — 196

Charles Stross — 199

Anton Strout — 200

Robert Sydney — 201

Jeffrey Thomas — 202

Mark W. Tiedemann — 204

E. C. Tubb — 204

Jack Vance — 205

Mark L. Van Name — 206

Jo Walton — 207

Edward Wellen — 210

Manly Wade Wellman — 210

Ted White — 211

Wynne Whitford — 213

Sean Williams — 214

Nicholas Yermakov (Simon Hawke) — 214

John Zakour & Lawrence Ganem — 215

Roger Zelazny — 220

Afterword — 222

Appendix A: Recommended Reading — 223

Appendix B: Select Short Fiction — 226

Appendix C: A Note on Cover Art — 228

Up to a couple of weeks ago, the Buffalo Bills were favored in this game by 1 1/2 points. Then, Vegas changed the point spread to the Chiefs being favored by 1 1/2 points. This week, Vegas changed the spread again: the Chiefs are now favored by 2 1/2 points.

Why is Vegas changing the point spread? Clearly, all those folks on Fanduel, Draftkings, Caesars Sportsbook, and BetMGM shifted the line from the Bills to the Chiefs. What do they know that we don’t know?

How will your favorite NFL team perform today?