Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Wilful Behaviour cover art

Wilful Behaviour

By: Donna Leon
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Venetian Game cover art
The Secret in Their Eyes cover art
Ratking cover art
The Holiday Murders cover art
Captain Jack's Woman cover art
The Unquiet Bones cover art
The Rise cover art
Pietr the Latvian cover art
True to the Highlander cover art
Taliesin cover art
Devil of the Highlands cover art
The Man of Legends cover art
Carolina Moon cover art

Summary

When one of his wife Paola's students comes to visit him, with a strange and vague interest in investigating the possibility of a pardon for a crime committed by her grandfather many years ago, Commissario Brunetti thinks little of it, beyond being intrigued and attracted by the girl's intelligence and moral seriousness. But when she is found murdered, clearly stabbed to death, Claudia Leonardo is suddenly no longer simply Paola's student, but Brunetti's case ...

©2002 Donna Leon (P)2012 Random House AudioGO

What listeners say about Wilful Behaviour

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    55
  • 4 Stars
    27
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    47
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    55
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, poor performance

I like the Brunetti series because I love Venice and I like to read about the city. This is a good story, looking back to corruption in WW2. Unfortunately, the performer doesn’t have good Italian pronunciation; Guido’s daughter Chiara Is mispronounced “Chee-Ara” instead of “Kee-ara” and San Zaccaria, a well known area, is also mispronounced, among many others.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Predictable good fun by Leon

Would you listen to Wilful Behaviour again? Why?

Maybe, depends when. A trick is clever really only once. In particular when it comes to crime novels.

What other book might you compare Wilful Behaviour to, and why?

The other Commissario Brunetti novels are somewhat similar, but rather entertaining. Predictable good fun!

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Signorina Elettra's moments on the computer are always fun.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No, not really

Any additional comments?

Great narrator, unfortunately a certain grasp of Italian might have been useful. 'Tshiara' was particularly painful.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Story superb, unfortunately the reader cannot pronounce Italian names

It's a pity that the pronunciation - e.g. Chiara within English "ch" - distracts from the excellent writing

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Poor narrator

Horrible voice. Horrible attempt to do female characters and makes most men sound like thugs! Spoils it. Bring back David Rintoul!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

As always, the story laid out before us by Donna Leon, is both interesting and visually very descriptive, in a believable way. As A reader that has been to Venice 5 times starting in 1980, but not been since 2008, it is almost as if I am being updated, and that is much fun.
On the other hand, being an Italian speaker, I find the interpreter’s mistaken Spanish pronounciation of a main character’s name, and that of several locations, very disturbing and disappointing.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Shame about the Italian (and German) accents….

Good story, but narration needs coaching. Shame as so much of the book contains Italian.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I wish the narrator had received some Italian coaching.

I really enjoyed this story and didn’t mind the very English narration. However I wondered why the Audible editorial staff didn’t pick up the poor Italian pronunciation. Most importantly Chiara’s name is pronounced wrongly. How was this missed. It’s just disappointing and distracting.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

As well written as usual

It's unusual for commissario Brunetti to personally meet the main subject in a case before it becomes a case, but listening to this story it quickly becomes clear how much difference this makes. A well written story again, I was only - as I've been so often with these Itailian crime stories - somewhat unsatisfied with the final outcome ... but maybe that actually makes the story all the more realistic.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

skilful examination of complex emotions

Kept one engrossed and regularly surprised at credible but unexpected twists and turns : strong characterisation

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Crossley gets it right

I really liked Crossley's performance.
All voices spoke as though they were English with individual accents of class and nature, except when they were not Italian and they spoke English as though it were their second language with their own national accent coming through.
Good story, rather complex, but enjoyable.
I would like the Brunetti family to adopt me - they eat so well!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!