Donna Leon is the American author of a series of crime novels set in Venice, Italy and featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti. Leon lived in Venice for over 30 years and now resides in a small village in Switzerland. She also has a home in Zurich.

She was a lecturer in English literature for the University of Maryland University College – Europe in Italy and then worked as a professor from 1981 to 1999 at the American military base of Vicenza, Italy. She stopped teaching and concentrated on writing and other cultural activities in the field of music.