Back to Bologna: 10 (Aurelio Zen Mystery) - Softcover

Dibdin, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307275884 ISBN 13: 9780307275882

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2006

Synopsis

Rare Book

About this title

Review

Every so often--and his new novel Back to Bolognais a good example of this--Michael Dibdin stretches the form of the detective novel to involve his often glum detective Aurelio Zen in situations of wild, bloody farce. Dragged back to work in spite of ill health that may be hypochondria, and faced with the breakdown of his long-term relationship, Zen finds himself caught up in the murder of a football club owner, a cooking duel between a celebrity chef and a post-modern professor and the amorous adventures of a beautiful immigrant from Ruritania. Back to Bologna combines some sharp satirical comments with a dim view of unreasonable behaviour, whether by spoiled brat football hooligans or blundering private eyes. Dibdin combines sharply-phrased misanthropy with a capacity ultimately to forgive human weakness. Many of his books are classics of modern crime writing; Back to Bologna is perhaps less ambitious, but it is a technically accomplished delight. ---Roz Kaveney

Review

"Clever. . . . It has wit, subtlety, a sense of mischief and exquisite cameos of Italy and Italians."-The Times (London)

"Back to Bologna is the sprightliest entry in the Zen oeuvre for a good few years...Barely a page goes by without a big laugh. . . . I can't wait until Dibdin takes us [to Italy] again."-Daily Telegraph

"A clever mystery. . . . Pure pleasure from the first to the last."-The Evening Standard

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0307275884
• ISBN 13: 9780307275882
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240