A Long Finish: An Aurelio Zen Mystery: 6 - Softcover

Dibdin, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0375704019 ISBN 13: 9780375704017

Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 2000

Synopsis

A Long Finish (Aurelio Zen Mystery)

About this title

Review:

Fresh from the successful investigation of a series of crimes in Naples, that admirably devious and dour Italian police inspector Aurelio Zen returns to his office in Rome to discover that a new set of bureaucrats is in power--with plans to punish him for his success by sending to him Sicily to fight the Mafia. Fate, in the form of a powerful film director, offers a way out: Zen is to go instead to Piedmont, where the murder of a noted winemaker--apparently by his son and heir--threatens the future of one of the film director's favourite vintages. Even though Zen is a Venetian by birth and drinks "fruity, fresh vino sfuso from the Friuli intended to be consumed within the year", as the director sarcastically notes, he can still see how important the case can be to his future--especially if it keeps him away from deadly Sicily. Not only wine but also truffles are involved in a growing series of murders in the area around Alba, and Michael Dibdin (an English writer who lives in Seattle but must spend lots of time in Italy) once again manages to capture the heart, soul and stomach of the region. Zen, whose personal life is gradually revealed and expanded in each book in the series, finds out several surprising things about being a father in this one. Previous Zen titles include Cosi Fan Tutti, Dead Lagoon, Ratking and Vendetta. --Dick Adler

Review:

"Dibdin belongs to that hierarchy of innovative stylists who make it a point of honor never to repeat a single trick." --The New York Times Book Review

"Dibdin has an ear for prose that is rare in the crime genre....[a] soaring imagination." --Washington Times

"[Dibdin's] work deserves comparison with such . . . giants as Raymond Chandler." --The Portland Oregonian

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0375704019
• ISBN 13: 9780375704017
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272