âPure pleasure.â Evening Standard
âAn absolute treat . . . wittily and slyly written.â Euro Crime
AN AURELIO ZEN MYSTERY
When the corpse of the shady industrialist who owns the local football team is found both shot and stabbed, Inspector Aurelio Zen is called to Bologna to oversee the investigation. Recovering slowly from surgery, and fleeing an equally painful crisis in his personal life, Zen is only too happy to take on what at first appears to be a routine and relatively undemanding assignment.
But soon a world-famous university professor is shot with the same gun, and the case threatens to spin out of control . . .
âThe best of the Zen series. Exceptionally clever and witty.â 5* reader review
âA very entertaining romp with Zen.â 5* reader review
âVery funny and perceptive on Italian society. Michael Dibdinâs Zen books are the top of the pile in detective fiction.â 5* reader review
PRAISE FOR MICHAEL DIBDIN AND THE INSPECTOR ZEN SERIES:
âHe wrote with real fire.â IAN RANKIN
âA maestro of crime writing.â SUNDAY TIMES
âOne of the genreâs finest stylists . . . And Zen himself is a masterly creation: he is anti-heroic and pragmatic but obstinate, cunning and positively burdened with integrity.â GUARDIAN
âDibdin tells a rollicking good tale that you want both to read fast, because of its gripping storyline, and to linger over, to savour the evocative descriptions of place and mood.â INDEPENDENT
âOne of British crime fictionâs most distinguished and distinctive voices.â ANDREW TAYLOR
âDibdin has a gift for shocking the unshockable reader.â Ruth Rendell
âZen is one of the greatest creations of contemporary crime fiction.â OBSERVER
âI love the way these books capture the atmosphere and contradictions of Italy.â 5* reader review
âAurelio Zen novels are a great treat.â 5* reader review
âThere is no better writer than Dibdin. His books are a joy to read.â 5* reader review
âLove these books . . . I am sure you will get hooked too!â 5* reader review
Industry Reviews
"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"
