End Games (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

After the criminally misunderstood Back to Bologna, Dibdin returned to a more traditional (by his standards, in any case) tone for what would sadly prove to be his last Aurelio Zen novel (and, to get this straight: this is all Dibdin's work. The proofs were released a good while before he died, and, I had finished my copy the very day before he passed away. So no more mumbling about it being completed post-mortem, please.) It still has the cruel wit of the previous novel, but lacks the elements of farce and pastiche which made Back to Bologna such an unconventional work in his canon. And, as a result, is far more likely to be appreciated both by existing fans and newcomers. Indeed, in tyhat traditional sense End Games is a complete return to his novels of old, prior to And Then You Die, say, or maybe even Cosi Fan Tuti. Zen is on excellent form, more interesting in this novel than possibly ever before. Posted to Calabria to investigate the disappearance of an American ex-pat lawyer, he meets with a wall of silence and the uncomfortable presence of an American film director looking to film an interpretation of the Book of Revelations, and his backers, who themselves are hunting for something far more related to Zen's profession...

Here, if it is even possible, Dibdin conveys the best portrait of any of his chosen Itaian regions yet, the most atmospheric rendition of a time and place. With both his outsiders and insiders eye, Dibdin consistently manages to produce twistedly authentic pictures of his Italy, laid bare with a logical and sometimes wilfully baffled eye. The writing itself has absolute wit, and can be lushly biting in its description of people and their motives. His can be clear in his prose as well as being able to create sentences that writhe like vines, ripe with humour, insight, and lexical wizardy all at the same time. Above all things, Dibdin was always a supremely brilliant writer of prose, and that is why he never really put a foot wrong. The literary world has lost a great talent, but End Games - completely engaging, full of event, suspenseful and an absolute reader's treat - is a wonderful final note to leave on. In the backlists of crime fiction, long live Aurelio Zen!

Others who have reviewed the book already have spoken very eloquently about the plot of the book. I just wanted to add that I have read all the Zen books and there was a time when one or two became heavy weather and I nearly didn't buy any of the more recent ones. That would have been a mistake, as this, the last ever Zen novel, is back to the old almost-unputdownable. I was also relieved that Zen's personal life was happy again after the tortured state of his relationship in the previous book. If you haven't read a Zen book before - lucky you, you have a whole stack of great stuff to read. But I agree with the other reviewers who say don't start with this book. I'd advise looking at when they were all published and going in chronological order. You will end up sad when you've finished End Games and realise again that there is no more.

2008 was a bad year for fans of Italian crime with the deaths of Dibdin and Magdalen Nabb within months of each other. Of the quality writers on this subject Donna Leon and Andrea Camilleri are now pretty much alone - let's hope someone emerges to fill the gap that has been left. None of the other pretenders have impressed me so far.

After the poor effort that was 2006's 'Back to Bologna' (ridiculous characters, silly coincidences etc), Michael Dibdin is almost back on form for this, his final (sadly) Zen novel. The plot is more complex, the characters more believable (barring an unrealistically stupid internet billionaire) and the 'personality' of the Italian location (this time Calabria in the far South) cleverly captured.

I would recommend this novel to Dibdin fans but - like the previous reviewer - would recommend first-timers start on one of Dibdin's earlier and far superior novels (eg, RatKing, Cabal or Dead Lagoon). For these alone he will be sorely missed.