After his adventures under sun-drenched Neapolitan skies in Cosi Fan Tutti, Aurelio Zen finds himself back in Rome, sneezing in a damp wine cellar and being given another unorthodox assignment: to release the jailed scion of an important wine-growing family who is accused of a brutal murder. Zen travels north to an Italy as outwardly serene as Naples was manic. Amid the quiet fields, autumnal skies and crumbling farmhouses of Piedmont, Zen must try to penetrate a traditional culture in which family and soil are inextricably linked. Here secrets can last for generations, and have a finish as long and lingering as that of a good Barbaresco. Zen must also face up to mysteries from his own past, as well as grapple with the greed, envy, hatred and love that are the human components of any landscape.
A Long Finish
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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
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Once again, Dibdin delivers unforgettable characters in a tightly woven plot." --"The Globe and Mail
""Dibdin has a gift for shocking the unshockable reader. He writes the unmentionable, calmly and with devastating effect." --Ruth Rendell --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
""Dibdin has a gift for shocking the unshockable reader. He writes the unmentionable, calmly and with devastating effect." --Ruth Rendell --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By RachelWalker
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Superb. If you've not read Dibdin, yet consider yourself a connoseur of crime fiction, you must rectify the situation: he's one of the greatest alive. No question.
A Long Finish is the sixth Zen, but do not start here. Go back to the beginning, to Ratking, and then simply chomp your way through the series, looking forward to this particular little gem (my favourite so far). In it we see Zen sent to Piedmont. He would be posted to Sicily, were it not for the influence of someone who wants a very important matter straightening out: the head of a wine-making family has been murdered, his son arrested and charged with the crime. The person-of-influence wants only one thing: the son released (innocent or not), so that the vines can be harvested and the year's vintage produced. Zen is the man for the job. So, off he goes, glad to escape the prospect of Sicily, a posting he has been dreading.
These Zen novels are brilliant. I've only discovered them in the past few months, but Dibdin's already become one of my new favourite authors (Rankin, Connelly, Dibdin, in the male-crime-writing stakes, probably). Zen is such a marvellous character, cunning and cynical, desperately self-serving at times, and yet (as she shows in this book), he has a sometimes-inconvenient (and foolish!) heart. He's witty, charming, sly, a unique creation.
Dibdin's writing suits his character perfectly: it too is cynical, sly, cunning, clever, and yet heart-felt. It's also, at times, hilarious (one characters eats in a restaurant and then "proceeded to damn the meal with praise so faint as to be virtually imperceptible").
I raced through this book in a day. The plot moves quickly (and is less convoluted than in his earliest Zen novels), the cahracters are fascinated and hugely entertaining, and the conclusion is, well, a triumph of restrained barbarism. I enjoyed it hugely. Hugely.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
An intriguing story, but the reading style was a little hardgoing in places.
5 Sep 2011
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Review of the CD version, read by Michael Kitchen Aurelio Zen: A Long Finish (Aurelio Zen Mysteries (AudioGo))
To start with, I wondered if I was ever really going to get into the book. Michael Kitchen's reading style is ... unusual to say the least; however, those who enjoy his performances in Foyle's War will be prepared for this to a certain extent. Pauses are made in unusual places,and words are run together where a pause might have made more sense; however the plot is intriguing and the book did manage to keep me hooked for several hours of my long journey home from Spain.
Set in a wine producing area to the North of Italy, Aurelio Zen is sent to discover who murdered a well known wine producer. Further murders follow on, and red herrings intersperse with true clues, leaving you unsure in many places: - Who did it, how and why?
To start with, I wondered if I was ever really going to get into the book. Michael Kitchen's reading style is ... unusual to say the least; however, those who enjoy his performances in Foyle's War will be prepared for this to a certain extent. Pauses are made in unusual places,and words are run together where a pause might have made more sense; however the plot is intriguing and the book did manage to keep me hooked for several hours of my long journey home from Spain.
Set in a wine producing area to the North of Italy, Aurelio Zen is sent to discover who murdered a well known wine producer. Further murders follow on, and red herrings intersperse with true clues, leaving you unsure in many places: - Who did it, how and why?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
For reasons connected with the Byzantine nature of Italian politics Zen arrives in a Piedmontese town to investigate a murder. The unhelpful 'helpful' locals and the hicktown Carabiniere, who seem more disposed to get him back to Rome post-haste rather than investigate the crime, combine with his unprepossessing accomodation and a cold to disenchant him with the whole business. But, there again, there are few more Byzantine than Aurelio Zen so can all be as it seems? As usual every character appears to have their own agenda, even the rail and bus crews.
Besides attempting to see through the fog of obfuscation, and the farragoes of half-truths, and various lies with which he is amply supplied Zen has to deal with another problem. He is faced with an apparent nebulous presence which taunts him mercilessly at the most inopportune of moments, and who's connection with the case he is at a loss to understand. The resolution of this problem I found a little less than satisfying though not altogether bizarre.
Gradually, with the plentiful application of truffles and an almost limitless supply of Barbaresco, some of questionable origin, our stolid hero, who is in no great rush to return to the capital, doggedly ploughs his way through an apparent miasma of rustic gourmandise, filial hatred, ramshackle alliances, aristocratic savoir faire, official ineptitude, and internecine rivalries not quite bordering upon open warfare as the investigation ambles to its conclusion.
Michael Dibdin paints a vivid, sometimes garish, picture of the Northern Italian state of Piedmont, it is almost possible to smell the heady scent of ripening grapes vying with the almost imperceptible fragrance of truffles in the damp earth, the pungent aroma of strong coffee mingling with Italian tobacco smoke, and to narrow one's eyes to view the distant morning skyline.
Although stretching itself over eight CDs the narrative flows quite well with no great sagging as can be found in the works of less able writers. Another Zen story I am happy to recommend.
Besides attempting to see through the fog of obfuscation, and the farragoes of half-truths, and various lies with which he is amply supplied Zen has to deal with another problem. He is faced with an apparent nebulous presence which taunts him mercilessly at the most inopportune of moments, and who's connection with the case he is at a loss to understand. The resolution of this problem I found a little less than satisfying though not altogether bizarre.
Gradually, with the plentiful application of truffles and an almost limitless supply of Barbaresco, some of questionable origin, our stolid hero, who is in no great rush to return to the capital, doggedly ploughs his way through an apparent miasma of rustic gourmandise, filial hatred, ramshackle alliances, aristocratic savoir faire, official ineptitude, and internecine rivalries not quite bordering upon open warfare as the investigation ambles to its conclusion.
Michael Dibdin paints a vivid, sometimes garish, picture of the Northern Italian state of Piedmont, it is almost possible to smell the heady scent of ripening grapes vying with the almost imperceptible fragrance of truffles in the damp earth, the pungent aroma of strong coffee mingling with Italian tobacco smoke, and to narrow one's eyes to view the distant morning skyline.
Although stretching itself over eight CDs the narrative flows quite well with no great sagging as can be found in the works of less able writers. Another Zen story I am happy to recommend.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Zen
Although there are elements which you recognise will lead to something the end is still unexpected. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Annie
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Long Finish
First came across Aurelio Zen on television and very much enjoyed the experience and in the same way discovered Inspector Montalbano. Read more
Published 8 months ago by C. ANTJOULE
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
This is my second Aurelio Zen audio book, I find it makes a huge change listening to a book rather than reading it. This audiobook comes on 8 CDs. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mrs. A. M. Chadwick
5.0 out of 5 stars
Organised chaos
I know, organisation and chaos are mutually exclusive concepts, but this book had elements of both in it. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Molly Davidson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable
This is the first audio book I have tried. I was impressed by this. Not only is it a good story, but this is well narrated. I would highly recommend this if it was a bit cheaper..
Published 14 months ago by Big Bad Bill
4.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing but not too much.
"A long finish" while not the best Zen story I have read was very enjoyable. Having watched the BBC episodes I can put a face to Zen which makes the story more enjoyable for me and... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Wally
4.0 out of 5 stars
another unorthodox assignment
This is a review is for audio CD of the book of the same name
Zen's need to leave Rome lands him in yet another unorthodox assignment: to find evidence that clears the... Read more
Zen's need to leave Rome lands him in yet another unorthodox assignment: to find evidence that clears the... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Sussman Pro
4.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderfully atmospheric work of murder...
Detective Aurelio Zen is sent into the hinterlands of Italy in order to prove that a man accused of patricide is innocent - whether he is or not. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Christopher Meadows
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zen magic
It's taken me a while to review this audio book as it is 9 hours or so long. I need a lot of car journeys to deal with it. But now that I have, it comes highly recommended. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Michael Watson
1.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't realise it was an audio CD
would have prefered it was a bit clearer that this was a CD. Sure its good, but realy dont have the time to listen to it
Published 21 months ago by Thompson Family
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