- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber; New edition edition (5 Aug 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571154212
- ISBN-13: 978-0571154210
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 263,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Ratking (Aureilo Zen Mysteries)
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Product Description
Product Description
Police Commissioner Aurelio Zen had crossed swords with the establishment before - and lost. But from the depths of a mundane desk job in Rome he is unexpectedly transferred to Perugia to take over an explosive kidnapping case involving one of Italy's most powerful families. 'Tremendously exciting. This novel is both subtle and horrific.' Ruth Rendell
About the Author
Michael Dibdin was born in 1947. He went to school in Northern Ireland, and later to Sussex University and the University of Alberta in Canada. He lived in Seattle. After completing his first novel, The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, in 1978, he spent four years in Italy teaching English at the University of Perugia. His second novel, A Rich Full Death, was published in 1986. It was followed by Ratking in 1988, which won the Gold Dagger Award for the Best Crime Novel of the year and introduced us to his Italian detective - Inspector Aurelio Zen. In 1989 The Tryst was published to great acclaim and was followed by Vendetta in 1990, the second story in the Zen series. Dirty Tricks was published in 1991. Inspector Zen made his third appearance in Cabal, which was published in 1992. The Dying of the Light, an Agatha Christie pastiche, was published in 1993. His fourth Zen novel, Dead Lagoon, was published the following year. His next novel, Dark Spectre, was published in 1995. Two more Zen novels followed: Cosi Fan Tutti, set in Naples, was published in 1996 and A Long Finish was published in 1998. Blood Rain, the seventh Zen novel, was published in 1999. Thanksgiving was published in 2000, with the eighth Zen, And Then You Die, appearing in 2002. Aurelio Zen returned in Medusa, in August 2003, and then again in Back to Bologna in 2005. His last novel, End Games, was published posthumously in July 2007.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Start of Zen series,
This review is from: Ratking (Zen) (Paperback)
Zen is in many ways a classic fictional dectective - middle aged, a loner, problems with relationships and authority. The Italy described is realistic, even in some of the later novels that are more ironic and playful. The characters are more memorable than is usual in dectective stories; suspects appear to have lives beyond their involvement in the events. As with many of the best crime writers, there is always a sense of things just out of vision, matters involving the rich and powerful that are handled in other ways. Not in a 'conspiracy theory' sense, the matters may be more squalid and banal than dangerous, but just because they know people. These are excellent books all round.
Although it is not really necessary to read the novels in order, doing so gives a much better understanding of Zen's evolving relationships with women, family, friends and employers as well as the changing political and cultural landscape of modern Italy. Ratking unravels the dense knot of relationships binding members of a wealthy family in Perugia where Zen is sent to investigate a kidnapping. He quickly gets lost both in the labrynthine streets of the old city and the lies that the family tell to him and to one another.
33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The man can do no wrong,
By A Customer
This review is from: Ratking (Zen) (Paperback)
I usually steer away from books which are described as "another novel featuring ............." but not this series. Aurelio Zen has a stupid name but is probably the most realistic policeman you'll find. He's no angel but he gets the job done. All the books featuring Aurelio Zen are a great read, easy to get into, thrilling from the start and a central character whom one grows to love.Basically, read anything you can get your hands on by Michael Dibdin, you won't be disappointed.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Detective & His Country,
By
This review is from: Ratking (Aurelio Zen 01) (Paperback)
When I watched the TV version of Zen, I thought that it perfectly captured both the feeling of Italy and the understated personality of the man.
It is, though, deliberately different from the books. On the page, Zen is noticeably less suave and the delivery a little less glib than on the screen. To the credit of Rufus Sewell, this doesn't necessarily make his portrayal of Zen any less convincing. In both the book and on TV, the sepia cast of Italy's less romantic side is equally brilliant. Having read Cabal as well as Ratking, I think the Zen novels get better as they go along. Dibdin has a direct style but insists on taking you through both the cynical but sure-instincted motivation of the detective while carrying forward a plot which is equivocal yet forceful. It is probably difficult to concentrate on if you don't have much time but very rewarding when you become immersed in it. On that basis, the further you get into the series, the more rewarding it will get and I certainly intend to try. Thoroughly recommended.
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