A Long Finish

Rating:
Summary: I'll drink to it!
Review: A glass of nice Cabernet Merlot would go well with this, the sixth Aurelio Zen novel, set in a wine-growing region of Piedmont in northern Italy.

Dibdin creates interesting characters. Zan's psychology is getting darker and more brooding as his relationships with others become more brittle.

As with all the Zen series, I recommend reading them in order. Previous cases are discussed, and the supporting cast of characters, as well as Zen, change and develop.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Series Best
Review: After partially digesting some extremely personal revelations revealed during his stay in Naples, Aurelio Zen still finds himself reeling. To top it off, he finds that after his headlining success in exposing the menacing presence behind the 'Clean Streets' campaiagn in Naples, he is to be shuffled down to Sicily as part of a new Anti-Mafia squad. Only the influence of a rich film director who after hearing of the murder of his favorite vintner cannot bear the thought of the famous wine not being produced that year simply because the only man who can accomplish this feat is being held for his father's murder. Zen's task then takes him to Asti in the Piedmont where as he attempts to accomplish his assignment--the release of the vintner's son--he stumbles upon a sequence of murders with roots in the past which he must ferret out with the tenacity of the region's truffle dogs. As usual Zen's methods are not always ethical; his determination to get the job done does not always insure that the guilty person is punished by the proper channels--although serendipitiously Zen manages to justify his means with a noble ending. Nevertheless, his exploits in this installment are so far the most satisfying of the series. Zen's sonambulism in the beginning of the novel emphasizes his distraught over the goings-on in Naples--think Al Pacino sleeplessly squinting in 'Insomnia'---which are compounded by equally stressful information imparted by a mysterious young lady. Dibdin's portrayal of Mignot, one of the truffle hunters, utterly stuns with a skin-crawling realism. Dibdin expertly mixes a lethal cocktail of greed and madness to create a wonderful melange of men whose livings thrive on the bounty of the earth, one way or another. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Series Best
Review: After partially digesting some extremely personal revelations revealed during his stay in Naples, Aurelio Zen still finds himself reeling. To top it off, he finds that after his headlining success in exposing the menacing presence behind the 'Clean Streets' campaiagn in Naples, he is to be shuffled down to Sicily as part of a new Anti-Mafia squad. Only the influence of a rich film director who after hearing of the murder of his favorite vintner cannot bear the thought of the famous wine not being produced that year simply because the only man who can accomplish this feat is being held for his father's murder. Zen's task then takes him to Asti in the Piedmont where as he attempts to accomplish his assignment--the release of the vintner's son--he stumbles upon a sequence of murders with roots in the past which he must ferret out with the tenacity of the region's truffle dogs. As usual Zen's methods are not always ethical; his determination to get the job done does not always insure that the guilty person is punished by the proper channels--although serendipitiously Zen manages to justify his means with a noble ending. Nevertheless, his exploits in this installment are so far the most satisfying of the series. Zen's sonambulism in the beginning of the novel emphasizes his distraught over the goings-on in Naples--think Al Pacino sleeplessly squinting in 'Insomnia'---which are compounded by equally stressful information imparted by a mysterious young lady. Dibdin's portrayal of Mignot, one of the truffle hunters, utterly stuns with a skin-crawling realism. Dibdin expertly mixes a lethal cocktail of greed and madness to create a wonderful melange of men whose livings thrive on the bounty of the earth, one way or another. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: The Well-Fed Detective
Review: Aurelio Zen, Italian detective, is pleased to accept an assignment to the Piedmont region in Italy - after all, it will keep him out of Sicily, where the mafia awaits him. He is directed to investigate the murder of a well-known vinter, or winemaker. However, the motives of the well-placed film director who has him sent to Alba are not entirely clear - he is not concerned in the least with who killed the man, rather that his son is cleared of the murder so that he can produce that year's vintage of wine.

When Zen arrives, however, more mysteries await him. He begins to get menacing telephone calls in his hotel rooms, and wakes up with a mysterious gash on his forehead. Then, two more members of the formerly sleepy community turn up dead. Zen must contend with these murders, all the while getting his fill of the region's delicious wine and white truffles. The clues lead to a logical ending - but the mysterious residents of Alba might know more than the famous detective in the end.

Telling any more would reveal too much of this fantastic story! The twists and turns of this mystery are great fun, and the writing is superb. All in all, very entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Didn't Grab Me
Review: Didbin's series about Italian police detective Aurelio Zen has been popular for a number of years, but this sixth entry is the first I've read. At its start, we gather that Zen has been through quite a bit in his last adventure, and as a reward, is to be posted to the dangerous Mafia enclave of Sicily (Which, by the way, is the setting for Andrea Camilleri's fun Inspector Montalbano series). Zen is not at all pleased by the prospect, and is thus pleased when a prominent film director pulls some strings to have him assigned to a case in the wine making area of the Piedmont.

There, the son of a prominent vintner sits in jail, chief suspect in the gruesome murder of his father. The director is emphatic that the son must be cleared so that a favorable vintage may be harvested and bottled. Under these rather ludicrous marching orders, Zen heads north to Asti, where truffles known as "white diamonds" and wine are the all-consuming topics of local interest and key to the vintner's murder and the intrigue surrounding it. Not surprisingly, there's a deeply tangled web of connections and interests in this insular community dating back to World War II, and Zen struggles to unravel the threads of the past. Not that he's super-motivatedóupon his arrival, he's crippled by a nasty illness and a bout of mysterious sleepwalking. He tends to mostly exhibit a detached vibe to the whole proceedings until it starts to turn into an intellectual puzzle for him.

Zen seems like an interesting character, but I was never really drawn into this story. Perhaps the setup was just too contrived, or the whole puzzle just too Byzantine, or my lack of knowledge of or interest in wine making undermined the premise, or perhaps it was a lack of interesting characters. The only really vibrant supporting character was a rich local doctor with an arid sense of humor and utter disregard for propriety. Otherwise, the locals tended to blend together into a lumpy mass of suspicion and crustiness. Things aren't improved by an awkward subplot involving a woman who claims to be Zen's daughter. On the whole, it wasn't enough to drive me to the rest of the series, although I can see how others with different taste might be enchanted.

Rating:
Summary: Which wine best compliments a Murder?
Review: In addition to all the wonderful reasons that make Michael Dibdin a pleasure to read, "A Long Finish", adds content for the gourmet. The wines of Alba and the "white diamonds" as the local whites truffles are reverently called, are components of a mystery that exposes another of the unconventional Italian priorities that Aurelio Zen constantly confronts.

The question of whether a Father was murdered by his Son is of little concern to those who pull the strings that bring Aurelio to Alba. The Son must be released, as only he can bring in the grapes that create the wine so desperately desired by a prominent Italian and many others. To devotees of wine I mean no offense, but the descriptions offered at a wine tasting often make for great humor. "Nice bouquet, great legs, fingers and thighs a bit weak, but they are buttressed by a boisterous bosom. A fruity opening, a woody polyester transition, and finally a finish that is crisp yet smooth with a suggestion of cinnamon, the barest hint of the citric, and finally dishwater".

Why has a top crime investigator from Rome been brought, because "he appears to be intelligent, devious and effective, compromised by only a regrettable tendency to insist on a conventional conception of morality at certain crucial moments". So with that career making resume material in hand, "Dottore" is off to get the grapes bottled.

This really is one of the best in the series, the only installment I have yet to read is "Cabal" and if it meets this performance the collection of writing is nearly perfect. The story has all the murders so unique, the guilty, the innocent, the guilty that wish they were, and all the rest of the maze that Mr. Dibdin is rightfully noted for.

He also can really describe wine unlike my feeble attempt. "Barolo is the Bach of wine, strong, supremely structured, a little forbidding, but absolutely fundamental. Barbaresco is the Beethoven, taking those qualities and lifting them to heights of subjective passion and pain that have never been surpassed. And Brunello is its Brahms. The softer, fuller, romantic afterglow of so much strenuous excess".

That bit of prose is offered up in the earliest of pages of this work, and Dibdin's pen does not fail or even skip throughout the tale. This story also has a dry satire, and a certain outrageousness that might be comical if placed within a less dire context.

Again a great body of work that I hope will continue for many more years.

Rating:
Summary: "A Long Finish" Another Michael Dibdin mystery/travel guide.
Review: Mr. Dibdin has done it again! The Aurelio Zen mysteries are taking us all over Italy. From Perugia in "Ratking", Sardinia in "Vendetta", Rome in "Cabal", Venice in "Dead Lagoon", Naples in "Cosi Fan Tutti" and now Alba in "A Long Finish". I think these books keep getting better and better. Aurelio Zen is my favorite detective. Keep 'em coming Mr. Dibdin!