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Aurelio Zen, the hero of 11 of Michael Dibdin's 18 novels, is a suitable creation for the age of irony. To confront and universalise the corruption of postwar Italy, Dibdin invented a world-weary and cynical policeman only a little better than those he was investigating. The author contrived to move Zen around the country from Venice to Naples to cover all aspects of Italian life, from the Mafia and the Vatican to the wine industry. One of the strengths of the Zen series is the author's range, from political thrillers (Ratking, Medusa) and family feuds (A Long Finish) to the opera pastiche Cosi Fan Tutti and the postmodern trickery of Back to Bologna. In a bow to Conan Doyle, Dibdin (whose first book was The Last Sherlock Holmes Mystery) apparently killed off Zen only to resurrect him. Sadly Zen went on to outlive his creator, with the final book in the series, End Games, appearing after Dibdin's early death last year.
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