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Vendetta (Aurelio Zen #2)
In Italian police inspector Aurelio Zen, Michael Dibdin has given the mystery one of its most complex and compelling protagonists: a man wearily trying to enforce the law in a society where the law is constantly being bent. In this, the first novel he appears in, Zen himself has been assigned to do some law bending. Officials in a high government ministry want him to finge...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
September 1st 1998
by Vintage
(first published 1990)
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Vendetta[return]Michael Dibdin[return][return]Second in the Aurelio Zen series. [return][return]Zen is in Rome, working on a report of the bizarre murder of a wealthy Italian construction firm owner who, along with his wife and two guests were gunned down in his supposedly impregnable Sardinian villa. A suspect has been arrested; Zen� s job is to write a summary report.[return][return]But there are political ramifications to the suspect� s arrest. Zen receives a summons to the headquarters of a...more
Originally published on my blog here in November 1999.
The case at the centre of the Aurelio Zen novel Vendetta is quite a baffling one, a close relative of the locked room mystery. Rich business tycoon Burolo had a spectacular villa built in Sardinia, using the latest in electronic surveillance and deterrence - as well as a pair of lions bought from a struggling safari park - to keep out unwelcome visitors. An obsessive film maker, his huge cellars are used to store thousands of video tapes reco...more
The case at the centre of the Aurelio Zen novel Vendetta is quite a baffling one, a close relative of the locked room mystery. Rich business tycoon Burolo had a spectacular villa built in Sardinia, using the latest in electronic surveillance and deterrence - as well as a pair of lions bought from a struggling safari park - to keep out unwelcome visitors. An obsessive film maker, his huge cellars are used to store thousands of video tapes reco...more
This is the second in the series of novels featuring the detective from Venice, Aurelio Zen. As in the other titles, Dibden is excellent at bringing out the rivalries in Italian law enforcement, both between individuals and organisations. The political element is always lurking in the background and is, for lesser mortals like Zen, difficult to gauge.
Although this is only the second book in the series Zen is already disillusioned, having realised that getting a result might not be the same as i...more
Although this is only the second book in the series Zen is already disillusioned, having realised that getting a result might not be the same as i...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I started reading the Aurelia Zen books after watching the BBC adaptation. The casting of the characters was excellent, but the scriptwriter took liberties with the plot. But then how does one film a book such as this.
As Vice-Questore in the criminalpol of the Ministry of the Interior (promotion after the 'successful' outcome of the Ruggiero Miletti kidnapping), Zen's job is to write resumes of cases before they are put to bed. His current task the that of the murder of Oscar Burolo, his wife a...more
As Vice-Questore in the criminalpol of the Ministry of the Interior (promotion after the 'successful' outcome of the Ruggiero Miletti kidnapping), Zen's job is to write resumes of cases before they are put to bed. His current task the that of the murder of Oscar Burolo, his wife a...more
This is the second book in my Aurelio Zen omnibus. I felt more at home with the character in his second outing.
This book once again starts in Rome and gives us a lovely feel for the city. As well as a Venetian feeling slightly at odds with the world outside Venice. The book also takes us to Sardinia and gives us not the most flattering portrait of small town Sardinia. I was interested to learn how things we expect to happen in Sicily and Naples are as prevalent t in other outlying areas.
There we...more
This book once again starts in Rome and gives us a lovely feel for the city. As well as a Venetian feeling slightly at odds with the world outside Venice. The book also takes us to Sardinia and gives us not the most flattering portrait of small town Sardinia. I was interested to learn how things we expect to happen in Sicily and Naples are as prevalent t in other outlying areas.
There we...more
This one was definitely better than the first. I mean the first book was still good in its own rights, but the second book had me on the edge of my seat more, especially at the end when nearly ten pages were spent on a very gut wrenching race between Zen and a man who is trying to kill him. It was an incredible scene and very well played out.
This time, Zen is trying to track down the murderer of a very wealthy man and his wife and friends, each of them gunned down in the millionaires home. The t...more
This time, Zen is trying to track down the murderer of a very wealthy man and his wife and friends, each of them gunned down in the millionaires home. The t...more
One of the better mysteries... well, really one of the better character pieces I've read in a while. Picked this up from a library sale at a street fair in Park City for 50 cents. It's the second in the Aurelio Zen detective series, set in Rome. How's the plotting? You don't care. This isn't about plotting. It's about character. Zen has a "reputation for integrity" (and people constantly insult him with the phrase) amidst the most dishonest police force in the world. But what's great is it's not...more
Second in the Aurelio Zen Italian policeman mystery series. Following his success in the first novel, Zen has been promoted and assigned a case involving the murder of a Sardinian millionaire and three others in a supposed break in proof home. The powers that be think that Zen's success in the previous case was because he was able to fix evidence and manipulate people to "solve" the case. They want him again to do the same here so that the person who is arrested for the murder can be set free be...more
I hated the TV series with a vengeance, so it was only the appearance of one of the original books in a cheapo shop that persuaded me to part with a hard earned pound, but it was certainly worth it. The book is so much more than the television programme, with a depth to the characters that was completely lost on the small screen.
It really was one of those books you hate to put down, with the bus journey into work flashing by, as you became lost in the characters and the plot. I don't think I lo...more
It really was one of those books you hate to put down, with the bus journey into work flashing by, as you became lost in the characters and the plot. I don't think I lo...more
I love the Inspector Zen novels because they approach the traditional detective story from a completly different perspective. What it must be like for a gifted policeman working amid a politically corrupt system where you are far better recieved if you lie and cheat than if you present the evidence truthfully which would still provide the exact same outcome.
These stories were written over 20 years ago and in hindsight one is amazed that Italy is not in a much worse condition than the utter shamb...more
These stories were written over 20 years ago and in hindsight one is amazed that Italy is not in a much worse condition than the utter shamb...more
Aurelio Zen is such an interesting cop. Sometimes he works smart; sometimes he really blows it. And, just to complicate things, it's a corrupt system, so his superiors are usually managing the outcome. Often, then, it doesn't really matter what he does, since he can't control the results. He just rides the wave, hoping to make enough smart decisions and be lucky at the right time.
Oh, yeah, this is a classic locked room mystery. In this case the locked room is a massive villa with an elaborate se...more
Oh, yeah, this is a classic locked room mystery. In this case the locked room is a massive villa with an elaborate se...more
You know how you sometimes get a book by accident, read it and then wonder why you had never heard of the author or book before? This happened with us when we were in Otavalo, Ecuador. Ron found this book on the shelf of book exchanges at our hotel.
Wow! The story takes place in Italy, primarily Rome. Being familiar with Rome, some of the places were known to us. The writing is tight. Dibdin had a way of building imagery without overusing adjectives. You definitely get visuals throughout.
You may...more
Wow! The story takes place in Italy, primarily Rome. Being familiar with Rome, some of the places were known to us. The writing is tight. Dibdin had a way of building imagery without overusing adjectives. You definitely get visuals throughout.
You may...more
Jan 02, 2013
Mike
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
italian-setting,
read-at-fifty-and-beyond
The city's starlings were in the grip of the madness that seizes them at the changing of the light, turning the trees into loudspeakers broadcasting their gibberish, then swarming up out of the foliage to circle about in the dusky air like scraps of windborne rubbish.
Zen walked straight out into the vehicles converging on the piazza from every direction. Maybe that was where the starlings got the idea, he thought. Maybe their frenzied swarming was just an attempt to imitate the behaviour patter...more
Zen walked straight out into the vehicles converging on the piazza from every direction. Maybe that was where the starlings got the idea, he thought. Maybe their frenzied swarming was just an attempt to imitate the behaviour patter...more
Mar 10, 2011
rabbitprincess
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
those who like Italy, fans of understatedly clever detectives
Recommended to rabbitprincess by:
Masterpiece Mystery
Shelves:
2011,
from-me-to-me
This was my first Aurelio Zen novel, and it won't be the last. I picked up on a recommendation of sorts from Masterpiece Mystery, which will be showing the (apparently only three-episode) TV adaptation of the Zen books. The novels being adapted are this one, Cabal and Ratking, so I am reading them in broadcast order instead of series order.
Even with this being the second novel in the series, I was very easily immersed in Zen's world. Dibdin's writing is well crafted and he is not afraid to use l...more
Even with this being the second novel in the series, I was very easily immersed in Zen's world. Dibdin's writing is well crafted and he is not afraid to use l...more
This is the first time I've read any of the Aurelio Zen books and I was quite disappointed not to have enjoyed it more. I'd hoped it'd be something similar to Henning Mankell's Wallander books, but I simply didn't warm to Zen's character at all and found the book to be rather slow going. It felt at times vague and yet bogged down in too much detail with too many characters which made it a struggle to follow. That said, the pace did pick up, things started to make a little more sense and yet, you...more
Apr 26, 2013
Helen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
from-public-library
Enjoyed this - 2nd in the series; Zen is already quite disillusioned, and a little corruptible too. He is a very lonely figure, having to survive by his wits in an environment in which you can never be entirely sure who your enemies are. Well written, and tense: at one point could not see how he was going to get out of his predicament (although of course it is some time since these books were first published, and there are quite a few more in the series, so obviously he does survive!)
Aurelio Zen and Italian police inspector navigates the death of a billionaire, Oscar Burolo, at his high security fantasy/luxury estate he had created in Sicily. Operating out of Rome, he had advanced despite his disdain of the business as usual corruption. And when the videotape he had "borrowed" to watch at home rather than work, it triggered a sequence of events.
Zen demonstrated that straying even slightly can have consequences.
Zen demonstrated that straying even slightly can have consequences.
Once again, Dibdin writes literary, compelling portraits of the Italian countryside--his depictions of the closed society of Sardinia and the island's jagged landscape are delightfully morose--without constructing a plot worthy of his genius for atmosphere. The sensuousness of the language and the complexity of main character Aurelio Zen's moral imagination, however, make the book compulsively readable.
In which our erstwhile hero bumbles around some more, continues to misunderstand women, does some ineffectual things, but eventually comes good. This time at least he engineers the solution, so he does have some smarts. He does get beat up a bit, though - in particular, he often suffers cuts to his face. Pretty shoddy policework all round, but entertaining.
Zen out of his comfort zone again - he is by no means a straightforward hero, in this book he bumbles his way to solving the crime. Sometimes his self-pity is a little tedious.
As always, Dibdin is great on the detail of Italy - the regional variations of food and landscape, the tension of the different regions, still suspicious of each other.
As always, Dibdin is great on the detail of Italy - the regional variations of food and landscape, the tension of the different regions, still suspicious of each other.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book is a break from all non-fictions I have been reading. Just wanted to take a break and indulge myself in a book of my favorite gender. Too bad this one is a disappointment as a mystery. A "locked room murder" committed by a small-sized human being squeezing through a narrow opening in underground caves?! Gimme a break. On the other hand, the unfolding of the love story between Zen and his colleague was the more interesting part. I actually felt happy for them after their coming out foll...more
In preparing for my trip to Italy, this is the 2nd Dibdin mystery novel I have read. The Italian backdrop is very well-done, the mystery plot is excellent - I had no idea who-dunnit! Most of all, though, the character of Aurelio Zen is a fascinating study of a man battling society's corruption, bureaucratic indifference, and individual stupidity - regardless of the cost to himself. This is a truly exceptional series.
Mystery/Crime novel, 2nd of a series. If you're old enough to remember The Rockford Files, Aurelio Zen is that kind of character, if much more stylish: competent, practical, somewhat altruistic, disheveled, but not overly so of either. This is a complicated character, complete with flaws and has been a pleasure to get to understand.
Zen is sent to Sardinia to nail down a slam dunk case which his shadowy superiors insist must politically go away; the reality, of course, is ridiculously more compl...more
Zen is sent to Sardinia to nail down a slam dunk case which his shadowy superiors insist must politically go away; the reality, of course, is ridiculously more compl...more
After reading the second book in the series, I've decided not to compare it to the BBC tv series at all. The tv series is it's own story. The book is very complex and that is most likely too difficult to make a literal transition to a movie. Nonetheless, I love this series. It reminds me a bit of P.D. James' Adam Dalgleish series in complexity of character though not in length of novel.
I love these Michael Dibdin books - the writing can be a little stiff, but every book in his series is like a cultural guide to a separate part of Italy. Esp love all the crazy, byzantine Italian conspiracy angles, like the tie-in w/ la Brigada Rossa.
I liked this book much better than the previous one by Dibdin. The description of Rome is especially well done. The action moves a bit slowly in places, which is why I did not give it 5 stars. Still, it is interesting and extremely well written.
I picked this up after watching the BBC television series, which I really enjoyed, but it's taken me some time to get around to actually reading it. Zen is a fascinating character - complex and being worn down by the world around him.
A tedious tale about murder and vendettas in Italy. It includes a cast
of thousands, all of whom have difficult names and most are tough to
recall. I have taken Dibdin off of my "In Search Of" list.
of thousands, all of whom have difficult names and most are tough to
recall. I have taken Dibdin off of my "In Search Of" list.
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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 Ratki...more
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Jan 02, 2013 09:20pm