Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen has returned in Back to Bologna, his 10th mystery.
The ever-cynical, brooding detective investigates the murder of a millionaire entrepreneur who is found in his car impaled on a parmesan cheese knife.
Dibdin's talent for black comedy manifests itself once again in his choice of secondary characters, including wild soccer fans, the star (“Lo Chef”) of a TV food show, and an egomaniacal semiotics professor.
In a recent interview Dibdin informs us that his next Zen mystery will be set in Iceland although that is, perhaps, just some more of his offbeat humor! Or will we maybe get to see Aurelio Zen join forces with Erlandur Sveinsson in a snowy setting?
Many have compared Donna Leon’s character Guido Brunetti to Aurelio Zen. There are many Italian detectives, in both historical and contemporary settings, to be found on our continually growing Mysteries around the World list.