Blood Rain

Aurelio Zen #7

by Michael Dibdin

Aurelio Zen—cynical and tough, yet worn down from years of law enforcement—has just been given the worst assignment he could imagine. He has been sent to the heart of hostile Sicily, the ancient, beautiful island where blood has been known to flow like wine, and the distinction between the police and the criminals is a fine one. Even worse, he has been sent to spy on the elite anti-Mafia squad.The only thing that makes the job palatable—and takes his mind off routine details like the rotting body found in a remote train car—is that Zen's adopted daughter, Carla, is also in town. But life becomes precarious for Carla when she stumbles upon some information she'd be better off not knowing and befriends a local magistrate on the Mafia's most wanted list. What ensues is a breakneck plot of amazing complexity that culminates in a stunning finale. Blood Rain , emotionally gripping and defiantly original, is surely one of Dibdin's finest works.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Italy, Fiction, Detective, Zen, Mystery Thriller

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 1999

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.

Dibdin was married three times, most recently to the novelist K. K. Beck. His death in 2007 followed a short illness.

Series:
* Aurelio Zen

Reviews

[Paul Weiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Judging by the swarms of flies and the nauseating stench, … ”

“… whatever the wagon contained was not only perishable, but had in fact perished.”

As a fictionalized slice of Sicilian society and day to day life, Michael Dibdin’s BLOOD RAIN offers a graphic, convincing, and often quite compelling portrait. But as a suspense thriller or a police procedural, Aurelio Zen as a character and BLOOD RAIN as a novel are disappointing busts. Dibdin places a weak, unfocused and entirely lack-lustre detective between a proverbial rock and a hard place. On one side, a corrupt police administration determined to thwart what little sleuthing Zen actually gets around to doing and to ensure that whatever laissez-faire protocols the law has somehow negotiated with the Mafia crime bosses remain undisturbed. On the other hand, there is, of course, the Mafia themselves who have the same idea as the police. In addition, the novel doesn’t end on just a cliff-hanger. It doesn’t end at all. The plot, having bounced quite aimlessly from one scenario to another, actually drives off the cliff and the story ends halfway through the fall with zero resolution.

Definitely not recommended and definitely this reader’s first and last attempt at Aurelio Zen.

Paul Weiss

[Antigone · Rating 3 out of 5]

The newcomer was clearly not a local, even though his prominent, prow-like nose might have suggested some atavistic input from the Greek gene pool which still surfaced here from time to time, like the lava flows from the snow-covered volcano which dominated the city. But his accent, the pallor of his complexion, his stiff bearing and above all his height - a good head above everyone else in the room - clearly ruled him out as a Sicilian.

Aurelio Zen has once again been dispatched from Rome, this time to act as liaison between his superiors at the police department and the newly-formed anti-mafia squad currently operating in Catania, Sicily. They say "liaison" but of course they mean spy. It is a delicate thing, this treating with the mafia, and must be handled in a way that ruffles as few feathers as possible. It would not do to have the criminal element in Rome in any way dismayed by the dismantling of its Sicilian enterprises. And so another fraught posting for our clever detective, and another series of schemes to unravel.

Blood Rain does little to convince me of the merits of taking Zen out of town. He is so much more authentic as a character when left to his own devices at home. Send him traveling and we spend an inordinate amount of time in wait for him to get his bearings and establish for himself the local stripe of corruption. To be honest, I'm not at all sure policing in Dibdin's Italy requires additional disadvantage.

This is a fair story with a decent twist but, for me, little more.

[raneem · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was so damn boring. I seriously couldn't wait to get rid of it.

[Pınar Bacı · Rating 3 out of 5]

Artık yaşlanmaya başladığını düşünen, mesleki hırslarını ve heveslerini çoktan yitirmiş bir Zen ile başlayan bu hikaye umulmadık bir şekilde bitiyor ve Dottore içgüdüsel bir şekilde polis olduğunu yeniden hatırlıyor. Michael Dibdin bu macerada baş karakterini boğup duvara fırlatıyor adeta.
En sevdiğim maceralardan biri oldu.

[Ibrahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sicilyadayız. Zen kızı ile birlikte Antimafya ekibinin denetimi için Catania ya atanır. Entrika ve kaosun hakim sürdüğü bir zamanda başına bir sürü olay gelir. Finali de açık bitti. Sonraki kitaba zorunluluk oluşturdu. Tavsiye ederim

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The dualistic, northern approach to life is completely alien to the Sicilian mind. So far from there being just two possibilities, there are, in any given case, an almost infinite number."

Michael Dibdin's Blood Rain (1999) is a part crime drama part thriller that perceptively portrays the Sicilian mentality - or I should rather say - the stereotype of Sicilian mentality. The blurbs on the cover of the novel scream "Spellbinding... superb" (The Washington Post), "Dibdin, whose prose is as startlingly clever as his plot, stretches the existential suspense through to the final page..." (The Wall Street Journal). I beg to differ: the phrases "superb" and "clever plot" are totally misused. This is my seventh "Italian" crime drama in the Zen series by Dibdin and it barely rises above the level of the totally lame and ridiculous Cabal. On the other hand, I quite like the other five Zen novels that I review on Goodreads.

Inspector Aurelio Zen, "unambitious and deeply compromised", has now been posted to Catania, Sicily, ostensibly to work on "smashing the Mafia", once and for all. The author clearly suggests that this is just a pretend appointment and - like virtually all police-type jobs in Italy - his posting as a liaison officer between the Catania office and Rome headquarters is just a sham personnel move, and Zen is just supposed to pretend he is fighting the Mafia. Zen's adopted daughter, Carla, a computer expert, also happens to be in Catania, working on setting up a computer network for the local Palace of Justice; she is trying to find the "back-door" entry to the system that causes leaks of sensitive information. We also meet Corinna Nunziatella, the local judge, who befriends Carla, and the two women are young enough to seem to believe that the fight against the Mafia clans makes sense.

The first half of the novel is totally unfocused and wanders aimlessly from a thread to a thread, from a possible main topic to another one. All of a sudden, several dramatic events conveniently happen, and Mr. Dibdin finally makes a decision what he wants to write about. The novel mutates into a standard thriller, characterized by breakneck pace and little logic, other than that things are different than they look like. Since it is of course true that nothing is ever like it seems, the silly "Third Level" stuff invoked by the author is also only a delusion, like all the misconstructions of various conspiracy theories. Whole lotta blah blah blah. The only part of the plot that I really like is the explosive ending.

While in my eyes, Blood Rain fails as a crime/thriller novel, it seems to redeem itself as a novel about Sicily. Here's a nice highlight, as a sample: Mr. Dibdin writes about a fish market on the Sicilian coast that has been in the same place for about 3,000 years. Also, one is impressed with the author clearly explaining the phony nature of Italian war against the Mafia, and how it is that the so-called "bad guys" usually win. They do because fighting them for real would be a greater inconvenience than tolerating them. Also, in some ways, the "bad guys" are just like us.

In several of my previous reviews of Mr. Dibdin's novels I noticed his peculiar preoccupation with human excreta. In this book, in addition to mentioning flatulence and defecation, the author widens his scatophilic range to include other species: he writes about "piles of [dog] turds the size of a meal and the color of vomit." We are also offered truly original references to feeling like "eating the breast of a pregnant woman" and "chewing on penises of dead boys." Maybe the author thought these literary devices would emphasize the brutal and deeply cynical tone of the novel? I am probably just dull-witted, but I find these fragments pathetic.

One and three quarter stars.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the seventh adventure of Aurelio Zen – a middle aged Roman police investigator. Zen is a “world weary” loner, nestled within Italian corruption and fighting crime with a knack of finding himself at the wrong place at the wrong time during his investigations. He’s not so much brave and courageous as obsessively curious, his moral code preventing him from letting wrong-doing, sleeping dogs lie. The books in this series are more psychologically driven rather than action thrillers and because of this may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Lengthy descriptions and digressions abound, combined with an insider’s view of the seamier side of Italian society. The writing is excellent and I thoroughly enjoy these books.

In this volume Zen has been transferred to Sicily to act as a “liaison” between the Italian police and the mafia task force based there – his duties somewhat nebulous and the move definitely not a promotion. The good news is that his newly adopted adult daughter – another story in and of itself – is also there working to install a computer system for the task force. Said daughter soon stumbles across some nefarious computer activity, tells her father about it - and Zen being Zen – he soon finds himself sucked into the mafia world with all of its corruption and deadly turf battles.

There are a multitude of twists, turns and betrayals here - and simply identifying who the good and bad guys are becomes Zen’s main problem - with even the conclusion of this book providing no clear answer. If you’re looking for a “police procedural” series which is a tad bit different and with an Italian flavor to it – you won’t go wrong here. Although not absolutely necessary – these books do stand on their own – I would strongly recommend reading them in chronological order to truly appreciate the developing story and evolution of Aurelio Zen - Because in a sense the series is a “serial”.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Dibdin's best.

Set in Sicily featuring Aurelio Zen. The first half concentrates on judge Corinna Nunziatelli who has a couple of cases involving the Mafia, and Aurelio Zen's 'daughter' Carla Arduini setting up a police computer system. What's at issue is clear - some-one is trying to start a Mafia war. A capo's sons has been killed in a most appalling fashion, under circumstances pointing to the Corleone family. Indications suggest Rome and the carabinieri are somehow implicated - possibly high-level politicians.
After the assassination of Corinna and Carla, Zen is in danger and all action focuses on him.

The plot is intricate but the ending is a little contrived as it takes an earthquake to extricate Zen from a very dangerous situation.

The writing is excellent and there are some very very funny episodes, particular appealing to British readers.

[CarolineFromConcord · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting characters and local color. But as my father used to say about a certain Shakespeare play, "The king dies, the queen dies, Ham dies. I calls it a helluva play." It's funny how you can read a book nearly all the way through thinking you are going to recommend this one to friends, and on the last page you change your mind. That is especially true of mysteries. I have learned not to recommend anything before I have read the whole book.

[Angie Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Dibdin writes some extremely good detective novels, this one, set against the backdrop of the three thousand year old city Of Catania,, Blood Rain, is an.exciting thriller. A decomposing body has been found, sealed in a railway wagon, is the beginning of a dangerous case for the enigmatic Detective Aurelio Zen. This is book seven in Dibdin's "Zen" books, but is a stand alone book, (as most of them are) If you have never read any, you are missing out.

[Bob Levine · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I spoke Italian, and knew the landscape, I would have gotten more out of it, but otherwise, it kept me engaged.

[Avadhut · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://avadhutrecommends.wordpress.com/

Inspector Montalbano piqued my interest in Italian crime series. I started looking for good Italian mysteries and the name that kept cropping up at every corner was Aurelio Zen by Michael Dibdin. So, I jumped into middle of the series with Blood Rain. Right from beginning, I took a liking to the book. Dibdin writes in that half cynical, half-mocking style that is my favourite. Zen is cast from the same mould as my other favourite detectives, cynical with a wry sense of humour, one who knows the futility of his job but has a built in compass that always points towards justice, even though he is well aware how frustrating it can be to obtain justice for his victims in a corrupt society.

The book starts with murder of local mafia don’s son. Zen’s new posting is in Catania, Sicily. His job is to liaise between different police departments (a polite way of saying that his real job is to spy on anti mafia squad on behalf of his masters in Rome). He is also getting to know his adopted daughter Carla. Carla ends up on mafia’s radar as she is installing computer network in anti mafia squad’s office and befriends Judge Corinna Nunziatelli, who is investigating the murder. Soon, this treacherous game of deception and lies engulfs Zen. Being a northerner, he is out of his depth in Sicily, where warring mafia factions and their various supporters in government make it a tough job to identify who is really on which side.

Reading this book in the middle of the Great Indian charade that is called General Elections where almost one third of parliamentary candidates fielded by major Indian political parties face criminal cases (murder, extortion, kidnapping… you name it !) gave me a sense of Déjà vu. It was as if Didbin was talking about northern badlands of India when he described Sicily’s mafia culture. The distinction between police, mafia and politicians is permanently blurred (just like in India). Interests of many sides crisscross each other in such a complicated manner, it is impossible to remain on sidelines. Zen is caught in the crossfire, becomes fugitive and it takes all his wit and courage and some luck to survive. Just when we think Zen has finally managed to come out of the mess, there is another attempt on his life. Didbin ends the book leaving Zen’s fate unanswered, thus highlighting how anybody can end up being a pawn in someone else’s power game.

Blood Rain has added one more series on my TBR pile and I am definitely going to read the series from beginning now.

[Michael Colligan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a number of police detective novels set in Italy, and all contain some element of social comment on the day to day bizzareness of Italian life. Michael Dibdin began this book with a chapter that has to be the funniest story about a short trip by freight train ever written, which at the same explains a lot about Sicily, and why,even by Italian standards, the triangular island is very strange.

In justice, the story is only so-so thereafter, and includes some fairly meandering elements, which is why it has not gotten better marks. The book also steadily gets darker, page by page in the last third of the story.

Well researched, well written, and if you like Inspectore Zen, worth it.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I come away from reading these books feeling that I have some insight into italian culture and daily life - they are super. What a great pity there will be no more to look forward to once I have finished this series. I am savouring these books just as I do the Shardlake series. I have also revised my view of the Euro - what a great pity we dont have Lire, Francs, Marks, Pasetas and all the other 'lost' financial representations of European culture. Why did we ever believe we could become unify such a disparate group of nations with one currency! This series is so thoroughly interesting, well-written and entertaining I would recommend to anyone who likes crime mixed with cultural slant.

[Mary Josefina Cade · Rating 5 out of 5]

How much I appreciate the craziness of Aurelio Zen! His wild intuitive nature is on full display in 'Blood Rain'. I absolutely loved this book, despite all the difficult events that occurred. Michael Dibdin is (or, sadly, was) a writing wizard, conjuring the city of Catania up around me with his perfectly chosen words. I've never been there but the images of the volcanic rock, the dark buildings have stayed with me as a memory.

The story is deeply felt and passionately told. Zen goes right out on the edge.... I kept reading and reading, receiving shocks on the way. I cannot say more, in case I reveal too much. Highly recommended

And highly recommended again!

[Srini Ramakrishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical detective page turner that doesn't bore - but the book stands out for the many occasions when the author makes insightful comments on the human condition that are so unexpectedly out of place in a detective novel. If only more books were this way.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

two nights, seemed interesting but kills off main characters just a tad too quickly for my taste...perhaps they were in previous books? Daughter and ersastz lesbian lover...both were interesting characters who I wanted to know more about.

[Leaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Random library pick, but happily turned out to be one of the best mysteries I have read in a long time.

[Stargazer · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, couldn't get into it at all.

[Steve In Ludlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of Long Finish Zen lies to Carla and states that the DNA test came back positive confirming that he is her father following a brief affair with someone he had forgotten about years ago.
In Blood Rain Zen has taken up his posting in Sicily and Carla is there also, progressing the introduction of a new computer system for the DIA (anti Mafia Directive).
The tone of this book is much more serious and for the first time Zen has the jeopardy of someone he cares for in harms way.
Despite this, Dibdins deadpan style floats over the double heartache of the murder of Carla and the death of Zen's mother back in Rome. There is a very moving passage where Zen learns from the janitor about his mothers final days leading up to her death with Zen managing to make it to her bedside. Its terrific writing.
Back in Sicily Zen loses his 'daughter' Carla in an apparent mafia hit targeting her friend, the judge Nuncia.
From this point Zen goes in pursuit of answers - who and why? He gets those answers but no real closure on those responsible in a brief and hurried finale.
A better novel than the last few albeit still avoiding thriller style tension for authentic observation and atmosphere.

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both Michael Dibdin and his hero Aurelio Zen are new acquaintances to me. Even though there seems to exist quite many Zen crime novels. Don't know how many have been translated into Finnish though. I think I must look for English versions as this was a good one. Well written and interesting.

Sicilia seems to be an interesting place and ruled more by mafia than state officials (who can also be part of the cosa nostra or at least share their interests). Old, twisted code of honor is alive although the newcomers from Albania and such have the ways of their own without even a twisted code of honor.

The Blood Rain is actually sand from Sahara but it fits well as the title. Even though the novel is not more filled with violence than many other novels of the genre. Nowadays there is actually much more graphic violence in the crime fiction - the more sadistic the serial killer, the better. That is the modern way.

This novel wasn't that modern. Which is good.

Verisade
Gummerus 2004

[Sudhagar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superior writing in exotic locale.

I just discovered Dibdin and after reading this book, I felt that he's criminally (no pun intended) underrated.

Certainly, he has a unique style of writing that very few of today's top authors can match. His experience living in Italy coupled with his extensive research has produced a crime series that is a joy to read, set in Italy and featuring Inspector Zen.

As for the cons, the author tends to veer too much from the main story in directions that has no bearing on the story. Also the first part of the novel is slow moving. I also have bones to pick up about the plot logic (or lack of it) in some places.

However, the author makes in up by his insightful comments about rich Italian culture, language, food as well as complex politics and the nexus between the authorities and the Mafia.

I am looking forward to read the rest of the series. Highly recommended for discerning crime fans with a liking for exotic locations and foreign culture.

[Andy Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Dead Lagoon some years ago, seem to remember enjoying it and picked this one up. I think I had expected it to be more of a mystery novel. This is more a cop versus mafia thriller. The prose is good, the dialogue is good, the setting is predominantly in Sicily, an island I really like. But I thought the plot was a bit of an unconvincing mess unfortunately. The security arrangements that effect a lot of the early set up are frankly laughable; Zen's interlude in Rome etc seems padding; his escape to Malta by ferry is fairly inexplicable but the worst is left to last with a denouement which presents the reader with some sort of shadowy and ephemeral conspiracy as the motive for the killing. I put it down with a pretty screwed up face.

[Sally Edsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This, the seventh in the Aurelio Zen series, is my personal favourite (of the 8 I have read - Medusa yet to come).
This one has reasonably complex plotting and at first it was a little difficult to decide whether to try to keep track of which mafia group was which. In the end, I just let it flow, and it did come together in the end.
Like with most of the characters in a Zen novel, you can never be sure to what extent anyone (including Zan!) is a 'goodie' or a 'baddie'. There are precarious few 'goodies'!!
An excellent addition to the series. The next book "And Then You Die" is like a coda to this one - so make sure you don't read it first by accident!

[Frank · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my second Zen novel. And the last I think. I listened to it as an audio book, which was perhaps a mistake. The overblown pomposity of Dibdin's prose was perfectly complemented by the clipped and pedantic delivery of Michael Kitchen. I thought the plot, such as it was, was unfocussed and confused. And I am now confused myself as to why I persevered to the end. It was simply very boring. Apparently Dibdin lived in Italy for some time and must have known the country reasonably well. It was therefore surprising, and irritating, to have such clichéd stereotypes of Italians in general, but Sicilians in particular, littered throughout the book. Do yourself a favour and find something else to read.

[Bruce Retallack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always run hot/cold with Didbin's stories, and this is one of the latter kind. A large part of the issue is that I don't particularly like the protagonist, Aurelio Zen. More important, in this case, is the fact that a) I found the plot so Byzantine that my disbelief just didn't stay suspended and, b) although the book seems utterly bleak, violent, and even gross, never really felt all that. There is a kind of detachment to the narration that fails to become visceral for me, despite some extremely shocking turns of event. So, not my favourite book of his by a fair margin.

[Nick Baam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some tough critics w this one. I found the book very compelling, very well-written, very good characters, story that moves apace, w many finely-drawn scenes that a lesser writer couldn't have pulled off. (Arsenal fans coming to his rescue AND his flirtations w Stefanie, on ferry, comes to mind.) I lost track of which mafia clan was doing what, then so did Zen. Great ending -- or was it?

(I just read on a review that Rufus Sewell plays Zen??? Uh, no....)

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set on the island of Sicily, the city of Catania, Dibdin's Zen #7 is scary as anything he's written. Not because blood, though there is some of that, but because of the old and new machinations of the local shadow government. And the shadow really can't be distinguished from the actual, both are one and the same and only differentiated by name. Scary scary scary. Old and new the same, just the names are different.

[Jim Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have just come back to reading Didbin after 15 years + with 4 children, divorce and work. Now nearing retirement I found this book in storage and am hooked again. Aurelio Zen is cool, thoughtful, and unassuming and finds himself in interesting places. The books take place in different parts of Italy giving you a sense of the tapestry of the country, diversity, and ever existing organized crime. Cannot wait to read the next in the series.

[Astrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was impressed by the black realism, no posing, no heroism, and very well written. Good observations and descriptions of people and situations.
Sometines really funny (loved the normans on the ship saving the commissario).
A kind of lucid anarchism.
I have to add that I studied the history of Mafia, and this is a rather interesting approach to describing the changements after the murders of guidice Falcone and his colleagues, and the end of "mani pulite" policy.