And Then You Die: 8 (Aurelio Zen Mystery) - Softcover

And Then You Die marks the resurrection of the difficult-to-kill Aurelio Zen. Of course, we all knew he wasn't dead. The shining light of Rome's Criminalpol, Zen, appeared to die in a bomb attack on his car, but Michael Dibdin fans were quietly confident that we hadn't seen the last of one of the most distinctive sleuths in the genre.

After months in a hospital recovering from the injuries sustained in the Mafia attack, Zen is incommunicado at a beach resort on the Tuscan coast, psyching himself up to testify in a forthcoming anti-Mafia trial. His orders are straightforward: lie back and relax in a classic Italian beach holiday. He is happy to do this, and even flirts with the seductive woman under the next beach umbrella. It goes without saying that his idyll is short-lived, and as a remarkable number of people begin to die around him, it becomes apparent that the Cosa Nostra is intent on finishing the murder attempt that went wrong months ago on a Sicilian road.

This is Dibdin stripped to the bone: a pared-down, fast-moving narrative that demands to be read at one or two sittings. The uncharitable might say that Dibdin has dashed it off rather quickly, but such is his skill that few will complain when the rewards offered here are so plentiful. Welcome back, Aurelio. --Barry Forshaw

"Dibdin has an abundance of gifts: bracing wit, the ability to wring unexpected poignance out of dark comedy, and a gift for striking imagery." -The Wall Street Journal

"And Then You Die will leave readers with a sly smile and a new appreciation for Dibdin's versatility. . . . If you haven't made Aurelio's acquaintance, this is a great chance to dip your toe in the water." -Rocky Mountain News

"[And Then You Die] has an abundance of food, wit and action, with enough mistaken victims falling dead around Zen to put him up there with Peter Sellers in his Pink Panther days." -Chicago Tribune

"Dibdin is a charming and amusing prose stylist with a subtle but deeply humorous delivery. . . . A charming novel." -San Jose Mercury News

"This is Dibdin's eighth Zen novel, and none has been better." -The Boston Globe

"Dibdin [writes] with his usual arch style of ironic storytelling, offering a graceful tour of Italy's beachfront pecking order, class tics and age-old pleasures and prejudices." -Washington Post Book World

"Michael Dibdin's texture and detail transport the reader to an Italian beach resort, a prison island, [and] a pub-crawl in Iceland. Aurelio Zen's finely tuned third eye and inner ear infuse this crime story with mysticism." -Charlotte Observer

"Dibdin has created an interesting alternative to the fast-paced, smart-assed, hard-boiled detective genre. His version is full of hidden half-truths, twisted, smiling, power-hungry authorities, and enough smoke and mirrors to keep you guessing-a modern take on the medieval mystery." -The Irish Times

"Dibdin is . . . [a] philosopher, methodically and subtly creating a picture of human nature at its most complex yet simplest. . . . The book holds the reader until the end." -Ashbury Park Press

"A classic mystery that easily captures the true essence of the crime genre." -The Anniston Star

"Dibdin's trademark humor and dark wit is in good form. . . . An ingenious, over-the-top twist . . . sets the scene." -Portsmouth Herald

"The tightly woven style and dark characters echo those of Georges Simenon." -Toledo Blade

"Dibdin's Zen novels effortlessly paint a sharper portrait of Italy than any guidebook, cookbook or academic history. . . . And Then You Die is more meditative than the other Zen thrillers, beautifully crafted and evocative, with the perfect balance of plot and rueful digression." -The Guardian (London)