Michael Didbin (1947–2007)

Zen goes back to his home town of Venice on the pretext of helping a family friend who is being scared to death by 'ghosts', In fact he is quietly investigating what appears to be a politically sensitive case about a missing man. There's a mayoral election taking place and the story was somewhat slowed by the political campaigning of a radical making it less of a page turner than others. However, it voiced the concerns Venetians have about their city and their future. And the city of Venice show more became a character in itself. Darker than most of Dibdin's novels but I enjoyed every minute. show less

Cabal is Michael Dibdin's third entry in his Aurelio Zen series, and like the previous two, it features the assumption by Zen's superiors and other people in power that he can be relied to do what he is asked to do because he is as thoroughly corrupt as they are. Of course, Zen is anything but corrupt, but that perception turns out to be quite handy at times.... In this novel, Zen is called in to "investigate" following the death of a prominent figure, a Prince who has apparently committed show more suicide by throwing himself from high in the basilica of St. Peter's in the Vatican. Because the Vatican is a separate "country" in the midst of Italian Rome, the Italians have no authority over the case, but to avoid the possibility that others might think the Vatican is covering up a crime, Zen is asked to look into it as an "independent" investigator and, of course, to find what the authorities want him to find, that the man killed himself. But the man did not kill himself, and quickly Zen finds himself mired in a conspiracy that seems to take in Italian judges, the Vatican and a mysterious entity known only as the Cabal.... As with most of my favourite mystery series, Zen's personal life advances from book to book even as his professional career takes him into heady waters. I'm enjoying my discovery of Dibdin's characters, particularly this complex man, and I find the plots to be fascinating, particularly in their glimpses into the dark side of Italian policing and politics. Recommended! show less

This is the second time I’ve read this book, ten years apart. It was published after his death. I think he knew he was dying, or sensed it in some way. The prose is elegant, the plot ridiculously tangled and there is an edge of violence which makes me cringe, and yet...some holy wisdom lightens it all.
These next 4 quotes are an epitaph to his last days.
p.270 "The stealthy approach of death makes one more attentive to any form of life. "
p.272 "Up here in the mountains the stars would still show more be a luminous presence, Zen realized. It had used to be like that everywhere, but within his lifetime, that celestial array had been erased like a mediaeval frescon gaudily over painted in a more enlightened era."
p.274 (when an old lady suggests that he would have made a good priest) But I do have a vocation, Zen thought. It's this stupid, meaningless, utter compromised job that I try to do as well as I can.
p.321 Zen felt his energy drained and his will sapped, but there was nothing to do but wait. show less

The most entertaining element of Dibdin's book is that it is from an Italian's point of view. Zen, being contemptuously unable to speak English, missed a clue as he wasn't able to translate an English slogan on a T-shirt. In fact, he is scathing of the popular use of English on clothing. His horror of non-Italian food was funny and easily imagined. Subtle humour mixed with the suggestion that the reader knew more than the detective - a winning combination.