Customer Reviews

DEAD LAGOON: An Aurelio Zen Mystery

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Dead Lagoon is a richly atmospheric and complex psychological mystery set in Venice. Michael Dibdin does an excellent job of using the Venetian landscape as a supporting character in the mystery at hand. Best of all for armchair travelers, the two maps included in the book help you follow the action which ranges across the lagoon in all directions on land, sea and air. Following the main character, Aurelio Zen, as he resolves the dual interwoven mysteries and his personal romantic problems is a most enjoyable reading experience. Zen is deep, dark and driven. His peregrinations across Venice in winter are a source of pure delight. The mysteries at the core of the book are well formulated and keep the reader guessing until the very end. Dibdin leavens the darkness of the novel with a touch of black humor. Highly recommended!

I had read Iain Pears books on the recommendation that they were full of Italian background. I found them lacking. Now, this writer and this book take you into the heart of Venice. He captures the italian personality so well. For those of you who have visited Venice you will relive the experience. Great read. Don't miss it! The previous reader didnt enjoy Zen drinking his expresso con grappa. It is the national drink. CinCin

Misty, mysterious Venice is always a favourite "character", whether it be in fiction or biography. Venice does not give up its secrets easily, and Dibdin is a master at ensuring the tension builds and the plot is assisted through location. He is equally adept at characterisation - the restless, driven Zen, who confronts several ethical dilemmas along the way, and several of the supporting "cast" , all of whom come to life and populate the setting magnificently.

The story itself is intriguing, with enough revelations along the way. There is no great finale denouement, more a piecing together of the jigsaw, and one great personal revelation about Zen's family background.

I thought Dibdin was at his very best when the action moves to the Questura (police headquarters). I half expected Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti to come strollign along the corridor!

The "chase" sequence - on foot and boat through wintry night time Venice was also excellent.

Thoroughly recommended for anyone who enjoys top quality crime fiction. No formulaic writing here!

In this installment of the Aurelio Zen series, the protagonist's visit to his native city of Venice is fraught with desire. Zen's dreams include moving away from the detestable Rome and installing himself with his mother and girlfriend Tania into a the Zen villa off the Cannaregio canal. His fantasy lacks substance only because the money he has isn't nearly what he needs to refurbish the decaying house. With his hachet-sharp mind, Zen figures out a way to subsidize his scanty paycheck; he will discover the whereabouts, alive or dead, of a wealthy missing American whose family is willing to pay him plenty to end the legal quagmire his estate is in. In order to stay in Venice in an offical capacity, he attaches himself to a seemingly simple case involving one of his mother's acquaintances, a batty old countess who swears she is being terrorized by intruders in her own stately palazzo. But, Aurelio's best laid machinations fall, so-to-speak, in the black wells known as the pozzi neri or septic tanks over which all the houses of Venice are built. As Zen attempts to solve his investigative puzzles and family problems with his best intentions, he is sidetracked by meeting old friends, one of which is immersed in a political movement meant to eventually restore Venice to it former strategic position as a great trading nation---the other the attractive wife of the movement's leader. With the addition of these new factors, Zen's intital dreams shift and change like the waters in the canals.

Being lucky enough to have visited Venice myself, I found Dibdin's audio, visual and olifactory portrait of the city remarkable. The labyrinth of small bridges, canals and walkways are expertly rendered and a joy to read. As always with this series, Zen's ability to bend the law to his own advantage and pull in favors embues the novel with a gritty realism. His thoughts of his mother, his girlfriends, past and present are priceless, adding just the right comedic touch to lighten his otherwise cynical existence.

I was looking for an "atmospheric" book to read while I was in Venice. By luck, I found Dead Lagoon and I feel my choice couldn't have been better. The main character, Aurelio Zen, is like the city herself - gritty, complex, flawed but still fascinating. I also found myself thinking that I don't like a lot of things about this guy. But like a car crash on the side of the road, I found it impossible to look away. I had to see how things worked themselves out. I especially enjoyed the way the politics of Italian bureaucracy colors nearly every one of his moves - it's almost like it's another character. I admit reading it from a hotel room on the Grand Canal has probably influenced my review, but I still recommend it because talented writers like Dibdin need to be encouraged to keep working at their craft.

My first introduction to Dibdin was Dark Specter, which I thought was average. Then I tried Ratking, which I found to be a little too verbose for my taste. However, he's really hit the mark with this one, in my opinion. Smart, taut, winding, Dibdin's mystery is elegantly plotted and rich in cultural and political detail. Maybe it was the alluring cover but this book struck me as much more colorful and lush than the other two.

One of the best in the Aurelio Zen series along with Cabal. Dibdin is supreme in this series when using Italian bureaucracy to bring the characters down to earth. In this novel he evokes a Venetian setting for the mystery comparable with Conan Doyle's London for atmosphere. Zen is a wonderfully fallible protaganist. On top of it all sits an intricate thriller. All the books in the series are great it's a shame they're not more popular in the States.

I have been drawn to this series as this is the fourth "Zen Mystery" I have read recently. For any readers new to these books all the installments are available except "Cabal", which Amazon shows scheduled for release next month. Nothing I have read so far has suffered from my out of sequence start, but as in any series there are references to prior events that would make the reader more comfortable with the history of the character, if known. The Author Michael Dibdin gives at least a sketch of what has happened if not the details, so starting with the most recent book, as I did, was still very enjoyable.

"Dead Lagoon" brings the protagonist back home, to the City of Venice, the Zen Family house, and a Venice in political turmoil that welcomes only those Venetians that meet their criteria. While this book continues the investigative mystery that is the core of these books, Mr. Dibdin coils a second plot line that is politically based in to the narrative. While it is not as distinct an element, the latter half of 20th Century Venetian History is also intertwined.

The subsequent books will tell, but I believe this is a turning point in the development of Aurelio Zen. As he has in the past he winds up in the middle of a crime, but the practical realities of right and wrong, are blurred by who the victim is, what childhood friends are involved, and other issues long thought to be laid to rest that come back to make Zen's world even more chaotic. And as in the other works, Zen is forced to deal with his Mother who has no use for anyone or anything, when her boy leaves her alone in Rome.

Different from the others I have read, but still very worthy of the time spent.

A crime novel for those who may not think they enjoy crime novels. Deeply atmospheric and creepy, protagonist and cynical police detective Aureilo Zen returns to his native Venice to find a vanished American millionaire. The character of Zen is a beaten-down yet resilient revelation-and a character that consistently amuses and entertains. Italy is a morally ambiguous landscape full of unsavory characters where it's hard to discern the criminals from the crime fighters. The good news is that if you enjoy this Zen crime mystery, there's plenty more enjoyment in store for you since Dibdin has written several in the series.

Michael Dibdin isn't just a winner of the Crime Writers Association's Gold Dagger award--he's also one of today's most literate writers in any genre. DEAD LAGOON is an evocative, stylishly written mystery novel that captures the spirit and mood of Venice in the 1990s. Even if you don't normally read mysteries, DEAD LAGOON deserves a spot on your Venice reading list.

Durant Imboden, Venice for Visitors, http://govenice.miningco.co