Author | Michael Dibdin |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Series | Aurelio Zen series, #9 |
Genre | Crime, Mystery novel |
Publisher | Faber and Faber |
Publication date | August 7, 2003 |
Media type | Print (Hardback, Paperback) |
Pages | 292pp (hardback) 288pp (paperback) |
ISBN | 0-571-21658-7 |
OCLC | 52327448 |
Preceded by | And Then You Die |
Followed by | Back to Bologna |
Medusa is a 2003 novel by Michael Dibdin, and is the ninth entry in the popular Aurelio Zen series about an Italian police detective. [1] [2]
When a group of Austrian cavers exploring in the Italian Alps comes across human remains at the bottom of a deep shaft, everyone assumes the death was accidental. But then the body is removed from the morgue and the Defence Ministry puts a news blackout on the case. Smelling a rat, and seeing an opportunity to embarrass their political rivals in the run-up to a cabinet change, the Ministry of the Interior puts Aurelio Zen onto the case.
The search for the truth leads him into the turbulent political history of Italy during the seventies and also into obscure corners of modern-day affluent society, exposing the sordid details of a crime that everyone else had forgotten. [3]
The story is told from the view points of several of those involved and the action moves between Rome, the extreme northern province of Alto Adige, an Italian enclave and tax haven in Switzerland, and several provincial Italian cities.
The focus is on movement, rather than the methodical application of the police process; Zen takes short cuts with the latter and arrives at the solution in a rush.
Medusa is one of the three Gorgons in Greek mythology.
Joseph Zen Ze-kiun SDB is a cardinal of the Catholic Church from Hong Kong, who served as the sixth Bishop of Hong Kong. He was appointed cardinal in 2006, and has been outspoken on issues regarding human rights, political freedom, and religious liberty. His strong ties with the pro-democracy camp often attract criticism from the pro-Beijing camp and the government of the People's Republic of China. He retired on 15 April 2009, but remains a strong pro-democracy influence in Hong Kong. On 11 May 2022 he was arrested by the National Security Police and later that day released on bail.
Michael Dibdin was a British crime writer, best known for inventing Aurelio Zen, the principal character in 11 crime novels set in Italy.
Rufus Frederik Sewell is a British film and stage actor. In film, he has appeared in Carrington (1995), Hamlet (1996), Dangerous Beauty (1998), Dark City (1998), A Knight's Tale (2001), The Legend of Zorro (2005),The Illusionist (2006), Amazing Grace (2006), The Holiday (2006), Paris, je t'aime (2006), Judy (2019), The Father (2020), and Old (2021).
Aurelio may refer to:
Frederic Lindsay was a Scottish crime writer, who was born in Glasgow and lived in Edinburgh. He was a full-time writer from 1979 and previously worked as a lecturer, teacher and library assistant. He was active in a number of literary organisations including the Society of Authors, International PEN and the Scottish Arts Council. In addition to novels he also wrote for TV, radio and the theatre. Two of his novels have been made into films.
Ratking is a 1988 novel by Michael Dibdin, and is the first book in the popular Aurelio Zen series, introducing readers to the Italian police commissario's morally shady world. On publication it won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for fiction.
Vendetta is a 1990 novel by Michael Dibdin, and is the second book in the popular Aurelio Zen series.
Dead Lagoon is a 1994 novel by Michael Dibdin and is the fourth in his Aurelio Zen series. It was published by Faber & Faber in the UK and by Pantheon Books the following year in the US.
Cosi Fan Tutti is a novel by Michael Dibdin published by Faber and Faber in 1996. The fifth in his Aurelio Zen series, it is set in Naples. One strand of the plot plays on the storyline of the Mozart comic opera Così fan tutte; in addition, the chapter titles are all taken from the Lorenzo Da Ponte's libretto for that opera.
A Long Finish is a 1998 novel by Michael Dibdin, and is the sixth entry in the popular Aurelio Zen series.
Blood Rain is a novel by Michael Dibdin, and is the seventh in the Aurelio Zen series. It was published in 1999 by Faber & Faber. In it Zen, an Italian police detective, is pitted against the Sicilian Mafia and at the end is the subject of a bombing attack for political reasons.
And Then You Die is a 2002 novel by Michael Dibdin, and is the eighth entry in the popular Aurelio Zen series.
Back to Bologna is a 2005 novel by Michael Dibdin, and is the tenth entry in the popular Aurelio Zen series.
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism notable for its emphasis on practice and experiential wisdom.
End Games is a 2007 novel by Michael Dibdin. It is the 11th and last entry in the Aurelio Zen series.
Left Bank Pictures is a British film and television production company. It was formed in 2007 and was the first British media company to receive investment from BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC.
Zen is a British television series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the BBC, co-produced with WGBH Boston for its Masterpiece anthology series, Mediaset and ZDF. It stars Rufus Sewell and Caterina Murino and is based on the Aurelio Zen detective novels by Michael Dibdin. The series was filmed on location in Italy, but the dialogue is in English. The series, which comprises three 90-minute films, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sunday evenings from 2 January 2011 on BBC One. The three films were based on the books Vendetta (1990), Cabal (1992) and Ratking (1988). The series was cancelled by BBC One in February 2011; BBC One controller Danny Cohen later said there were already enough male crime-fighters on TV. Left Bank, the show's producer, tried to find other broadcasters to fund another series but were unsuccessful.
Thanksgiving is a 2000 fiction novel by British author Michael Dibdin. The book was first published in the United Kingdom on 2 October 2000 through Faber & Faber. The book follows a man who decides to visit his dead wife's first husband.
Harjit Singh Sajjan is a Canadian politician who has served as the minister of international development since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, Sajjan represents the British Columbia (BC) riding of Vancouver South in the House of Commons, taking office as member of Parliament (MP) following the 2015 election. Sajjan served as the minister of national defence from 2015 to 2021. Before his entry into politics, Sajjan worked as a detective in the Vancouver Police Department and was a lieutenant-colonel in the Canadian Army. He is Canada's first Sikh minister of national defence, and was also the first Sikh Canadian to command a Canadian Army reserve regiment.