Book info

• Title Ratking
• Author Michael Dibdin
• Year 1988
• Genre Mystery

Police Commissioner Aurelio Zen has crossed swords with the establishment before - and lost. But from the depths of a mundane desk job in Rome he is unexpectedly transferred to Perugia to take over an explosive kidnapping case involving one of Italy's most powerful families. But nobody much wants Zen to succeed: not the local authorities, who view him as an interloper, and certainly not Miletti's children, who seem content to let the head of the family languish in the hands of his abductors - if he's still alive.

Thoughts

I watched about half of the first episode of the Zen TV series and gave up because it didn’t grab me. I picked up the book in a sale and thought I would try and see if it was any better. Sadly, it didn’t entertain me much more than the programme did. I read all the way to the end because I was curious about the whodunit part, but none of the characters were particularly interesting.

As a damaged detective, I thought Zen was lacking whatever it is that allows the reader in. The story read much like Sherlock Holmes adventures do - not that much action, and a lot of people talking and filling in the gaps afterwards to flesh out what actually happened. As I didn’t particularly enjoy this one, I’m not planning to read the rest of the series. I’m glad I gave the book a go, though. It wouldn’t be fair to miss out just because the TV show didn’t deliver.

Rating: 2 / 5