It is shorter and more compact, perhaps, than loyal readers may have come to expect

In Dibdin's eighth diverting mystery to feature Aurelio Zen of Rome's elite Criminalpol unit, the hard-to-kill detective
is still recuperating from his last adventure, Blood Rain (2000), which left him with a collapsed lung, broken ribs and
various minor injuries. Zen has been given a new identity and use of a beachfront home in Versilia, a Tuscan coast resort
town, while he awaits the beginning of a Mafia trial in America?a trial where he's supposed to be a surprise, and key,
witness. Dibdin's wry humor is perfect for Zen's diffident approach as he stirs himself to rejoin the living, even
attempting a casual beach flirtation. Zen's enforced idleness chafes, then evaporates as people too near him begin to die
and the new strategies developed to conceal him seem to have (almost) fatal flaws. Dislocations and relocations send Zen
to a prison island and then on an abortive journey to America with an unexpected and comical detour. More than one terrible
fate may be in store for Zen even if he survives the repeated attempts on his life: being forced to retire or shunted off
into some harmless bureaucratic niche to molder away. This is a slight, but enjoyable morsel of a book?easily devoured but
with subtle flavorings that linger pleasurably. Zen's casual demeanor masks a shrewd mind, one that readers should enjoy
seeing return to action.

About The Reader.
Michael Tudor Barnes. After reading Classics at London University, Michael Tudor Barnes trained at RADA and for five years
was a member of the National Theatre Company. He has also worked with the RSC, has played leading roles both home and abroad
and has over 600 radio broadcasts to his credit. Television work includes The Bill and Softly, Softly; but he is probably
best known to viewers as Willy Roper in EastEnders.

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