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Author Michael Dibdin was born March 21, 1947 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. He was raised in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, where his family moved when he was only seven years old; it was here that he went to a voluntary grammar school. He attended school in Northern Ireland, Sussex University (where he got his English degree from) and University of Alberta (in Canada, where he would get a Master’s degree). After finishing his first novel, he spent four years teaching English at the University of Perugia in Italy. He would not publish another novel until the year 1986 (which was called “A Rich Full Death”). By the year 1989, he would write the first book starring a character (who is named Aurelio Zen) that he would be most known for; it was called “Ratking”, and the character is an anti hero, something gives the books their black humor and irony. Michael Dibdin was married three times, the last time to a novelist named Kathrine Kristin Beck (who writes under K. K. Beck and Marie Oliver). He died March 30, 2007 at the age of sixty years old. Towards the end of his life, he lived in Seattle, Washington, where he died after he had a short illness. His final book (the eleventh “Aurelio Zen” novel) was released the same year he died.
Order of Aurelio Zen Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ratking | 1988 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Vendetta | 1990 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Cabal | 1992 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Dead Lagoon | 1994 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | Così Fan Tutti | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | A Long Finish | 1998 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | Blood Rain | 1999 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | And Then You Die | 2002 | Description / Buy | |
| 9 | Medusa | 2003 | Description / Buy | |
| 10 | Back to Bologna | 2003 | Description / Buy | |
| 11 | End Games | 2007 | Description / Buy |
Order of Michael Dibdin Standalone Novels
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Last Sherlock Holmes Story (Short Story) | 1978 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | A Rich Full Death | 1986 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | The Tryst | 1990 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Dirty Tricks | 1991 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | The Dying of the Light | 1993 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | Dark Spectre | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | Thanksgiving | 2001 | Description / Buy |
Michael Dibdin Anthologies
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Picador Book of Crime Writing | 1993 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The Vintage Book of Classic Crime | 1997 | Description / Buy |
His work is from the crime, mystery and thriller genres. Dibdin wrote the “Aurelio Zen” series (set in Italy about the inspector of the same name), and wrote some stand alone work. The first of these stand alone novels was a Sherlock Holmes novel. The stand alone work is set in either England or America.
MICHAEL DIBDIN AWARDS
“Ratking”, the first book in his “Aurelio Zen” series, won a Gold Dagger Award for the best mystery novel in the year 1988.
BEST MICHAEL DIBDIN BOOKS
For those readers looking to get into novels by Michael Dibdin, this section will help with that. It will go over the novels “The Last Sherlock Holmes Story”, “A Rich Full Death”, and “The Tryst”.
The Last Sherlock Holmes Story: This is the first novel that Michael Dibdin released and it was released in the year 1978. This novel is Sherlock’s attempt at finding out who Jack the Ripper is. It is set in the year 1888, and Sherlock is looking for a case that is worth his time and expertise. Then one comes to him, with the spatter of blood and headlines.
In a place that is full of vice, three poor women and dubious morals have been killed and their bodies were defiled in horrible ways. His killer leaves taunting letters, saying that he will strike again, and signs the notes “Jack the Ripper”.
Holmes believes that the killer is his old nemesis (James Moriarty) committing the crimes.
A Rich Full Death: This is another stand alone novel and was released in the year 1986. The novel is set in Florence in the year 1855. The police chief in the city realizes that the English are dying too much. Foreigners (English and American) of the community in this Italian backwater are dying quickly in both horrible and ingenious ways.
Local police are out of their element, and so a distinguished resident named Robert Browning, opens his own investigation in the case. He does so privately and with the help of Robert Booth (an expatriate).
Their case is hampered due to the fact that every time they get a suspect, that person is the next victim in the case. This is a case with a series of deaths carried out by a killer who knows about poetic justice.
The Tryst: This is another stand alone novel and was released in the year 1989. Aileen Macklin tells her husband, while they have breakfast together, that one of her patients believes that someone is trying to kill him. Aileen’s marriage is fading, and she works as a psychiatrist; she is haunted by the glue sniffer that comes to her and wants to be put in a psychiatric ward to be protected.
Gary Dunn is obviously in need of some help; he is devastated by unpleasant and dirty living arrangement. He is also full of fear about a murder that he was witness to and feels that he may be the next target.
He might just be right, too; which is unfortunate for him. Unfortunate for Aileen, too, because she gets more involved with the case that professional ethics would suggest.
When Does The Next Michael Dibdin book come out?
Michael Dibdin doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is End Games and was released on August, 12th 2008. It is the newest book in the Aurelio Zen Series.