Anthologies
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Picador Book of Crime Writing | 1993 | Buy |
| The Vintage Book of Classic Crime | 1997 | Buy |
Aurelio Zen Reading Order
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Ratking | 1988 | Buy |
| Vendetta | 1990 | Buy |
| Cabal | 1992 | Buy |
| Dead Lagoon | 1994 | Buy |
| Così Fan Tutti | 1996 | Buy |
| A Long Finish | 1998 | Buy |
| Blood Rain | 1999 | Buy |
| And Then You Die | 2002 | Buy |
| Medusa | 2003 | Buy |
| Back to Bologna | 2003 | Buy |
| End Games | 2007 | Buy |
Standalone Novels
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Last Sherlock Holmes Story | 1978 | Buy |
| A Rich Full Death | 1986 | Buy |
| The Tryst | 1990 | Buy |
| Dirty Tricks | 1991 | Buy |
| The Dying of the Light | 1993 | Buy |
| Dark Spectre | 1996 | Buy |
| Thanksgiving | 2001 | Buy |
Michael Dibdin (1947-2007) was a British novelist who spent significant time living in Italy, an experience that directly shaped his most famous creation: the Aurelio Zen detective series. Dibdin published his first novel, The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, in 1978, but it was Ratking in 1988 that launched the series that would define his career. Over the next two decades, he wrote eleven Zen novels, each set in a different Italian location.
Beyond the Zen books, Dibdin wrote several well-regarded standalone novels. The Last Sherlock Holmes Story offers a dark reimagining of the Holmes canon, while Dark Spectre moves the action to the American Pacific Northwest. Dirty Tricks and The Tryst show his range within British literary fiction. He also edited two crime fiction anthologies.
Dibdin’s writing was praised for its intelligence and wit. His prose had a dry, observational quality that set him apart from more conventional crime writers. He won the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger for Ratking and was shortlisted for other awards throughout his career. He died in 2007, the same year End Games, his final Zen novel, was published.