Scan barcode
A review by cathybruce208
Salaseura by Michael Dibdin
2.0
I love mystery stories set in exotic locations, but this book left me a little cold. Mr. Dibdin's Rome seems like a maze of traffic, bureaucracy, and corruption.
The mystery starts out with a promising premise, a well-connected member of the aristocracy falls from the dome of St. Peters. Was it suicide or murder? The Vatican, worried about the appearance of impropriety, calls the local authorities to "sign off" on the judgement of suicide. Enter Dottore Aurelio Zen, who is unlucky enough to be on call that night.
Maybe I'm used to American-style mysteries, but it doesn't seem like anyone is competent or cares very much about solving this mystery. They seem more preoccupied with avoiding inconvenience or blame. The mystery goes to places you don't expect, and I was genuinely surprised by the identity of the killer.
One nice touch that I want to mention: SPOILER ALERT!! The book begins and ends with very similar scenes. In the opening scene, a man falls to his death in St. Peter's, the very center of the Christian universe, a temple dedicated to the spiritual side of life. In the last scene, a man falls to his death in the middle of a shopping mall, a "temple" dedicated to commerce and capitalism. Maybe Dibdin was trying to make a statement with this book about the tension between the sacred and the profane that defines modern Rome. Anyway, interesting book, but I'm not sure I want to spend anymore time in Dottore Zen's Rome.
The mystery starts out with a promising premise, a well-connected member of the aristocracy falls from the dome of St. Peters. Was it suicide or murder? The Vatican, worried about the appearance of impropriety, calls the local authorities to "sign off" on the judgement of suicide. Enter Dottore Aurelio Zen, who is unlucky enough to be on call that night.
Maybe I'm used to American-style mysteries, but it doesn't seem like anyone is competent or cares very much about solving this mystery. They seem more preoccupied with avoiding inconvenience or blame. The mystery goes to places you don't expect, and I was genuinely surprised by the identity of the killer.
One nice touch that I want to mention: SPOILER ALERT!! The book begins and ends with very similar scenes. In the opening scene, a man falls to his death in St. Peter's, the very center of the Christian universe, a temple dedicated to the spiritual side of life. In the last scene, a man falls to his death in the middle of a shopping mall, a "temple" dedicated to commerce and capitalism. Maybe Dibdin was trying to make a statement with this book about the tension between the sacred and the profane that defines modern Rome. Anyway, interesting book, but I'm not sure I want to spend anymore time in Dottore Zen's Rome.