Michael Dibdin: Blood Rain (UK 2004)

From the Publisher:
After his last case, among the gentle hills and lush vineyards of Piedmont, Inspector Zen finally receives the order he has been dreading all his professional life: his next posting is to Sicily.

The gruesome discovery of an unidentified, decomposed corpse sealed in a railway wagon on a disused siding marks the beginning of Zen's most difficult and dangerous case. Set against the backdrop of the three thousand-year-old city of Catania, in the shadow of the smouldering volcano of Etna, Blood Rain reveals Aurelio Zen at his most desperate and driven.

Michael Dibdin: Blood Rain. An Aurelio Zen Mystery. Faber & Faber; ISBN: 0571202888 (August, 2004), 325 p., £6.99.

Michael Dibdin: Blood Rain (USA 2001)

From the Publisher:
Aurelio Zen -- cynical and tough, yet worn down from years of law enforcement -- has just been given the worst assignment he could imagine. He has been sent to the heart of hostile territory: Sicily, the ancient, beautiful island where blood has been known to flow like wine, and the distinction between the police and the criminals is a fine one. Even worse, he has been sent to spy on the elite anti-Mafia squad.

The only thing that makes the job palatable -- and takes his mind off routine details like the rotting body found in a remote train car -- is that Zen's adopted daughter, Carla, is also in town. But life becomes precarious for Carla when she stumbles upon some information she'd be better off not knowing and befriends a local magistrate on the Mafia's most wanted list. What ensues is a breakneck plot of amazing complexity that culminates in a stunning finale. Blood Rain, emotionally gripping and defiantly original, is surely one of Dibdin's finest works.

Michael Dibdin: Blood Rain. An Aurelio Zen Mystery. Vintage Books, ISBN: 0375708308 (May, 2001), 273 p., $13.00.

Michael Dibdin: Blood Rain (UK 2000)

From the Publisher:
The discovery of an unidentified, decomposed corpse in a railway wagon marks the beginning of Zen's most difficult and dangerous case. Set against the backdrop of the 3000-year-old city of Catalina, in the shadow of Mount Etna, "Blood Rain" finds Aurelio Zen at his most desperate and driven.

Michael Dibdin: Blood Rain. An Aurelio Zen Mystery. Faber & Faber; ISBN: 0571202888 (April, 2000), 325 p., £5.99.

Michael Dibdin: Blood Rain (USA 2000)

From the Publisher:
Despite his best efforts to please everyone and keep out of trouble, the veteran Italian Criminalpol officer Aurelio Zen has made more enemies than friends over the years. Now it's payoff time. After his last case, amid the gentle hills and lush vineyards of Piedmont, Zen finally receives the order he has been dreading all his professional life: his next posting is to Sicily, heart of the Mafia's power.

The gruesome discovery of an unidentified, decomposed corpse sealed in a railway wagon on a deserted part of the island marks the beginning of Zen's most difficult and dangerous case. And indeed, it soon turns out that he will need all his cunning and skill to survive in a world where unwritten rules are enforced with ruthless violence, where one false step can prove fatal, and where the truth must be paid for in blood.

Set against the backdrop of the three-thousand-year-old city of Catania, in the shadow of the smoldering volcano of Etna, Blood Rain reveals Aurelio Zen at his most desperate and driven, and Michael Dibdin's writing at its most darkly atmospheric, galvanizing best.

Michael Dibdin: Blood Rain. An Aurelio Zen Mystery. Pantheon Books, ISBN: 0375409157 (March, 2000), 273 p., $23.00.

Michael Dibdin: Blood Rain (UK 1999)

From the Publisher:
In the seventh book of the acclaimed Aurelio Zen series, the Italian police detective finally receives the order he has been dreading all his professional life - his next posting is to Sicily. Indeed it soon turns out that he will need all his cunning and skill to survive in a milieu where unwritten rules are enforced with ruthless violence, one false step can prove fatal, and the truth must be paid for in blood.

The gruesome discovery of an unidentified, decomposed corpse sealed in a railway wagon on a disused siding marks the beginning of Zen's most difficult and dangerous case. Set against the backdrop of the three thousand-year-old city of Catania, in the shadow of the smouldering volcano of Etna, Blood Rain reveals Aurelio Zen at his most desperate and driven.

Michael Dibdin: Blood Rain. An Aurelio Zen Mystery. Faber & Faber, ISBN: 0571200893 (September, 1999), 284 p., £16.99.