Back to Bologna (Aurelio Zen Series #10) Book

Rocketing through the Zen series, and we're almost at the end. While I enjoyed Back to Bologna, I find myself unsure whether Dibdin was bored of Zen by this point, or whether he had become so comfortable with the character that he felt free to play some writer's games. (I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say the book is pretty meta.) It will come as no surprise that the setting for this novel is Bologna, although the geography is less important in this book than key characters - a parody of Umberto Eco, an opera-singing TV chef (presumably also based on a real person, although not one I recognized), and a football hooligan. The mystery is satisfying and convoluted, although again the dénouement to some extent comes out of nowhere with a two-page exposition near the end. And Zen is again far from the central character and back in tragicomic hapless mode. Still, good fun, and I'm a bit surprised to see two-star ratings here.

At this point, I guess I can freely say I am somewhat disappointed with character evoluton over the series. With each novel I feel like I'm seeing a portrait painted by a completely different artist, recognizable as much by the label as by the subject itself. Although maybe I just didn't see the true Zen at the beginning.