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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Serial killings and Mafia violence in Sicily; graphic crime scene content
Language
Some
Dibdin's prose includes some strong language; Italian criminal milieu dialogue
Sexual Content
Barely any
Brief references to relationships; no explicit content
Substance Use
Barely any
Social drinking in Sicilian settings; Zen's characteristic appreciation of wine
Emotional Intensity
Some
Sustained dark atmosphere from serial murders in an isolated island setting
What this book is about
The seventh Aurelio Zen novel sends the detective to Sicily under cover as a railway official, tasked with investigating the apparent murder of a Mafia witness. But a more immediate horror emerges: a serial killer is leaving bodies on trains across the island. Dibdin's Sicily is rendered with his characteristic combination of acute observation and dark comedy, and the novel's exploration of the island's complex relationships with the Mafia, the state, and violence is typically unsentimental. Violent but intelligent—the darkness serves Dibdin's moral purpose.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Graphic violence and serial killing
Mafia themes
Some disturbing imagery
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