Author Language English Genre Crime, Mystery novel | Country United Kingdom Series Aurelio Zen series, #5 Publisher Faber and Faber | |
Cosi Fan Tutti is a novel by Michael Dibdin, and is the fifth entry in the popular Aurelio Zen series. Given the title, it should come as no surprise to learn that one strand of the plot is a riff on the storyline of the almost eponymous opera, Così fan tutte. In addition, the chapter titles are all taken from the titles of sections of the opera libretto.
Plot
Under a cloud again, Zen thinks he has found himself a backwater sinecure in Naples, where he can coast towards retirement. He is prepared to tolerate all manner of scams in return for a quiet life with pastries and a cappucino on his desk every morning, not the least of which is a brothel on the top floor of the police station of which he is nominally in command. But corrupt politicians, shady businessmen and eminent mafiosi are disappearing off the streets at an alarming rate and although Zen's commitment to his work is at an all-time low, he finds himself reluctantly embroiled.