Wednesday 4 April 2007

Crime novelist Dibdin dies at 60


British author Michael Dibdin, known for his Italian detective Aurelio Zen, has died aged 60, his publisher says.
The Wolverhampton-born novelist published his first book, The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, in 1978.

His first Zen novel, Ratking, was inspired by four years spent teaching English in Italy. It won the Gold Dagger award for crime fiction in 1988.

He is survived by third wife, Katherine Beck, a daughter from each of his first two marriages and three stepchildren.

Dibdin's family moved extensively around the UK while he was a child.

He went to school in Northern Ireland and later studied English Literature at Sussex University before travelling to Canada to take a master's degree at the University of Edmonton.

He died in the US on 30 March after a short illness.
BBC:


I for one will miss him, I have really enjoyed his novels and especially his Aurelio Zen novels. This will leave a gap in the crime writing field that will be difficult to fill.