Order of Book Series
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Michael Dibdin Books in Order

Michael Dibdin has written 18 books, published between 1978 and 2007. The first book is The Last Sherlock Holmes Story (1978) and the newest is End Games (2007). Publication order is the reading order below. 11 of the 18 books listed here are in the Aurelio Zen series, which has its own page: Aurelio Zen books in order.

Books
18
Published
1978–2007
Confirmed
18 of 18 titles
Pages on record
4,089 in 17 of 18 books
Reading time
68–102 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,089 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 17 of 18 titles with a page count on record.

See all 18 books in order Printable Michael Dibdin checklist

Aurelio Zen, an Italian police detective, is Michael Dibdin's principal creation, appearing in 11 of his crime novels. Dibdin (1947-2007) was a British writer whose catalogue starts with The Last Sherlock Holmes Story (1978) and ends with End Games in 2007, 18 books in total. Italian settings and police procedure define the Zen books; the standalone novels run alongside them.

How many Michael Dibdin books are there?

Michael Dibdin has 18 books, released between 1978 and 2007. 11 of them belong to the Aurelio Zen series.

Michael Dibdin Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 18 Michael Dibdin books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of The Last Sherlock Holmes Story by Michael Dibdin, book 1 of the Michael Dibdin Standalone Novels series (1978)
  2. Cover of A Rich Full Death by Michael Dibdin, book 2 of the Michael Dibdin Standalone Novels series (1986)
  3. Cover of Ratking by Michael Dibdin, book 1 of the Aurelio Zen series (1988)
  4. Cover of Vendetta by Michael Dibdin, book 2 of the Aurelio Zen series (1990)
  5. Cover of The Tryst by Michael Dibdin, book 3 of the Michael Dibdin Standalone Novels series (1990)
  6. Cover of Dirty Tricks by Michael Dibdin, book 4 of the Michael Dibdin Standalone Novels series (1991)
  7. Cover of Cabal by Michael Dibdin, book 3 of the Aurelio Zen series (1992)
  8. Cover of The Dying of the Light by Michael Dibdin, book 5 of the Michael Dibdin Standalone Novels series (1993)
  9. Cover of Dead Lagoon by Michael Dibdin, book 4 of the Aurelio Zen series (1994)
  10. Cover of Così Fan Tutti by Michael Dibdin, book 5 of the Aurelio Zen series (1996)
  11. Cover of Dark Spectre by Michael Dibdin, book 6 of the Michael Dibdin Standalone Novels series (1996)
  12. Cover of A Long Finish by Michael Dibdin, book 6 of the Aurelio Zen series (1998)
  13. Cover of Blood Rain by Michael Dibdin, book 7 of the Aurelio Zen series (1999)
  14. Cover of And Then You Die by Michael Dibdin, book 8 of the Aurelio Zen series (2002)
  15. Cover of Medusa by Michael Dibdin, book 9 of the Aurelio Zen series (2003)
  16. Cover of Back to Bologna by Michael Dibdin, book 10 of the Aurelio Zen series (2003)
  1. 1
    The Last Sherlock Holmes StoryMichael Dibdin Standalone Novels #11978 · 72 pages · confirmed 3/4
    197872
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    A Rich Full DeathMichael Dibdin Standalone Novels #21986 · 204 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1986204
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    RatkingAurelio Zen #11988 · 266 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1988266
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    VendettaAurelio Zen #21990 · 260 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1990260
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The TrystMichael Dibdin Standalone Novels #31990 · 168 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1990168
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Dirty TricksMichael Dibdin Standalone Novels #41991 · 241 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1991241
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    CabalAurelio Zen #31992 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1992256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Dying of the LightMichael Dibdin Standalone Novels #51993 · 160 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1993160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Dead LagoonAurelio Zen #41994 · 297 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1994297
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Così Fan TuttiAurelio Zen #51996 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1996256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Dark SpectreMichael Dibdin Standalone Novels #61996 · 341 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1996341
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    A Long FinishAurelio Zen #61998 · 272 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1998272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Blood RainAurelio Zen #71999 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1999288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    ThanksgivingMichael Dibdin Standalone Novels #72001 · 192 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2001192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    And Then You DieAurelio Zen #82002 · 192 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2002192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    MedusaAurelio Zen #92003 · 272 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2003272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Back to BolognaAurelio Zen #102003 · confirmed 3/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    End GamesAurelio Zen #112007 · 352 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Michael Dibdin series in order

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.

Michael Dibdin books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Michael Dibdin Standalone Novels

7 books

7 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Do you have to read Michael Dibdin books in order?

You only need to read Michael Dibdin books in order within the Aurelio Zen series, which holds 11 of the 18 Michael Dibdin books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Michael Dibdin

Start with Ratking (1988), the first Aurelio Zen book. The earliest catalogued title overall is The Last Sherlock Holmes Story (1978).

What is the newest Michael Dibdin book?

End Games (2007) is the newest Michael Dibdin book released so far.

Is there a new Michael Dibdin book coming?

No next Michael Dibdin book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Michael Dibdin has won

Wikidata records 2 awards for Michael Dibdin. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Grand Prix de Littérature Policière1994Won
  • Gold Dagger1988Won

Michael Dibdin at a glance

Died
Michael Dibdin died in 2007, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Michael Dibdin on record dates from 2007.
Release pace
Michael Dibdin books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,089 pages across the 17 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 256 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Michael Dibdin books, 10 of 18, were published in the 1990s.

What the Michael Dibdin books are about

All 18 Michael Dibdin books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: police is tagged on 11 of 18. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.