Her last marriage was with the popular novelist named K.K. WebWith a heavy heart, we have to inform you of the X-Files co-stars unexpected death on October 23, 2022. The official cause of death was determined to be homicidal violence. with the principal heirs--including the unpleasant Signor Da Pre and the excessively pious Benedetta Lerini--suggest no cause for . WebBiography. Paperback. In this mystery, Aurelio Zen discovers that in '90s 'New Italy', things are still the same. Best Sellers . Among the latter books in the series, Blood Rainis highly entertaining but with considerable emotional depth. British-born crime writer Michael Dibdin was educated in Northern Ireland, England and Canada but moved to Italy to teach English, where he found the inspiration for his series detective, the Description. @LitBritish [Clearance] by Kayo Chingonyi is one of the poems you can currently see on London Tube and Overground trains as par https://t.co/UhO9LGGxoR (2 days ago), @LitBritish RT @deBritish: Our Literature Seminar is BACK. March 21, 1947 Died March 30, 2007 Genre Mystery & Thrillers edit data Michael Dibdin was born in 1947. OBITUARIES SOURCE: The Times Monday 28 Apr 1958, pg.12 AUBREY DIBDIN - Mr. Aubrey Dibdin, C.I.E., whose death at the age of 66 was announced briefly in The Times last week, had the rare advantage of entering the India Office for administative work after some years spent in the sub-continent.The son of a distinguished Dean of the We wrote our first books at the same time, in the same place. Things became notions, the brash present a vague memory. He is a big man and, on the evidence of our 9am rendezvous, a little too fond of tobacco. retired football players 2020. sensation de bulle dans le haut du ventre; yeshiva ketana of waterbury; protest in sheffield today palestine; jonah rooney parents. Harlequins set attendance record but rampant Exeter spoil Twickenham party, Marcus Smith sends England message to Steve Borthwick with man-of-the-match performance, Super-sub Reiss Nelson completes thrilling Arsenal fightback, Laura Muir breaks new groudn with fifth European Indoor gold, Project Fear authors discussed when to deploy new Covid variant, Matt Hancock's plan to frighten the pants off everyone about Covid. He is happy to do this, and even flirts with the seductive woman under the next beach umbrella. He spent a total of 4 years residing in Italy. He also wrote other detective works set in America and in the UK. This series of detective novels provide a penetrating insight into the less visible aspects of Italian society over the last 20 years. Dr. Bligh-Glover stressed that there was simply nothing to indicate that Michael died from natural causes. Michael Dibdin was born on March 21, 1947 in Wolverhampton, England, UK. Until late one evening after a party he stumbles across a body that should not be there - and his brother-in-law falsifying the corpse's cause of death. United Agents Ltd is a Limited Company registered in England and Wales under the company number 14176774. He died on March 30, 2007 in Seattle, Washington, USA. A noir thriller set in 1950s Dublin by Booker-Prize winner John Banville, writing as Benjamin Black. Three years after Dibdin's passing, the series was brought to life in the form of three feature-length dramas based on Dibdin's series. Michael Dibdin. It may be a bit dry for some American viewers, but "Doc . March 3 (UPI) -- K-pop newbie group Le Sserafim has recorded the first million seller since its debut less than a year ago, with its second EP "Antifragile," the group's agency said Friday. Michael Dibdin (1947-2007) was a British novelist who wrote crime fiction, largely featuring the character Aurelio Zen. [2] The first of these, Ratking, won the 'Gold Dagger' award of 1988. Independent Spirit Awards: How to watch, what to expect. The forensic pathologist, Dr. Dibdin, listed Consuelo's cause of death as "blunt force penetrating injury of the anus," with the anus expanded to seven or eight times its normal size. Welcome back. The couple divorced not long afterwards, at which point Dibdin moved to Italy to teach English at the University of Perugia, where he witnessed the Italian bureaucracy and corruption that would inform the social and political backdrop to his Zen novels. Corrupt politicians, shady business men and eminent mafiosi are disappearing off the streets at an alarming rate, but Zens commitment to his work is at an all-time low. WebAuthor Dibdin entered into marriage for 3 times in total. In the books Zen encounters civic and police corruption and rivalries, bureaucracy, terrorism, political cover-ups, Mafia murders and kidnappings. Michael Dibdin, the bestselling crime writer, who has died aged 60, created the maverick Venetian detective Aurelio Zen, one of the quirkiest sleuths in crime fiction. Bindi - Bushfire! To subscribe to the newsletter, until further notice, please press the subscribe button. And what clues lie hidden in the Secret of the Templars? Published by Heinemann in the UK in 1965 under a stark, photographic dust jacket designed by Paul Castell - the symbolic flower on the front of which predates by twenty years the more famous black flower from Troy Kennedy Martin's equally brilliant, also nuclear-themed Edge of Darkness - Commander-1 is a bleak, unforgiving account of atomic war and its aftermath. Published in 1988, "Ratking" was Dibdin's first novel featuring the detective Aurelio Zen. Garcelle Beauvais hopes 'Black Girl Missing' helps find women who disappeared. To find out more, he travels to a remote part of the Nevada desert to meet Lucy's first husband. Christine Falls is the first novel in a planned series about hard-drinking Irish pathologist Garret Quirke written by Booker Prize winner John Banville under the open pseudonym Benjamin Black; the next volume, The Silver Swan, will be published in both the UK and USA in March. We keep meeting, Michael Dibdin and I. Aurelio Zens character was set mainly in Italy by Dibdin, while most of his other works were set in England and the States. The debut novel written by Michael Dibdin in the Aurelio Zen series is entitled Ratking. George DIBDIN was born on month day 1849, at birth place, to Thomas John DIBDIN and Elizabeth DIBDIN (born HARKOM). Hewas a regular reviewer for various newspapers and journals including the Independent on Sunday. And members of the foreign community in this quaint Italian backwater, both English and American, are indeed dying at an alarming rate and in an extraordinary variety of ingenious and horrible ways. He was previously married to K.K. The character of Zen appears to be emotional and erratic. He admired Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, both of whom were Left-leaning and disturbed by the corruption and abuses they saw in the society they wrote about. 1996 Michael Dibdin (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Crime Fiction Mystery. WebMichael Dibdin Net Worth. TOP-RANKED AUTHORS (5-flags/4-flags) Donna Leon Interview: Andrea Camilleri: Michael Dibdin: Timothy Williams Interview: Magdalen Nabb Interview: Grace Brophy . After living for a period of 7 years in Wolverhampton since his birth, author Dibdin changed places along with his family and lived in different places. Dibdin, who died March 30, is survived by his third wife, two daughters and three stepchildren. Dr. Young Bostonian Robert Booth manoeuvres his way into the Florentine residence of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. . While Dibdin travelled frequently to Italy, he lived in Seattle with his wife the novelist Kathrine Beck, from where he wrote all but the first three Zen novels. Zen's investigations into the case threaten the interests of surviving former fascists, some now in high places. Born: 21-Mar-1947 Birthplace: Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England Died: 30-Mar-2007 Location of death: Seattle, WA Cause of death: unspecified Gender: Male Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Novelist Nationality: England Executive summary: Aurelio Zen novels Wife: K. K. Beck ("Katherine Beck", Michael Dibdin. March 4 (UPI) -- Musician Emilio Estefan turns 70 and actor Catherine O'Hara turns 69, among the famous birthdays for March 4. The son of a physicist, he was brought up from the age of seven in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, where he attended the Friends' School and was taught by James Simmons. But I have known him for years. Michael Macor/The Chronicle 2015 Show More Show Less. Dibdin's years of teaching in Italy no doubt gave him the detailed cultural background for the series, which started with Ratking in 1988 and whose latest volume is Medusa (2003). Zen suspects Milettis son Daniele, his daughter Cinzia, and his other children Pietro and Silvio. Anthony is a British journalist whose American wife, Lucy, has suddenly died. Michael Dibdin authored 11 Aurelio Zen novels that were published between the years of 1988 and 2007 (the year of his passing). A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland). His first published novel, The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, his self-proclaimed "pastiche", appeared in 1978. Error rating book. Dr. James Dibdin, said the cause of death was penetration of the girl's anus, which was . US$10.80 US$18.00. $7.00. Anthony, a British journalist, is grieving for his dead American wife, and driven to find out about more about her. The cause of death was not disclosed. Throughout the course of his career, author Dibdin wrote a total of 18 books, 11 of which were a part of the Aurelio Zen series. 18 of 33 19 of 33 Orinda. In the 60s he was part of the famous Jackson 5 band with his brothers. Michael Kopsas cause of death was due to a brain tumor, according to his ex-wife. Her last marriage was with the popular novelist named K.K. Our most recent meeting was in Mantua at the 2003 Festivaletteratura. The children on Miletti also dont want the abductors to release him. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. James: A Certain Justice . The book was highly appreciated and praised by the critics. Hashoo Trust aims to facilitate provision of access to inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities. Publisher's Summary. He is survived by a daughter from each of his first two marriages and by three stepchildren. Her last marriage was with the popular novelist named K.K. It was a freezing February morning in Bologna, where he was researching the 10th and (it turned out) penultimate book in the Aurelio Zen series. Paperback. He is also looking for a disappeared millionaire from America, who family has paid Aurelio Zen a handsome amount to locate his whereabouts, alive or dead. Read-the-Season Italian Edition: INVERNO (Winter). Unhinged by his wife's unexpected death, Anthony, a middle-aged Seattle journalist, becomes obsessed with her past. A Rich Full Death features characters both historical and imaginary, ranging from an enticing servant girl to Mr. Browning's consumptive, world-famous wife, Elizabeth Barrett, in a tale lush with period detail, intricately plotted, and with a truly astonishing final twist. The Death of Faith by Donna Leon (gialli.com) . But it's the same thing for anyone. Dibdin was married three times, most recently to the novelist K. K. Beck. He went to school in Northern Ireland, and later to Sussex University and the University of Alberta in Canada. January Magazine Interview: Michael Dibdin, Michael Dibdin: "Zen is someone I don't know very much about" video, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Dibdin&oldid=1119631567, People educated at Friends' School, Lisburn, 21st-century writers from Northern Ireland, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 2 November 2022, at 16:01. The other detective fiction works of author Dibdin are set in the US and England. The initial books show a touch of lightness that goes on to become darker as the series progresses. That's why they become criminals.. The Wolverhampton-born novelist published his first book, The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, in 1978. The income this generates is of great help in enabling us to post new content and we thank you if you are able to support us in this way. Choose From A Variety of Great Books. Medusa again opens with the discovery of a corpse, though one from thirty years ago, eventually identified as a young soldier who had belonged to a clandestine fascist organization codenamed Operation Medusa. We hear the revealing interior monologue of a secret serviceman disgusted by official hypocrisy and social decadence. But his mission is complicated by another secret which has drawn strangers from the other side of the world: a hunt for buried treasure launched by a single-minded player with millions to spend pursuing his bizarre and deadly obsession. Like them, Dibdin shunned an overt political agenda in his books. Webhow many therms of gas per month chicago lake bryan boat races Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell. March 4 (UPI) -- Celebrity chef and interviewer Rachael Ray has announced she is wrapping her eponymous weekday daytime program after 17 seasons. In 1988 he wrote Ratking, the first of the famous crime series featuring the Italian detective Aurelio Zen. As it stands, the Anglo-Irish agreement represents a modest but long over-due start to that work, rather like the symbolic turf turned over with a silver spade by the mayor. Dibdins father was a physicist. Thomas was born on October 15 1814, in Long Lane, Bermondsey, Surrey, England. The interview was at 9am. Author Dibdin entered into marriage for 3 times in total. 'Superb . A Taste for Death by P. D. James: Tell No One by Harlan Coben: A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman: The Three Coffins by John Dickson Carr: A Three-Pipe Problem by Julian Symons: The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham: Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen: Trent's Last Case by E. C. Bentley: Uncivil Seasons by Michael Malone: Under Cover of . [1] He graduated with a degree in English from Sussex University, and then went to study for a Master's degree at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. End Games is the final book in the Inspector Zen series from the 'maestro of crime writing', by Michael Dibdin: a tale of buried treasure and gangster assassins set in the remote town of Calabria. His first novel, The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, was published in 1978. This entry was posted in greenwood, archer and pine street on June 30, 2022 by .greenwood, archer and pine street on June 30, 2022 by . WebNotice: Function is_feed was called incorrectly.Conditional query tags do not work before the query is run. Died 30 March, 2007 in Seattle .) While Aurelio Zen was set in Italy, his other works were often set in . Michael was one of nine children, meaning he had eight siblings. A subplot involves Carla, a computer expert who claims to be Zen's daughter, and her involvement with a prominent woman judge. British Council complies with data protection law in the UK and laws in other countries that meet internationally accepted standards. He finds a crooked cop drowned in the black well of the city and a skeleton that is found from the Isle of Dead. He has been sent to Sicily, home of the Mafia, in a nondescript liaison job. Patricia Cornwell. March 3 (UPI) -- The 2023 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, hosted by Nate Burleson and Charli D'Amelio, is airing on Nickelodeon and several other channels live on Saturday. Hello Select your address Books Hello, Sign in. The experience gave him a glimpse of Italian bureaucracy and corruption that provided the social and political backdrop for his series of Aurelio Zen crime novels. 13% off. WebAbout A Rich Full Death. Combine with Dibdin was married three times, most recently to the novelist K. K. Beck. Zen is determined to find a way to penetrate the code of silence and uncover the truth. At the beginning of this book, Dibdin has given a delicious yet creepy description in which the skeptical Aurelio Zen is given the task of combating crime. As an Amazon Associate, I earn money from qualifying purchases. 33% off. 2007. Webprincess premier drinks with service charge. Dogstar Rising by Parker Bilal. The crimes appear to be random and motiveless and no one has claimed responsibility. I became a Michael Dibdin fan a few years ago when I was working deep in the Sahara Desert under conditions that left limited options for after dark activities. portrait of velleity (woof), Monday, 17 January 2011 10:25 (twelve years ago) link. It was released in 1997 by the Black Lizard publication, after its first release in 1988. US$11.06 US$12.64. Italy provided the social and political backdrop forhis series of crime novels featuring Venetian policeman Aurelio Zen, the first of which, Ratking, was published in 1988. He lived in Seattle.After completing his first novel, The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, in 1978, he spent four years in Italy teaching English at the University of Perugia. Another aspect of Dibdin's quality is a conspicuous literary allusiveness, and the ingenious deployment of English poets within his own plots. LOS ANGELES -- Michael Dibdin, the British-born writer of crime fiction whose series of books about an enigmatic Venetian detective were noted for skillful plotting as well as reflections on Italian politics and society, died March 30 in Seattle, said his stepdaughter, Emma Marris. In a brilliantly menacing opening scene, he visits her first husband who runs an isolated gas station in the Nevada desert. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. 'The rat poison kept in the potting shed Dibdin was born in Middlesex, England, but also lived in Northern Ireland, Edmonton, Italy and finally in Seattle. His pacing is impeccable' - Marcel Berlins, The Times Continue the spellbinding crime series with The Silver Swan. Among Dibdin's confections are two highly enjoyable works of homage to past masters: The Dying of the Light (1993) parodies the Agatha Christie country hotel murder, and The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, his first book, published in 1978. Although his plots were convoluted ("as tangled as a dish of spag bol," as one reviewer put it), Dibdin was a thoughtful exponent of crime fiction with a literary cast, specialising in unsympathetic heroes (someone noted that Aurelio Zen is not a man with whom one would want to be marooned in a gondola), and he took an academic interest in the history of the genre. In parallel, we also have a mysterious tale told by an elderly recluse who had befriended the young man. For detailed information, please refer to the privacy section of our website or contact your local British Council office . It's easy to kill for a cause, but solutions have to be worked at. April 6, 2007 Michael Dibdin, an internationally acclaimed British crime novelist whose best-known books feature the brooding Italian police detective Aurelio Zen, died on March 30 in Seattle. Other Options: Edmund Crispin: The Case of the Gilded Fly Roald Dahl: The Witches Neil Gaiman: Fragile Things Donald Henderson: Mr. Michael Dibdin, 23 April 1987. to visit, all rich in history and culture. The structure works well in conjuring up a genuinely unsettling vision of Britain, in random urban violence, social estrangement and weird hallucinations. The narrative involves as much mental processes as crime-related tension, while he finds out what really happened and undergoes a healing process. 01 May 2009. Returning to his native place in Venice, Aurelio Zen is in search of the ones who tormented a Contessa. Someone died nastily of heatstroke and starvation in a railway van on a siding. Michael Dibdin is currently considered a "single author." AbeBooks.com: A Rich Full Death: A lovely first impression of this thrilling murder-mystery by Michael Dibdin. Besides his Musical Tour through England (1788), his Professional Life, an autobiography published in 4 volumes in 1803, a Complete History of the British Stage (5 vols, 1795), Observations on a Tour through England and Scotland (2 vols, 1803) and several smaller works, he . by Michael Dibdin and Michael Dibdin First published in 1988 3 editions in 2 languages 2 previewable. An incredible author who just recently released a sequel to her hit, The Housemaid. Other books in this series include Cabal (1992), Dead Lagoon (1994), Cosi Fan Tutte (1996), A Long Finish (1998) and Blood Rain (1999), in which Zen faces death at the hands of the Sicilian Mafia. His first book, A Rich Full Death was set in my house. A final Zen book, End Games, appeared posthumously in July 2007. The author continued to write novels outside the Zen series, winning accolades for 1991's Dirty Tricks, a story of greed and betrayal in Thatcherite Britain. His first book, "The Last Sherlock Holmes Story," was published in 1978 and sold only about 270 copies, Dibdin once said. Not really sure the comedy works quite as well, although Cosi Fan Tutti is an interesting idea. Dibdin " can capture the sense of place with the swift poetic accuracy of Lawrence Durrell, and Venice, its people, manners and mores are the center of a book," wrote critic Charles Champlin in a 1995 Los Angeles Times review of "Dead Lagoon. "; Dibdin's first novel was a pastiche of the Sherlock Holmes stories, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites, How the world's oldest clove tree defied an empire, Why Royal Ballet principal Sergei Polunin quit, Tourists flock to 'Jesus's tomb' in Kashmir. He has developed the genre to include an unusually rich mixture of psychological, cultural, and social-political sidelights, especially within his ongoing series of novels featuring the Italian police Inspector Aurelio Zen. connect4education register; don't be a felix cdcr video; westfield knox redevelopment 2020 Until late one evening after a party he stumbles across a body that should not be there - and his brother-in-law falsifying the corpse's cause of death. Michael Dibdin, the bestselling crime writer, who has died aged 60, created the maverick Venetian detective Aurelio Zen, one of the quirkiest sleuths in crime fiction. Zen feels that no one wants him to succeed in this case. Add to basket. Beck, Sybil Sheringham and Benita Mitbrodt. The son of a physicist and a nurse, Dibdin grew up in Northern Ireland from the age of seven after his father accepted a lectureship. Most Popular Now | 56,514 people are reading stories on the site right now. Our most recent meeting was in Mantua at the 2003 Festivaletteratura. The character of Zen himself is anti-heroic, which adds much to the books' irony and black humour. March 4 (UPI) -- The animated blockbuster, "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," is set to make its streaming premiere on Peacock on March 10. And Then You Die (2002), the eighth book in the series, finds a contemplative Zen recuperating on the Tuscan coast waiting to travel to America to testify in an anti-Mafia trial. Michael Dibdin Among the emerging generation of crime writers, none is as stylish and intelligent as Michael Dibdin, who, in Dead Lagoon , gives us a deliciously creepy new novel featuring the urbane and skeptical Aurelio Zen, a detective whose unenviable task it is to combat crime in a country where today's superiors may be tomorrow's . Michael John Dibdin was born in Wolverhampton in 1947, to a Cambridge-educated physicist father with a passionate enthusiasm for folk music. After graduating in English literature at the University of Sussex, he obtained qualifications as an English teacher so that he could travel to Canada, studying for a Masters at the University of Edmonton. Just not at bedtime you wont be able to put her thrillers down! He confessed in an interview in 2000 that he did not have a series in mind when he wrote the first of his novels featuring Zen. By chance, he is able to strike up an acquaintance with the famous Robert Browning and his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and as he is a man searching for guidance, he soon decides that the poet is a genius whose knowledge of human nature far transcends that . Eileen Coleman later drowned in a boating accident off the Donegal coast, and Dibdin dedicated his novel The Dying Of The Light (1993) to her memory. His birth had taken place in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. Dibdin deliberately tapped into British middle-class fantasies in the Aurelio Zen series. The victims are of every age and background; they have been bound and gagged and shot in the head at close range. "There is a sense I very . . . Having spent much of his writing career in Oxford, he moved to live with her in Seattle, Washington - which provided the setting for his first American-based novel, Dark Spectre in 1995. 17,029 pages were read in the last minute. WebMichael Dibdin, Writer: Zen. Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson take on ghosts in 'Haunted Mansion' trailer. Ahorra US$1.35. The city provided the location for Dark Spectre (1995), his first American-based novel, which was set in a town gripped by a series of seemingly random murders; it was followed by Thanksgiving (2000), the story of a journalist's obsession with his recently dead American wife. Michael Dibdin, a biography: Michael Dibdin, born in 1947, is the creator of the Italian detective, Aurelio Zen. . The good fortune which attended him throughout life may have been partly owing to this cause as well as to his undoubted valour, . The remaining 7 books were either standalone novels or other works. . Each of Dibdin's 10 novels featuring Zen is set in a different Italian city and the 11th book in the series, "End Games," is expected to be released later this year. Until late one evening after a party he stumbles across a body that should not be there - and his brother-in-law falsifying the corpse's cause of death. The first of these was Ratking, published in 1988, which introduced readers to the commissario's morally shady world. Simmering Granules Unscented, SZA's 'SOS' tops the U.S. album chart for 10th week. So what connects the killings to an obscure religious sect operating from an island in the Pacific North-West? Dodgers by Bill Beverly. He lived in Seattle. He was awarded a Crime Writers' AssociationMacallan Gold Daggerfor Fiction in 1988 and the French Grand Prix de Littrature Policire in 1994. The encounter furnished him with a third wife and a second literary wind; he moved from Oxford to Beck's native Seattle, on the Pacific coast of the north-west United States. What to stream this weekend: 'Triangle of Sadness,' live Chris Rock special, What to stream after Netflix's 'Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal'. MsLaura, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:23 (fifteen years ago) link, The Real Dirty Vicar, Sunday, 15 April 2007 14:21 (fifteen years ago) link. Inspector Aurelio Zen is facing the biggest mystery of his professional career. Michael Dibdin died on Friday after a short illness. He became a voracious reader, with a particular love for the hard-boiled detective novels of Dashiel Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and later for Sherlock Holmes creator, Arthur Conan-Doyle. Zen has been serving for a long time in State Police, having acquired a senior position. The novel won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger award. The Limoni family deny, as local Mafia chieftains anxious to retain prestige would, that it was their missing son; and someone will end up paying in blood for this murder that never happened. Ronald McDonald House At the height of the "Swinging Sixties" he took a degree in English Literature at Sussex University, and "surprised myself" by accepting a graduate assistantship for a Master's degree at the University of Edmonton in Canada, qualifying as an English teacher so that he could travel. Its format is unconventional but demonstrates again Dibdin's mastery of those essential crime ingredients: the sensational, the psychological, and the cerebral. Ahorra US$5.49. He has to deal not only the Mafia's internal family feuding, and departmental machinations within the local police force, but also with some sinister government operatives. Michael Dibdin was born in England and raised in Northern Ireland. 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'True Romance' actor Tom Sizemore dead at 61. . Michael Dibdin uses this world of foul water and crumbling infrastructure as backdrop for his eerie crime novel "Dead Lagoon.".