Cosi Fan Tutti

For the Mozart opera, see Così fan tutte.
Cosi Fan Tutti

First edition
Author Michael Dibdin
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Series Aurelio Zen series, #5
Genre Crime, Mystery novel
Publisher Faber and Faber
Publication date
January 1, 1997
Media type Print (Hardback, Paperback)
Pages 332pp (hardback) 247pp (paperback)
ISBN 0-571-17920-7
OCLC 36046751
823/.914 21
LC Class PR6054.I26 C67 1996
Preceded by Dead Lagoon
Followed by A Long Finish

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.