This is the first novel in the Commissario Alec Blume series, about an American-born Commissario who has lived in Rome for many years and is now as Roman as the locals. Alec is called to investigate the brutal murder of Arturo Clemente, apparently connected to his involvement with an animal-rights movement and a local mafia boss.
Blume is not convinced the prime suspect is actually guilty, and encounters not only the usual bureaucratic obstacles typical of the country’s system but also what seems to be no ordinary manipulation from up high. He will uncover a crime ring involving organised mafia as well as illegal dog fights.
Blume is a very interesting and credible character, refreshingly he is not a sociopath like many other characters in the fictional world of police investigations, but is a bit stuck in his career path and doesn’t have a very healthy social life. Nonetheless, we are drawn to him and to his American friend who turns out to be some sort of wonder woman – or maybe it’s just his eyes viewing her so?
Conor Fitzgerald lives in Rome and despite few description of places, captures very well the geographical, political and social atmosphere of the city, including the occasionally stifling hot temperature – to which Blume never seems to get used. The book delves into some socio-political aspects of Italian culture like the local mafia, and the illegal dog fights environment, revealing some deeply distressing people and attitudes. It doesn’t however dwell excessively on the politics, which can be a frequent flaw in other (generally Italian) writers, and this keeps the book going at a speedy pace.
The only shortcoming I could find in the book was the typeface, which was very small and sometimes unpleasant to read (especially by night-lamp!). All in all, a very pleasant novel which runs very smoothly for its 400+ pages.
