There’s no cure for murder… Commissario Alec Blume, on health leave and fleeing his partner Caterina, has retreated from Rome to central Italy. At the Villa Romanelli he enrolls on a natural remedies course conducted by a young woman named Silvana. But far from recuperating or resolving his differences with Caterina, a feverish Blume becomes isolated and sluggish with sickness. Increasingly ill-at-ease in the stifling environment, the dark history of the crumbling villa and its once-magnificent gardens draws him in. And when a Romanian girl who works for Silvana’s ambiguous fiancé Niki asks for his help, Blume finds himself dragged into the shadowy case of a missing girl, and the secret horrors of the garden’s malign beauty.ReviewAlec Blume is an inspired creation. An American who has become a commissioner in the Italian police, he's a sly, sardonic loner who gives the impression of knowing Rome better than its natives ... Fitzgerald is an elegant, visual writer Guardian The American-born Blume is an engaging hero who might just have to potential to fill the gap left when Michael Dibdin's death ended his Italian detective Aurelio Zen's investigations Sunday Times A powerful and hugely compelling thriller. Dark, worldly and written with tremendous style and assurance William Boyd on The Dogs of Rome About the AuthorConor Fitzgerald has lived in Ireland, the UK, the United States and Italy. He has worked as an arts editor, produced a current affairs journal for foreign embassies based in Rome, and founded a successful translation company. He is married with two children and lives in Rome. Bitter Remedy is the fifth in his series of Italian crime novels. www.conorfitzgerald.net @ConorFitzgerld

In the latest Commissario Alec Blume novel, our hero is called in by old friend magistrate Principe to "shadow" an investigation into the attempted murder of a former fascist terrorist responsible for a public bombing thirty years earlier. This investigation is adjacent to another: the murder of a young woman on the university campus of Rome. The apparent link between these two crimes is an articulate, learned, and thoroughly crazy professor called Pitagora, who teaches both literature and a system enigmatic memory techniques. Professor Pitagora is up-front about his political beliefs, but could his strange psychological program be masking something important? All the investigators know the two crimes form part of the same nexus, but Blume believes he can find clues through the Professor. If only he were actually assigned to this case...Meanwhile, Blume has been living with Caterina and not finding it easy - or rather, poor old Caterina is not finding it easy living with him. Will the strains in their relationship lead Blume astray? And can he successfully navigate the ranks of his distrustful colleagues, a rocky relationship, and a high-profile investigation--all without crossing the line?From Publishers WeeklyThe sniper's bullet doesn't quite dispatch notorious terrorist Stefania Manfellotto, but the investigation into the attack on the Rome university campus that leaves Manfellotto brain damaged—as well as the subsequent fatal shooting there six months later of witness Sofia Fontana—could finally deal a death blow to the career of Commissioner Alec Blume in Fitzgerald's cerebral fourth mystery featuring the maverick American expat (after 2012's The Namesake). By rights, Blume shouldn't even be involved in the politically sensitive probe, which falls under the jurisdiction of the rival Carabinieri. But that detail isn't about to deter him once his old mentor, magistrate Filippo Principe, appeals for help, any more than he would dream of changing his opinion on a road rage homicide just because his lover, Chief Insp. Caterina Mattiola, sees it differently. Blume's readiness to pursue any leads in an increasingly puzzling case helps make him an outstanding detective, but also, within a society that puts such a premium on personal relationships, a perennial outsider. Agent: Sarah Ballard, United Agents. (Aug.) Review"The sniper’s bullet doesn’t quite dispatch notorious terrorist Stefania Manfellotto, but the investigation into the attack on the Rome university campus that leaves Manfellotto brain damaged—as well as the subsequent fatal shooting there six months later of witness Sofia Fontana—could finally deal a death blow to the career of Commissioner Alec Blume in Fitzgerald’s cerebral fourth mystery featuring the maverick American expat (after 2012’s The Namesake). By rights, Blume shouldn’t even be involved in the politically sensitive probe, which falls under the jurisdiction of the rival Carabinieri. But that detail isn’t about to deter him once his old mentor, magistrate Filippo Principe, appeals for help, any more than he would dream of changing his opinion on a road rage homicide just because his lover, Chief Insp. Caterina Mattiola, sees it differently. Blume’s readiness to pursue any leads in an increasingly puzzling case helps make him an outstanding detective, but also, within a society that puts such a premium on personal relationships, a perennial outsider." -- Publishers Weekly

An novel of murder, organized crime and politics set in the heart of Rome-the second in the Alec Blume series by Conor Fitzgerald.In the early hours of a Saturday morning, a body is discovered in Piazza de' Renzi.If it was just a simple fall that killed him, why is a senior Carabiniere officer so interested? Commissioner Alec Blume is immediately curious and the discovery of the dead man's notebooks reveals that there is a great deal more at stake than the unfortunate death of a down-and-out... What secrets did he know that might have made him a target? What is the significance of the Galleria Orpiment? And why are the authorities so intent on blocking Blume's investigations?

When magistrate Matteo Arconti’s namesake, an insurance man from Milan, is found dead outside the court buildings in Piazzo Clodio, it’s a clear warning to the authorities in Rome—a message of defiance and intimidation from a powerful crime syndicate.Commissioner Alec Blume, interpreting the reference to his other ongoing case—a frustrating one in which he’s so far been unable to pin murder on a Mafia boss operating at an untouchable distance in Germany—knows he’s too close to it. Handing control of the investigation to now live-in and not-so-secret partner Caterina Mattiola, Blume takes a backseat. And while Caterina embarks on questioning the Milanese widow, Blume has an underhand idea of his own to lure the arrogant mafioso out of his hiding place…About the AuthorConor Fitzgerald has lived in Ireland, the UK, the United States and Italy. He has worked as an arts editor, produced a current affairs journal for foreign embassies based in Rome, and founded a successful translation company. He is married with two children and lives in Rome. The Namesake is the second in his series of Italian Crime novels.