Recommended Reading Path
For the best experience, we strongly recommend reading Conor Fitzgerald's novels in their publication order. The series follows the professional and personal development of Commissario Alec Blume, an American-raised police commissioner working in Rome. Watching Blume navigate the complex layers of Italian politics, bureaucracy, and his own identity is a central highlight of the series, and reading them in sequence ensures you do not miss character growth or recurring subplots.
Commissario Alec Blume Books in Publication Order
- The Dogs of Rome (2010) - Blume investigates the murder of a high-profile right-wing politician, only to uncover a web of corruption, animal exploitation, and deep-seated secrets within the city's elite.
- The Fatal Touch (2011) - The suspicious death of an art thief leads Blume into the deceptive world of art forgery and high-stakes fraud.
- The Namesake (2011) - Blume is drawn into a complex case of mistaken identity, mafia activity, and political interference when a man is assassinated on a Roman street.
- The Memory Key (also published as The Memory Theater) (2013) - Blume must protect a vulnerable witness to a previous murder, navigating the challenges of memory, truth, and institutional corruption.
- Bitter Remedy (2014) - Blume retreats to a remote village in central Italy, only to find himself embroiled in a local investigation involving the pharmaceutical industry and suspicious deaths.
- Cardinal Witness (2017) - Blume takes on one of his most delicate cases yet, investigating a high-ranking Vatican official in a mystery that tests the boundaries of church and state.
Short Stories and Anthologies
In addition to the main novels, Conor Fitzgerald contributed a short story to the anthology Short Sentence: 10 Stories of Dastardly Deeds (published in 2013). This anthology features short crime fiction from several prominent writers. While this short story is not required to understand the main Alec Blume story arc, it provides a quick, satisfying taste of Fitzgerald's signature style for completionists.
What to Know Before You Start
The protagonist, Alec Blume, offers a unique perspective on Rome: he is an American who has lived in Italy long enough to understand the culture, yet he remains an outsider. This dual identity allows Fitzgerald to explain the nuances and contradictions of Italian society without relying on dry exposition.
The tone of the books is gritty and realistic, capturing both the beauty of Rome and its darker, corrupt underbelly. It is highly recommended to start with The Dogs of Rome to properly appreciate how Blume's relationships and career evolve over the course of the six novels.