The Namesake
An Alec Blume Novel
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- £6.99
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
When it comes to murder it's all in a name
When magistrate Matteo Arconti's namesake, an insurance man from Milan, is found dead outside the court buildings in Piazzale Clodio, it's a coded warning to the authorities - a clear message of defiance and intimidation.
Commissioner Alec Blume, all too familiar with Rome's criminal underclass, knows little of the Calabrian mafia currently under investigation by the magistrate. Handing control of the murder inquiry to his now live-in and not-so-secret partner Caterina Mattiola, Blume takes a back seat. But while Caterina questions the dead man's widow, Blume has an underhand idea of his own to lure the arrogant mafioso out of his hiding place...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Police commissioner Alec Blume looks into the murder of a Milan insurance agent in Fitzgerald's fine third novel featuring the American expat living in Rome (after 2011's The Fatal Touch). Found outside the court buildings in Piazza Clodio, the victim had the same name as no-nonsense magistrate Matteo Arconti. Could this be an act of defiance from the Calabrian Mafia? The kidnapping of a 14-year-old girl, whose journalist father was quite critical of the mob, may also be linked to the crime syndicate. Blume winds up going undercover after a false confession by a mobster's wife he plants to draw out Arconti's killer leads to near catastrophic repercussions. Meanwhile, by submerging himself in both investigations, Blume can avoid dealing with his growing relationship with Chief Insp. Caterina Mattiola. Fitzgerald provides an insightful glimpse into the machinations of Italian police work and the criminal world, where strong family bonds astound even the most perceptive cop.
