Commissario Alec Blume Character Analysis

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Commissario Alec Blume is the title character in the Commissario Alec Blume series of novels by British detective mystery author Conor Fitzgerald. Blume is an American expatriate that has been living in Rome for the last 22 years, ever since he moved there with his parents. Both of his parents were shot and killed in a bank robbery on the Vai Cristoforo Colombo leaving the proverbial teenage loner on a strange city. When we first meet the character in the first novel of the series – The Dogs of Rome he has joined the Italian police force from where he has gone on to become a conflicted yet competent Commissario in the Rome City Police. Now totally assimilated into his adopted country, Blume now speaks Italian like a native, though his American …show more content…

While seemingly random and even amateurish, Clemente is not an ordinary Roman citizen. Clemente is sleeping with Manuela Fusco the daughter of a ruthless mafia boss; he is husband to a prominent politician; and is one of the leading lights in the campaign against dogfighting. Using his legendary instincts, Commissario Alec Blume has already fingered a suspect but immediately faces resistance from the Fusco crime syndicate and powerful forces in the Senate. As he unearths more details with regard to the case and closes in on blowing it wide open, he realizes that powerful people are watching him – and that finding who killed Clemente might be the least of his worries. Unsure of his colleague’s loyalty, sleep deprived, and angry, his worst traits are beginning to surface making him lose control over the investigation. Meanwhile the mafia is actively tying up loose ends and spreading terror in the city. With the killer yet to be apprehended, Blume’s investigation looks certain to cost more innocent lives if he cannot solve it soon enough. Blume’s debut novel is a riveting narrative that introduces Blume as an American expatriate that has grown to become a skilled Italian police commissioner. He is intelligent though often portraying a petulant yet instinctive trait that humanizes him. His inherent flaws make him a trustworthy and likable protagonist that any detective crime fiction lover would find