The Memory Key

An engrossing novel of murder, organized crime, and politics in contemporary Italy

'A powerful and hugely compelling thriller. Dark, worldly and written with tremendous style and assurance' William Boyd

'Alec 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
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On a freezing November night Commissioner Alec Blume is called to the scene of a shooting.

The victim is Sofia Fontana, the sole witness to a previous killing. Blume's enquiries lead from a professor with a passion for the art of memory to a hospitalised ex-terrorist whose injuries have left her mind innocently blank; from present day Rome's criminal underclass, to a murderous train station bombing in central Italy several decades ago.

Against the advice of his bosses and his own better judgement, Blume is drawn ever deeper into the case, which looks set to derail his troubled relationship with Caterina...