The Fatal Touch

April 11, 2011
In Fitzgerald's exciting sequel to The Dogs of Rome, a string of muggings targeting foreign visitors staying at Rome's tourist hotels turns deadly when a man's body is found in Trastevere, a picturesque medieval neighborhood on the Tiber's west bank. But this victim is no travelerâhe's an art forger with a laundry list of enemies. Police Commissioner Alec Blume, an American expatriate who's lived in Rome for more than 20 years, and his team have barely begun investigating when the carabinieri take over. Alec calls on old friends for help as the carabinieri's crooked Colonel Farinelli tries to discredit him. The heroic if aloof Alec sees the same outsider qualities in Caterina Mattiola, a rookie inspector and single mother, whom he patiently shows the details of detective work and office politics. Intriguing touches such as the tools a forger has in the kitchen and a strong sense of Rome's environs enrich the intelligent plot.