Bloomer by Albert, a novel sleuth (7)
I believe the answer is:
campion
'bloomer' is the definition.
(campion is a kind of flowering plant)
'albert a novel sleuth' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'a' could be 'amp' (A is the symbol for the amp or ampere) and 'amp' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'cion' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'by' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for campion that I've seen before include "Plant with pink or white flowers" , "Wild flower (red, white or bladder)" , "Film director" , "Here's one blooming" , "Edmund ---, martyr; Thomas ---, poet/lute composer" .)