The Monster of Florence
by Douglas Preston
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Book Summary Information
Author: Douglas PrestonContributor: Mario Spezi
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-06-10
ISBN: 0446581194
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of The Monster of Florence
Book Review: Horrifying
Summary: 5 Stars
I literally could not put this book down. I really didn't read any reviews before beginning this book, and I started reading thinking that the book was about a serial killer. I have always been fascinated by the investigations of serial killers, from Jack the Ripper to the Zodiac, so this seemed right up my alley.
The first third or more of the book is mostly focused on the initial investigation into the killings and theories about who the killer could be, but then the book starts to focus on those investigating the killer instead of focusing solely on finding the identity of the killer. While this might seem like it would weaken the book or make it confusing to read, it actually becomes that much more fascinating. The authors relate more about all the people beyond the victims that the Monster of Florence touched, also revealing the corruption or at the very least the ridiculous methods and theories used by those who should have approached the case with an open mind.
At times, the methods used and theories proposed by the investigators read more like something out of another century of from a novel. I had to keep reminding myself that most of these events occurred within the past ten years. Half of the book is written from the authors' points of view, so I have to account for the fact that they are certainly biased to a certain point. However, if even half of what the authors are accounting is true, it is completely horrifying and puts into context the recent evens surrounding the incarceration of Amanda Knox.
Summary of The Monster of Florence
In the nonfiction tradition of John Berendt ("Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil") and Erik Larson ("The Devil in the White City"), New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston presents a gripping account of crime and punishment in the lush hills surroundingIn 2000, Douglas Preston fulfilled a dream to move his family to Italy. Then he discovered that the olive grove in front of their 14th century farmhouse had been the scene of the most infamous double-murders in Italian history, committed by a serial killer known as the Monster of Florence.
Amazon Best of the Month, June 2008: When author Douglas Preston moved his family to Florence he never expected he would soon become obsessed and entwined in a horrific crime story whose true-life details rivaled the plots of his own bestselling thrillers. While researching his next book, Preston met Mario Spezi, an Italian journalist who told him about the Monster of Florence, Italy's answer to Jack the Ripper, a terror who stalked lovers' lanes in the Italian countryside. The killer would strike at the most intimate time, leaving mutilated corpses in his bloody wake over a period from 1968 to 1985. One of these crimes had taken place in an olive grove on the property of Preston's new home. That was enough for him to join "Monsterologist" Spezi on a quest to name the killer, or killers, and bring closure to these unsolved crimes. Local theories and accusations flourished: the killer was a cuckolded husband; a local aristocrat; a physician or butcher, someone well-versed with knives; a satanic cult. Thomas Harris even dipped into "Monster" lore for some of Hannibal Lecter's more Grand Guignol moments in Hannibal. Add to this a paranoid police force more concerned with saving face and naming a suspect (any suspect) than with assessing the often conflicting evidence on hand, and an unbelievable twist that finds both authors charged with obstructing justice, with Spezi jailed on suspicion of being the Monster himself. The Monster of Florence is split into two sections: the first half is Spezi's story, with the latter bringing in Preston's updated involvement on the case. Together these two parts create a dark and fascinating descent into a landscape of horror that deserves to be shelved between In Cold Blood and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. --Brad Thomas Parsons
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