The Monster of Florence
by Douglas Preston
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Book Reviews of The Monster of Florence
Book Review: The murderer is only the beginning.
Summary: 5 Stars
A fascinating true-crime tale that becomes something far stranger and more complex. Beginning in 1968, a series of couples were found murdered by someone who soon became known as the Monster of Florence (a killer who inspired Thomas Harris to create Dr. Hannibal Lecter), and the first half of the book documents the killings and the bizarre investigation into them - an investigation which soon came to involve Mafia men, conspiracy nuts, a Satanic cult, and one outlandish theory stacked on the other, all while promising leads and legitimate suspects are ignored or exonerated. While that's fascinating stuff and a great read, the book's second half - in which the authors find themselves drawn into the case and even suspects in the killings - becomes, as Spezi says, "like some sort of Martin/Lewis version of The Trial". The book would be hilarious if it wasn't so horrific and infuriating, but it's a gripping read through and through, even though I wish Preston's prose were less prosaic. Still, it's more than up to the job, and this story absolutely must be read to be believed. Is the Monster revealed? No, but nonetheless, as a look into a staggeringly incompetent investigation, a scathing report on a failing judicial system, and a disturbing portrait of evil, the book's a rousing success.Book Review: nothing ever happens in Florence on a Sunday morning.'
Summary: 3 Stars
Douglas Preston, American novelist, fulfilled a dream when he moved with his family to a villa in Florence. Upon meeting journalist Mario Spezio, he learned that the olive grove behind him had been the scene of an horrific double murder by one of the most infamous murderers in Italian history. This serial killer, who apparently murdered fourteen (or perhaps sixteen) young people between the late 1960s and the mid 1980s, has never been caught and is known as the Monster of Florence.
This book is told in two parts. The first part describes Mario Spezi's involvement in the case. The second part covers the collaboration between Spezi and Preston in which they end up finding themselves both under police investigation. While Spezi and Preston believe that they know the identity of the Monster of Florence, the case has never been solved.
I did not enjoy this book: the absence of recognisable justice makes it an uneasy read. Of course, part of this is a consequence of the fact that the case has not been solved. While I can understand the desire to uncover the truth and find a form of justice, I was not comfortable with all of the actions taken by the authors as part of their investigations.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Book Review: Intense but slow
Summary: 3 Stars
Wow...after just finishing the book I'm trying to figure it all out. The catalyst for reading to the end of the book was to actually find out who the monster was, but alas, after I finished the last page I still did not know.
You should know that the book is not a murder mystery, but rather insight into the Italian culture and ineptitude of the Italian police and judiciary system. There are so many aspects to the crime that the sequencing in itself was difficult to follow. And the characters abound; with similar sounding names I had to refer back to the Cast of Characters every few pages to remember who was who.
I enjoyed the author's writing style; his descriptions of the countryside as well as the courtrooms and the characters allow the reader to feel a part of the Italian scene. However, I think more editing could have been done to reduce the insignificant details about his personal life and unrelated elements.
Overall, I learned many things from reading this book, but there was a true lack of flow and, in fact, not any way for the reader to get personal with the text. It lacked emotion, but if you have the time and don't mind not knowing "whodunnit," then perhaps this book will help you bide your time.
Book Review: Good summer read
Summary: 4 Stars
Having lived and worked in Tuscany during the early to mid-1980's, I was really excited when I heard about the release of this book. Once I started reading it, I could hardly put it down until I finished.
Although familiar with the region's obsession with and fear of Il Mostro di Firenze at that time, I was unaware (like many) of the actual details of the crimes. For this reason, the first part of the book (the Italian journalist Spezi's detailed investigation of the crimes) was particularly fascinating.
Preston gets an overwhelming lesson in culture shock in the second half of the book when he and his colleague Spezi get legally entangled in the story they are researching. My one critcism of the book is that Preston's outrage over the injustices and indignities he and (particularly) Spezi endure at the hands of some of the Italian officals gets a bit onerous. But then again, you can't really blame him in light of what he and Spezi go through.
The story is filled with both beautiful and horrifying images; it is operatic, a bit over the top, ironic, and even humorous at times. It's not lightweight, but not too demanding. Overall, this "ital-american" collaboration on an Italian saga hits mostly the right notes.
Book Review: Florence incognita
Summary: 3 Stars
The obvious American parallel with the Italian mass murderer in question is Zodiac. True: Italy's Monster did not dub himself with an occult title, taunted the police less directly and elaborately, and left no surviving witnesses. But, Zodiac's preferred targets, his cruelly visceral violence, and his elusiveness all ring familiar. The Zodiac case has led to at least one hard-nosed, focused, investigative book and a first-rate movie. Oddly, THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE, rather than contemplate such parallels, proffers much about the reporters themselves and about the Italian police and bureaucrats. All that surely may make for a worthy topic in itself; but the book styles itself, and certainly seeks to expand readership by, an ostensible focus on the linked lurid slayings that terrorized a famously exotic locale (again, like Zodiac in California). The lamest aspects of Preston's story are his gratuitous digressions on Florentine history; and his decision finally to fix the mystery of the Monster not in the universal perturbations of the human heart and mind, but simply in some superciliously distanced foreign land of "Italy." Recommended for readers fascinated by the reporting life, judicial corruption, and notions of American exceptionalism.