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List Price: $25.99Amazon.com's Price: $17.15 You Save: $8.84 (34%)as of 03/17/2010 23:31 EDT
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1523
EAN: 9780446581196
Edition: First Edition
ISBN: 0446581194
Label: Grand Central Publishing
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 336
Publication Date: June 10, 2008
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: June 10, 2008
Studio: Grand Central Publishing
Features:- ISBN13: 9780446581196
- Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
- Notes:
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com Review:
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
Product Description:
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 surrounding Florence, Italy.
In 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. Preston, intrigued, meets Italian investigative journalist Mario Spezi to learn more. This is the true story of their search for--and identification of--the man they believe committed the crimes, and their chilling interview with him. And then, in a strange twist of fate, Preston and Spezi themselves become targets of the police investigation. Preston has his phone tapped, is interrogated, and told to leave the country. Spezi fares worse: he is thrown into Italy's grim Capanne prison, accused of being the Monster of Florence himself. Like one of Preston's thrillers, The Monster Of Florence, tells a remarkable and harrowing story involving murder, mutilation, and suicide-and at the center of it, Preston and Spezi, caught in a bizarre prosecutorial vendetta.
Average Rating: 
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I enjoyed this book very much. The author clearly became very involved in the whole investigation, almost to the point of getting too close to the story at times. The look into the Italian justice system was fascinating.
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I was looking forward to reading "The Monster of Florence" by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi. I have a fascination with true crime that I hope is not indicative of something within me. Then again, I know many people love reading true crime.
The book started off at "full-speed", highly readable and interesting. Preston, an American writer and journalist, fell in love with Italy in his early teens and decided to go back to Florence with his family. There he intended to write ... Read More
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This book was a great read. I had to remind myself several times during my reading that this was nonfiction. I couldn't put the book down. I was so into the story that after I finished the book I Googled some of the characters to find out more about them. There were so many different characters that I got confused at times keeping them straight, but the character list in the beginning of the book was very helpful. I recommend not reading that list until you need to. I tried reading it first, but ... Read More
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Awesome book. Hard to put down. Real example of how true life can be stranger than fiction. Fantastic writing and research by Douglas Preston. His book 'Relic' was awesome too. Learned a lot about Italian culture, history, legal and law enforcement procedures. Books like this are not only an extremely compelling read but a real learning experience too. The behavior of the police and prosecutors is unbelievable - the corruption, the need to make up stuff - along with the public's acceptance of it. Of ... Read More
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I took this book on vacation to Tuscany. It was so frightening, that I kept jumping at every bump in the night, searching the house and locking the doors! I stayed up until 5am one night reading it. What a memorable vacation!
The story of the murders is very good, and this book would be great if it stopped there. But what really sets this book apart is the subsequent story of the crimes committed by the Italian investigators--destroying reputations, jailing people for speaking the truth, ... Read More
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