false 2198274 10 In the nonfiction tradition of John Berendt ("Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil") and Erik Larson ("The Devil in the White City"), <I>New York Times </I>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, <I>The Monster Of Florence</I>, 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. 2204022 10 6 2008 The Monster of Florence total:2135|5:314|4:811|3:726|2:236|1:48| 2135 7512 4128 690 4 8 false false Tue Jul 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 12 15:21:56 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 15:48:40 -0700 2008 The Stranger Beside Me, Helter Skelter) they often just end up being a recitation of the facts without much more going for ...more...]]> 4 4 false false Sat Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 09:37:42 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 09:47:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Dec 08 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 09:16:42 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 10:14:13 -0800 2008 The Dark Side of Italy or An Innocent Abroad

Douglas Preston and co-author Mario Spezi undertook their own investigation into an unsolved string of serial killings -- seven couples brutally murdered in near-identical fashion in a period beginning in 1968 and stretching up to 1985. Spezi,...more...]]> 4 2 false false Sun Aug 24 10:28:18 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 24 10:31:15 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Mar 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Dec 19 05:54:33 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 05 18:16:00 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 2 false false Thu Oct 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Nov 05 07:04:13 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 05 07:04:57 -0800 2008 1 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Jul 31 18:50:43 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 31 19:39:57 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Jul 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 25 12:09:11 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 31 14:19:57 -0700 2008 La Nazione at the time of the first murders. The book begins with a background and much of Spezi's ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Jun 24 23:43:21 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 22 11:22:57 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Tue Sep 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 11:33:35 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 01 19:12:19 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Oct 17 06:52:07 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 17 06:55:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jul 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 04 11:01:57 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 06:28:14 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 10 05:07:15 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 23 23:41:34 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Aug 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 29 10:07:12 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 29 10:08:08 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Oct 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 10 04:39:05 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 27 05:44:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Sep 30 12:45:07 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 12:45:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Nov 16 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 27 20:14:03 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 28 07:51:01 -0800 2008
I wasn't all that interested in the first half of this book, the part that details the crimes and has Preston and Spezi, an Italian journalist, investigating the subject of the old Florentine murders. They do this for a book basically and as ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Sep 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 17:52:10 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 17:59:09 -0700 2009
The Monster of Florence was a serial killer who murdered couples as they were together in a moment of passion in their cars in the hillsides of ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 08:26:41 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 08:34:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Aug 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 13:45:24 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 13:59:38 -0700 2009 more...]]>