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Jul 15, 2008

Brooke rated it:

Despite my criminal justice background, I'm not a huge fan of true crime books. It's not that I dislike them, but unless the author has a personal connection to the case (ie: The Stranger Beside Me, Helter Skelter) they often just end up being a recitation of the facts without much more going for them.

When I first caught wind of Douglas Preston's debacle with an Italian serial killer, The Monster of Florence, I couldn't wait to read the resulting book. How often does one of my fav More...

2 comments like (20 people liked it)

Jul 21, 2008

John rated it:

The Monster of Florence is amongst the most disturbing cases I've heard of, much less read a full book detailing, but if you're like me you can't help but want insight into what would make people do such things, or at least know how a town would deal with them. The Monster was a serial killer who stalked, murdered and mutilated young couples in Florence, Italy. He had the disturbing habit of jamming items into the female victims, and cutting off parts of their erogenous zones as souvenirs. Seria More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jul 14, 2010

John and Kris rated it:

Recent history has shown that serial killers usually come from northern Europe and America. The never-caught Monster of Florence, credited with the murder of eight couples, is unique because the murders occurred around Florence, Italy in the nineteen-seventies and eighties. The Monster’s modus operandi is pretty straight-forward: catching unsuspecting rural teens necking in autos, shooting the male and then female (or in the case of two long-haired men, the nearest threat), and then a bit of sex More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jul 19, 2011

Kay rated it:

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, a journalist who first caught wind of the case, is its most noted chronicler and was responsible for the appellation, "The Monster of Florence" to describe the killer.

The fir More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 24, 2008

Stephanie rated it:

I CAN NOT believe this book! Absolutely incredible how truly ridiculous the Italian investigation of this is! Also incredible that the journalists are willing to put themselves on the line and name who they think is the "Monster of Florence." (They say this in the book jacket, so no surprises given!) Great, true life crime book!

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2012

Gemma rated it:

I really can't believe this book, absolutely fascinating.
The story starts by detailing the true timeline of events over the 10 year period 'the monster' was killing, this told through the eyes of Mario Spezi who was the journalist on the case. The investigation into the murders was seriously flawed, and corrupt. If that isn't all, the second half of the book details Douglas Preston & Spezi's account of their investigation, and this makes for some shocking reading, more findings of corrupti More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 05, 2009

Natalie rated it:

Not my bedtime read - but a great read. Doug Preston and Mario Spezi do a great job pulling us into all the mystery, intrigue, and lunacy of a case that has spanned more than three decades. Both writers are adept at richly describing the characters, the history, and the millieux of Florence and its surrounds. The crimes commited by the Monster are repulsive but Preston and Spezi do not dwell upon the gruesome details - they lead us through and beyond them.

I greedily took in the More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 05, 2008

Ruby rated it:

I am not a true crime reader, but I love Douglas Preston so when I saw this on the shelf, I knew I just had to read it. Thus began an adventure that would rival that of Jack the Ripper. Liken to Jack, the Monster of Florence is the Italian legend who, instead of slaying prostitutes, would prey on young couples. With gun in hand, he would kill the man and woman before cutting into the woman's body. The description here is taken out because of the graphic nature of what the Monster did. It is some More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 31, 2008

Ed rated it:

Douglas Preston had planned a murder mystery in which the main character was the city of Florence, Italy. His book was going to span more than forty years and involve a son deciding resolve the unsolved murder of his father, an American art historian who was in Florence as a volunteer to help save some of the city's treasures after the disastrous floods of 1965. When Preston and his family set up housekeeping in a lovely old farmhouse overlooking the city and the Tuscan countryside he found a mu More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 31, 2008

Kimberly rated it:

A strange tale of truth. I have always been attracted to stories of Jack the Ripper and the Boston strangler. Yet I had never heard about this killer in Italy. Spezi is at the center, a journalist for La Nazione at the time of the first murders. The book begins with a background and much of Spezi's experience. the author Preston, then discusses his experience with the telling of Spezi's story.

They become entangled in the government and Politics that is Italy. Between the whisperings More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 22, 2008

Maggie rated it:

From 1968 to 1985 a serial killer is suspected to have roamed the gorgeous Tuscan landscape, killing as many as eight couples while they made love in cars parked in the rolling countryside. The killer's (or killers') viciousness rivaled that of London's Jack the Ripper, and his crimes inspired Thomas Harris's infamous Hannibal Lecter. And although the slayings would come to an abrupt stop in 1985, the Monster of Florence still enjoys a formidable presence amongst the inhabitants of Florence and More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 01, 2008

Jen rated it:

The labrynthine true story of the as-yet-unsolved Monster of Florence serial killings, author Douglas Preston primarily focuses on the police and journalistic investigations that spanned almost half a century. Unfortunately, this work doesn't have the panache or build the suspense that Preston and Child's Agent Pendergast tales have. The story plods along and nearly sinks when discussing the most recent angle of investigations. Admittedly, the Italian Justice system in this case is a Gordian kn More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 17, 2008

Xysea rated it:

I found this book good at the start, but slightly dry and disappointing. The story is compelling enough be then it meanders off into nowhere, really, and ends with the investigation stalling. So, basically they went through all of that for nothing. Sometimes, real life is stranger than fiction - but in this case, it's probably more boring than fiction would be. At the end of a fictional novel, the killer would have been unmasked and good will have triumphed over evil. In this version, the e More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jul 09, 2008

Patty rated it:

Although it started a little slow and it took a while to start keeping all the Italian names straight, this true story reads like the most exciting mystery/thriller. Douglas Preston is an internationally know best-selling author. After spending time in Florence, Italy he learns about "the monster of Florence" and along with a local reporter, decides to write a book about the monster. Along the way both of the authors are accused of being involved in the murders. I'm not spoiling an More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 23, 2008

Patrick rated it:

Boy, did I waste money on this best seller. Other than finding out where Thomas Harris stole his story for Hannibal, and who Lector's crimes in Florence were based on, you really have to like true crime police procedurals for this to be as entertaining as advertised. But I worry for that American college student in Perugia (an honor student from Seattle) who's accused of murdering her British roommate after reading the duplicitous nature of Perugia public prosecutor and his reliance on the occul More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 29, 2008

Lauren rated it:

Although I am not a big reader of true crime, I found this particular book to be gripping – I could not put it down! Preston is a well-known writer of fiction and he applies his considerable talent to the tale at hand. The book moves along at a quick pace, although with all of the suspects, victims, witnesses and law enforcement in this book, I had to keep referring back to the handy “Cast of Secondary Characters” that Preston so thoughtfully provides in the beginning of the book. This is a n More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 27, 2008

Amy rated it:

I had high hopes for this one being like The Alienist by Caleb Carr, only set in Florence instead of NY. The story was incredible in that it was a true story of a longtime serial killer, the intricate (and ridiculous) Italian investigation, the involvement of an American writer (Preston), and how various members of the Italian police and law community each vied to manipulate the case to promote their personal careers. It was really engrossing and I read it in one night, but I wasn't so very inve More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 11, 2011

Ana added it

Great book - filled with a lot of interesting historically accurate info and a couple likeable characters. This book discusses the case of the serial killer known as the Monster of Florence, who, between 1968 and 1986-ish killed a number (11 - 13) of couples "parking" in the Italian countryside. After describing the case and the details of the investigation, the reader gets a lot of information about the Italian legal system. Then, the last part of the book describes how the authors of More...

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Nov 28, 2008

Becky rated it:

contemp true crime/memoir ........ rating 8/10

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 they investigate, gather evidence, conduct interviews, they come to their own conclusions. This half also shows how the police and Italian investigators were desperate to find someone to convict. But More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 22, 2012

Lindsey rated it:

This was such interesting and frustrating book. August 1968 was when the first victims were killed in Florence by an unknown killer. In Italy it is customary that children live with their parents until they are married. Therefore lovers need somewhere to....well...get some lovin. Couples will park in a popular spot on the hillsides in Florence. This is where the majority of all the victims were killed, in their car while making love.

Throughout the book numerous suspects were charged w More...

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Jan 16, 2012

Dougcris rated it:

This book is so full of information it is a wonder any body could make sense of it.
The first portion we meet Mario Spezi who has doggedly followed the ongoing Monster of Florence investigation. The second portion we meet Douglas Preston who now because of his perceived obstruction of Italian police work is no longer welcome in Italy (Florence) and has been threatened with arrest upon arrival.

The third part of the book is the two Authors tireless reconstruction of the crimes us More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 14, 2011

Jj rated it:

True crimes....with a spin of evil!!!!

When I first got this book it stayed on my book shelf for a while. I was kind of skeptical and a little not sure. Lol. But two weeks ago I decided to give it a chance, and it was absolutely great!!!

The narrative is broken up into two parts, the first half of the book centered around Spezi, and the general investigation, and the trials and suspects that well, weren't that credible. Spezi kept writing about the case, but the public and More...

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Sep 20, 2011

Wildbanana.kimli rated it:

Ok, I am being quite mean here. This is absolutely a good book, yet I do find it repetitive after a little while. I want to be as strict as I can here so it is not misleading.
Fascinating recounting of the horrific serial killings, the author carefully puts the pieces of the puzzle back which eventually reveals a thrilling picture of human nature, of those we may never find out and even do not want to find out. People who involved in the case, both suspects and police, and even author himse More...

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Jul 05, 2011

Laura rated it:

There is a serial killer in Florence that is targeting young couples and hysteria breaks out as law enforcement scrambles to find the killer. I appreciated that the author does not dwell on the gory details, but rather, focuses in on the process of apprehending the murderer. It is not to say that details of the murders are not discussed because it is important to establish why these crimes are particularly monstrous, however, it wasn’t overly detailed or excessive. In fact, this book is just as More...

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Apr 29, 2011

Mike rated it:

Never get accused of anything in Italy! They will turn any straightforward jaywalking crime into a vast satanic conspiracy. And they won't admit they were wrong just to avoid losing face.

I normally don't read true crime or mystery, but this one caught my eye on a Border's table (sigh, I'll miss mine). From the beginning, it gets going about the series of murders. Since it's all from the point of view of the authors, the book doesn't get into a lot of extra dialog or character developm More...

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Mar 07, 2011

Dev rated it:

Read John Grisham's Innocent Man if you want to see justice perverted in small town America. The Monster of Florence is roughly the same premise writ large. Hard to say what is more disturbing, the actual murders or the prosecutorial misconduct that is present in the highest levels of the Italian judicial system - around six people are arrested and convicted at various times for the multiple killings. All the arrested are either clearly not the killer or they've been wrung up by charges from More...

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Feb 03, 2011

Liz rated it:

My usual guilty pleasure - true crime - a story of serial killings around Florence in the 1970's-80's. The author, an American crime novel writer, moved to Florence to research and write an art crime mystery set in the 60's, but gets distracted by a chance meeting with the journalist who was deeply involved in reporting the "Monster of Florence" crimes. They become friends and continue the investigation together. What makes this book unusual is its probing of two facets of the Italia More...

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Jan 25, 2011

Joel rated it:

I did not enjoy this nearly as much as I hoped to. I expected a tale of murder, mystery, and cannibalism, but mostly I hoped for a real-life villain of the quality of Hannibal. While some of these properties are present, they are in short order. Perhaps the Monster is indeed a frightening creature of Hannibal proportions, but the story does not really discuss the villain very much. Perhaps my expectations were misplaced because the book is really about the multi-decade investigation of a set of More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 01, 2011

Dave rated it:

Douglas Preston is an author I enjoy, in spite of his firmly naturalistic bent and somewhat antagonistic opinions concerning Christianity. Usually his works are fiction, and generally have been cowritten by Lincoln Child, who seems a little less outspoken in his views - to the extent that one is sometimes unsure of what they are.
Preston works in this case on a non-fiction volume in collaboration with Mario Spezio, a journalist in Italy, about the famed serial murders in the region of Floren More...

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Dec 31, 2010

Christine rated it:

Mr. Preston, probably best known for his “Detective Pendergast” takes a page from his famous FBI sleuth and tackles the real life case of the Italian serial killer whose nickname is the title. In realizing his dream of moving his family to Italy Mr. Preston discovers the picturesque olive grove surrounding his new home was the scene of a series of double murders. Too tempting not to investigate he teams up with Italian investigative journalist Mario Spezi to uncover the true identity of the ki More...

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