The Monster of Florence
by: Douglas Preston
List Price: $25.99
Prices subject to change.
Price: $17.15
You Save: $8.84 (34%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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 surroundingFlorence , 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
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
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.
Alternate Versions:
Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category:
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Well written and intriguing glimpse of a true-life thriller
They called him The Monster of Florence: a sadistic killer who preyed on young lovers in the countryside outside Florence.He struck in the dead of the night and never left any survivors or witnesses.His crimes created a wave of paranoia and suspicion that haunts Florence to this day.
Mario Spezi, a popular journalist, became the expert on the Monster cases, so much so that he would eventually become a suspect himself.Douglas Preston, the popular American novelist, moved to Italy ... Read More
Rating: 
- I'm Not A Fan Of Unresolved Mysteries, But.....
For over twenty years the citizens of Florence have been horrified and terrified by a real life criminal as gruesome as Hannibal Lechter ("Silence Of The Lambs").Indeed the monster influenced Tom Harris in his development of that character.
You will see a botched job of detective and police work done which contributed to the monster staying out of jail, despite committing gruesome crimes.
The book is about the crimes and investigations that are still ongoing.The detail work by the writers ... Read More
Rating: 
- thoroughly unsettling, excellent non-fiction
I got this in the Newark airport on a lark, and am glad I did.
Three cases of the miscarriage of justice that are simply astounding.A butchered murder investigation is bad, then the retaliatory prosecution of the authors is worse.Just when the smoke clears, the Amanda Knox case dominating our local Seattle papers is brought into context.
2/3rds of the way through the book, I thought the authors must be twisting the facts, but some web research showed Preston's only fault was ... Read More
Rating: - The Monster of Florence
Great read!! The book is even more than anticipated. The authors nailed it
to perfection. Having lived in Florence for a few years myself, the places described are accurate to a fault. I was familiar with the story, but the details in the book are ever so enlightening. The book arrived within two days in perfect condition!
Rating: - Serial murders in beautiful Florence
'The Monster of Florence' tells the true story of Doug Preston a writer who moves to Florence to write a novel. While in Flroence he hears the unsolved murders of the 'Monster'. He teams up with the newpaper reporter who has been involved in these events for years.
This first half of this book is good in drawing the reader into the events surrounding the serial killings. We learn of the people involved in these murders and the tragically run investigations. I am not sure which is more disturbing...the ... Read More
- Well written and intriguing glimpse of a true-life thrillerThey called him The Monster of Florence: a sadistic killer who preyed on young lovers in the countryside outside Florence.He struck in the dead of the night and never left any survivors or witnesses.His crimes created a wave of paranoia and suspicion that haunts Florence to this day.
Mario Spezi, a popular journalist, became the expert on the Monster cases, so much so that he would eventually become a suspect himself.Douglas Preston, the popular American novelist, moved to Italy ... Read More
- I'm Not A Fan Of Unresolved Mysteries, But.....For over twenty years the citizens of Florence have been horrified and terrified by a real life criminal as gruesome as Hannibal Lechter ("Silence Of The Lambs").Indeed the monster influenced Tom Harris in his development of that character.
You will see a botched job of detective and police work done which contributed to the monster staying out of jail, despite committing gruesome crimes.
The book is about the crimes and investigations that are still ongoing.The detail work by the writers ... Read More
- thoroughly unsettling, excellent non-fictionI got this in the Newark airport on a lark, and am glad I did.
Three cases of the miscarriage of justice that are simply astounding.A butchered murder investigation is bad, then the retaliatory prosecution of the authors is worse.Just when the smoke clears, the Amanda Knox case dominating our local Seattle papers is brought into context.
2/3rds of the way through the book, I thought the authors must be twisting the facts, but some web research showed Preston's only fault was ... Read More
- The Monster of FlorenceGreat read!! The book is even more than anticipated. The authors nailed it
to perfection. Having lived in Florence for a few years myself, the places described are accurate to a fault. I was familiar with the story, but the details in the book are ever so enlightening. The book arrived within two days in perfect condition!
- Serial murders in beautiful Florence'The Monster of Florence' tells the true story of Doug Preston a writer who moves to Florence to write a novel. While in Flroence he hears the unsolved murders of the 'Monster'. He teams up with the newpaper reporter who has been involved in these events for years.
This first half of this book is good in drawing the reader into the events surrounding the serial killings. We learn of the people involved in these murders and the tragically run investigations. I am not sure which is more disturbing...the ... Read More
