The Monster of Florence
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend 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… Product details and pricing info |
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100 Customer Reviews Posted
- Terrifying, but not in the way you think
- In terms of writing this is, as someone else noted, journalistic rather than richly written. But the most terrifying thing in it is not the serial killer, but the Kafkaesque mindsets of the police and public of Tuscany. It gets more and more frightening as you go on, and not because you fear the serial killer, but because you think you are beginning to lose your sanity.
- 2008-09-29, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Wonderful Tale
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This book has everything and more that a crime story should have, objectivity, irony, tension, unexpected turns, etc.
Well written and a engaging story of a serial murderer who keeps on killing not through his wiles and intellect but through the abominable incompetence of Italian law enforcement.
The book is populated with a host of characters that could have stepped out of one of Fellini's films, over inflated public officials, a village idiot or two, legitimate nutters who the authorities give currency to as they support their investigative theories which like water have sought and found a path of least resistant and flows along an idiotic course developing an over arching super conspiracy that would be too stupid for a comic book.
The book also nicely juxtaposition the popular vision of the idyllic Florentine environs by illustrating that at least in part they are inhabited by a significant number of wacked out inbreds with attendant sexual peculiarities that make their Appalachian counterparts seem tame in comparison. - 2008-09-28, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- A Great Mystery of Our Time
- This was not only an entertaining read but also brought back some intriguing memories of my youth.
During the 1970s, before marrying, my bride to be and I did the obligatory camping holiday around Europe. One of our best memories was sitting alone together in the hills, under the stars and entertained by fireflies, as we gazed down on the gorgeous Duomo in Florence. Little did we know that during the same period a serial killer was murdering young couples doing just that!
The story generally flows easily and the writer holds your interest as only a trained journalist can with a great story. It slows in a few places but just as you thinks it's lost momentum Preston adds a new twist. My only challenge was keeping track of all the various Italian surnames. It certainly provides food for thought - especially before your next trip to Florence. No hints about the ending of this true story but in light of recent events in Italy the approach of the police and newspapers will all start to make sense. Be afraid, be very afraid...... - 2008-09-24, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- True Crime isn't Always Riveting
- As a great fan of the Preston and Childs' work, I find it difficult to report only a mediocre review, but here it is, in brief form.
This story is written in two pieces: one telling of the history of a serial murders taking place in Florence, the other the personal story of Preston and co-author Mario Spezi while investigating the murders. The topic to any mystery enthusiast is fascinating. The problem here is the murders were never solved, with any certainty. THat poses a problem, obviously with the authors as well, as you can sense the difficulty they had finishing the book for publication. Preston cites this and the lingering unsatisfaction left when reading this accounting of this ugly piece of Italian modern history.
If you are a fan or true crime, you will find the tale compelling. In fact, the description of the case and the subsequent tribulations of our two authors is exciting. Without providing spoilers, you follow the murders, not through proper chronology, but via discovery - just as our 'investigators' did. The story transcends from a mystery investigation, full of twists, turns, and hypotheses; into web of conspiracy and subterfuge. The problem is, the story stalls once the focus leaves the murder investigation and becomes that of Spezi and Prestons' fight against the unscrupulous Italian investigators, themselves. It never really survives the jump from the investigation to the personal conflict of the authors, as the story never gets back to the resolution of the murder! When the attempted persecution of the authors abates, the story quickly wraps up with an unsatisying, cursory-level explanation of how the situation remained at book ending. The reason to why this occurs is obvious, but it begs for a final edition!
Finally, I found the read worthwhile, as the murders and locale are quite interesting, however, be prepared to be denied the satisfaction of a convincing opinion of the murderer's identity. How unrewarding! - 2008-09-22, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Intense but slow
- 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. - 2008-09-22, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
