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
- Fantastic True Crime Book
- As many other reviewers have commented, this true story reads like a good novel. It is a gripping, compelling tale with lots of twists.
One of the best things about the book is the background the authors provides on the city of Florence. Fascinating stuff!
The story of the crimes is important because it's the chronology of one of the most awful serial killers in history. But it's more than that. It's also the story of how the guilty party will likely never be brought to justice because of the ineptness of investigators and the Italian justice system.
The authors make it very clear who they believe is the Monster of Florence, and it's a convincing case. It would have been nice if the man had been arrested at the conclusion of the book, but this is the real world, not fiction, and as we all know it's not a perfect world. - 2008-08-07, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- JoB
- I ordered it because it was on a list of BestSellers. I like to try things that I don't know if I'd pick off the shelf. I enjoyed the book, and it was different from what I usually read. It's great to step outside of the box. Don't get stuck always reading the same author.
- 2008-08-07, 1 of 6 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- An Investigative Comedy of Errors
- What makes the story of a serial killer loose in the beautiful Tuscan countryside so thrilling is that it's all true. Writer Douglas Preston moved his family to Italy while doing research for a book. While there, he is put in contact with Mario Spezi, a journalist who tells him the story of The Monster of Florence, a serial killer who preys on young couples. But what becomes even more frightening than this homicidal madman, is the utter travesty that takes place in the hands of the Italian police and the judicial system. Crime scenes botched, lives ruined over false accusations, and allegations of Satanic cults, while the true killer, Spezi and Preston believe, still walks free. It's a baffling and unbelievable story.
- 2008-08-05, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Truth that is WAY stranger than fiction!
- Even as I sit here and write this review, I have to shake my head at the events chronicled by Douglas Preston. First off, I had NO idea that he'd gone through any of this. I came upon this book by accident. Normally I don't read non-fiction, but it came up on a recommendations list and after reading the book desription here on Amazon, I had to get the book right away. And I'm glad I did!
If Preston didn't tell me that this book was a true story, I would swear that he made it up. Not the crimes of the actual Monster of Florence, mind you, but how the police handled the case as well as the Italian Legal system. And this is all before the book even touches on what Preston and Spezi go through in the aftermath!
There's really nothing I can say (without spoilers of course) about the book that's not touched on by the Amazon description, but this truly is a case of the truth being much stranger than fiction. I understand that Italy's a different culture, but I'd always assumed them to be a fairly modern democracy. This book definetly teaches me otherwise. Never had I heard a tale of such ineptitude and abuse of power.
Really an amazing read. It reads like a murder mystery and that's what it is. It just happens to be a work of NON-fiction. I just couldn't put it down. - 2008-08-04, 4 of 4 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Italy's serial killer
- I liked the book. It is sometimes hard to follow--that makes the list of people at the beginning of the book more important. I wish there were more pictures of the victims and characters. It is tough, as they mention in the book, not to have a conclusion. It just kind of ends at a date.
- 2008-08-03, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
