The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston
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Book Reviews of The Monster of Florence
Book Review: Murder Under the Tuscan Night
Summary: 5 Stars
As a rule, I don't care for serial killer books or films -- they just don't interest me the way "regular" crime stories do. Common motivations such as jealousy and greed, when handled well, can be more than powerful enough to sustain a character or drive a plot. The twisted psychoses of serial killers just don't do it for me. That said, this nonfiction account of a real life serial killer in Italy, and the investigation that followed in his wake, makes for some very compelling reading. The reason has far less to do with the killer's grisly trail of bodies, than it does with the crazy ins and outs of the investigation and how the authors end up on the wrong end of it all.
Preston is a bestselling thriller writer who moved to Italy to research and write a novel revolving around great flood that struck Florence in 1966. By chance, he learned that an olive grove adjacent to the farmhouse he rented was the site of one of the crimes performed by a notorious serial killer. Intrigued, he met the veteran Italian crime journalist who would become his collaborator on this book, and started to learn everything he could about the case. And with a series of killings stretching from 1968-85, there was a lot to learn. Fortunately, Preston does a pretty good job of untangling the case and laying it out for the reader (albeit, with some repetitions).
What many readers will find extremely interesting is the relatively insulated nature of the Italian justice system, and how in this case, insulation from external oversight led to some absolutely colossal failures of investigation, not to mention outright corruption. Those with an interest in Italy may find some rather interesting insights into Italian national character along the way, such as the concept of saving face and the notion that it is vital to be "in the know" or "savvy" (which means not taking anything at surface value, no matter how plausible it may be). Some of these characteristics are what lead to Preston and Spetzi becoming targets of the serial killer investigation, leading the entire story into Kafkaesque farce. (At times, Preston goes a little overboard in describing his own fear of being prosecuted, especially when some of problems are of his own making. For example, if the police in a foreign country say that you have a right to have an interpreter and a lawyer present at your questioning, take them up on it!)
Ultimately, some readers may be somewhat frustrated by the lack of a clear "solution" or resolution to the crimes -- although the authors do point a very plausible finger at one man. And some aspects of the situation aren't very well explained -- such as why the Italian media would sometimes have an insatiable appetite for anything relating to the case, and other times appear not care. Finally, at times, the ineptitude of the Italian cops and prosecutors is so extreme that it strains credulity Nonetheless, this remains a fascinating true crime book, and one that will severely tax any reader's romantic notions of Tuscany.
Book Review: Stranger than fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
In the annals of crime, the case of the "Monster of Florence" (the name Italian journalist Mario Spezi, one of the co-authors, and one of the key players in the case and this book, gave the killer) is truly one of the strangest. Starting in 1974, and continuing through 1985, seven couples were brutally murdered in the secluded lovers' lanes located in the hills surrounding the city of Florence, Italy. Still unsolved to this day, the crimes captured the horrified attention and imagination of the Italian people, and consumed enormous resources--nearly one hundred thousand men were investigated and more than a dozen arrested during the course of various inquiries into the crimes. Per Douglas Preston's introduction, the investigation "has been like a malignancy, spreading backward in time and outward in space, metastasizing into different cities and swelling into new investigations, with new judges, police, and prosecutors, more suspects, more arrests, and many more lives ruined."
Not merely a recounting of those grisly crimes and endless investigations, The Monster of Florence (hereafter TMOF) is also an engrossing biographical piece, detailing the toll the case took on both its authors, who, in one of the stranger twists in a case replete with strange twists, become the focus of the ongoing police investigation. Thus, in a plot complication worthy of Alfred Hitchcock, the reporters became part of the very story they are covering--after his home is ransacked in a search, Spezi is subsequently arrested, and his collaborator, American crime novelist Preston, is harshly interrogated by the authorities. In a movie, the protagonists would have been able to clear their names by dramatically unmasking the real killer, unearthing a piece of key evidence at the last moment. Real life, however, proves to a bit more complicated, and certainly more bizarre.
The back cover copy of the advance reading copy of TMOF compares it to John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City. The comparison is apt, but only to a point, as both these non-fiction works feel more like novels. TMOF, on the other hand, feels more like the product of journalists than novelists (certainly not surprising, given the backgrounds of its respective creators), calling to mind books like Jimmy Breslin's outstanding .44, or Vincent Bugliosi's memorable Helter Skelter. That's not to say it's any less gripping because of that tendency; in fact, in might have made the book all the more immediate and enthralling, because, in this instance, the strange facts in this case alone are enough to capture and hold any reader's attention.
Book Review: A chilling page-turner!
Summary: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (7/08)
Author Douglas Preston, his wife Christine, and their two children Isaac and Aletheia, moved to Florence, Italy in the year 2000. As a journalist and a murder mystery author, Preston had the freedom to live wherever he wanted and it had always been a lifelong dream of his to move to Italy. They rented a farmhouse in the olive groves at the end of a dirt lane and he began research on his next novel. A friend of Preston's put him in contact with Mario Spezi (the co-author of this book), a crime reporter for over 20 years. Preston was interested in talking to Spezi because he wanted to learn more about Italian police procedure and murder investigation so that the novel that he was working on would be factually accurate.
It was this first meeting with Spezi that introduced Preston to the murders committed by "The Monster of Florence." Coincidentally, Preston's farmhouse happens to be right near the scene of one of the slayings. From the years of 1974-1985, fourteen young lovers were murdered while parked in the hills around Florence. Despite being the most expensive and longest running investigation in Italian history, the murderer has never been found. Spezi shares with Preston the information that he has about the crimes and takes him around to the murder sites. They dig to try to uncover the truth but their probing may lead to more than they bargained for.
One of the things that surprised me most was that the story of "The Monster of Florence" was pretty much unknown in the United States, especially considering the fact that the FBI was involved in the investigation. It is also interesting to note that Spezi believes that Thomas Harris' character of Hannibal Lecter was based on "The Monster of Florence." In fact, Spezi even saw Harris at one of the trials taking notes.
I really enjoy true crime stories and found the story of "The Monster of Florence" to be very fascinating and intriguing. It was interesting to read how the original investigation into the murders was handled and learning about the missteps along the way. The writing in the book is definitely not for the faint of heart as the gruesome murders are described in great detail, but anyone who enjoys true crime stories will most surely enjoy this book
Book Review: Multi- Faceted Work of Non-Fiction!
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Monster of Florence" is a fabulous gem of nonfiction writing! I read this book over the past weekend and could hardly put it down because the writing and storyline were completely engrossing & enthralling. This book is truly captivating on so many levels:
* Great writing by both Douglas Preston & Mario Spezi. Spezi, himself, is an Italian journalist considered an expert on the topic of "The Monster of Florence" since he's written about the monster from the beginning.
* The authors seem to have really done their home work on the topic of "The Monster of Florence": From telling us about the murders themselves, police investigations, trials that were more like 3 ring circuses, media attention to the case, and even the police going as far as to arresting Mario Spezi & questioning Douglas Preston!
* This book is well organized & flows nicely throughout with no dull or slow parts of the book. In fact, the book isn't too long or too short, but just right in terms of length. Basically, a tightly written book.
* "The Monster of Florence" reads more like a novel.... Sometimes the facts seem stranger than fiction!! Especially with regards to the lack of competency by the Italian police/criminal investigators and the Italian justice system at large.... It is truly unfathomable at how inept the the criminal investigators & Italian justice system has been in this case....
* I also enjoyed the authors insight into the cultural view points of Italians themselves. Something we don't hear or learn about much.
The crimes of "The Monster of Florence" are gruesome and have gone unresolved by the Italian Government. The authors make a great case as to whom they think the real "The Monster of Florence's" identity really is. I would have to say that with all the information Douglas Preston & Mario Spezi have presented in their book about "The Monster of Florence", I would have to agree with their summation of the serial killer's identity. Surely they are closer to the truth of the matter then the police/investigators are.
Book Review: An extraordinary indictment of the Italian legal system
Summary: 5 Stars
When Douglas Preston moved his family to the outskirts of Florence in 2000, he thought he was just going to enjoy la dolce vita and write a mystery novel. What he found was both more interesting and scarier than any story he could have come up with on his own. As he was interviewing a journalist named Mario Spezi who was an expert on the Italian legal system, Spezi casually mentioned that just outside the villa Preston and his family had rented, was the site of one of the most gruesome murders in Florentine history. There, in 1983, the famed Monster of Florence had taken the lives of two of his victims.
Slowly Preston found himself getting pulled into the mystery of the Monster of Florence, who had between the years of 1974 and 1985 killed at least 7 couples as they made love in various out-of-the-way places in the Tuscan hills. Various men had been tried and convicted of the crimes, but the cases did not offer compelling proof and Spezi believed that the killer or killers were still free. Preston joined Spezi in trying to find the real killer, but what neither of them could have known was that they themselves were going to be charged crimes in connection with the case. In Italy, important magistrates don't appreciate being shown up by the press and Preston and Spezi showed up the flaws in the Monster investigation. What starts out as a murder mystery soon turns to much much more -- a chilling indictment of the Italian legal system and the lack of freedom of the press in Italy.
Preston and Spezi bring the people and places involved to life. The writing is crisp, the story well laid out and the implications of the abuse of government and suppression of a free press in a first world country shocking and important. So... Come for the monster, come for Florence, but stay for the journalists, who are much more interesting in the end.