The Monster of Florence

by Douglas Preston, Mario Spezi

Overview

In this thrilling true story, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Lost City of the Monkey God presents a gripping account of crime and punishment in the lush hills surrounding Florence as he seeks to uncover one of the most infamous figures in Italian history.

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's grim Capanne prison, accused of being the Monster of Florence himself.
 
Like one of Preston's thrillers, The Monster of Florence, tells a remarkable and harrowing story involving murder, mutilation, and suicide-and at the center of it, Preston and Spezi, caught in a bizarre prosecutorial vendetta.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781455573820
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	04/23/2013
Pages:	348
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

The thrillers of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child "stand head and shoulders above their rivals" (Publishers Weekly). Preston and Child's famed Pendergast series includes the novels Relic and The Cabinet of Curiosities, both chosen by readers in a National Public Radio poll as being among the one hundred greatest thrillers ever written. Relic was also adapted into a number-one box office hit movie. In addition to his novels, Preston writes about archaeology for The New Yorker and Smithsonian magazines. Lincoln Child is a former book editor who has published five novels of his own, including the huge bestseller Deep Storm.


Readers can sign up for The Pendergast File, a monthly "strangely entertaining note" from the authors at their website www.PrestonChild.com. The authors welcome visitors to their alarmingly active Facebook page, where they post regularly.

Place of Birth:

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Education:

B.A., Pomona College, 1978

Website:

http://www.prestonchild.com

Editorial Reviews

Named by USA Today as a Top True-Crime Book of All Time

"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, Amazon's Best of the Month-June 2008

"This bit of real-life Florence bloodletting makes you sweat and think, and presses relentlessly on the nerves."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The co-authors expertly and entertainingly guide the reader though an epic, colorful cast of characters and the stranger-than-fiction machinations of a Byzantine Italian judicial system."—Washington Post

"Preston's account of the crimes is lucid and mesmerizing."—TIME Magazine

"Remarkable true-crime story...passionately describes the investigations gone wrong....Preston knows how to load his storytelling with intriguing evidence and damning details. His feverish style keeps the reader turning with the hope of uncovering the killer's identity. In the book's most chilling moment, Preston and Spezi come face-to-face with their most likely suspect."—USA Today

"As taut and tense as any of the author's bestselling thrillers...fascinating, stomach-churning...nerve-tingling action and vivid writing...The Monster of Florence is a gripping tale, filled with shocking crimes, boldly drawn characters, and the careening suspense of the ultimate whodunit."—Dallas Morning News

"An exquisite nonfiction page-turner."—Time Out New York

"One of the most fascinating criminal cases in recent memo—New Orleans Times-Picayune

"A dark and fascinating landscape of horror that deserves to the shelved between In Cold Blood and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."—Bookviews101

"The writing is evocative, and the two collaborators skillfully weave the narratives back and forth to create, at times, a razor's edge of tension."—Chicago Tribune

"A gripping tale."—Denver Post

"One of the best true-crime mysteries I've ever read... Nonfiction doesn't get any better than this."—Kansas City Star

"A most unconventional thriller, a real life murder mystery in which the authors become the suspects... Fascinating."—Associated Press

"A riveting true story involving murder, suicide, rumor, poisoning, body parts sent by mail, prosecutorial vendettas, and even satanic sects."—Tucson Citizen

"Tightly calibrated suspense."—Entertainment Weekly

"A propulsive account."—Los Angeles Times

From the Publisher

"The co-authors expertly and entertainingly guide the reader though an epic, colorful cast of characters and the stranger-than-fiction machinations of a Byzantine Italian judicial system."

Washington Post

"As taut and tense as any of the author's bestselling thrillers...fascinating, stomach-churning...nerve-tingling action and vivid writing...The Monster of Florence is a gripping tale, filled with shocking crimes, boldly drawn characters, and the careening suspense of the ultimate whodunit."

Dallas Morning News

"Preston's account of the crimes is lucid and mesmerizing."

TIME Magazine

"Remarkable true-crime story...passionately describes the investigations gone wrong....Preston knows how to load his storytelling with intriguing evidence and damning details. His feverish style keeps the reader turning with the hope of uncovering the killer's identity."

USA Today

"Preston's account of the crimes is lucid and mesmerizing.

Time Magazine

Meticulous account of the collaboration between American thriller author Preston (Blasphemy, 2008, etc.) and Italian journalist Spezi to plumb a long-unsolved series of murders. Between 1974 and 1985, seven couples were killed while having sex in parked cars in the hills around Florence, Preston learned shortly after he moved to Italy in August 2000. One of those double homicides occurred in an olive grove next to the stone farmhouse he had just moved into with his family. Preston's informant was Spezi, who had covered the serial killings and dubbed their perpetrator "the Monster of Florence." Italian authorities had charged various men with one or more of the murders. Some had been brought to trial; one had been convicted but acquitted on appeal. Looking back to a seemingly unrelated killing in 1968, Spezi believed he had determined the identity of the actual killer, and Preston bought his theory. The pair began to write a book outlining their ideas, and the Italian authorities retaliated by harassing them. In February 2006, Preston was interrogated by a police captain who accused him and Spezi of planting false evidence, then essentially told the American to get out of Italy and not come back. Spezi was arrested on April 7, 12 days before Dolci Colline di Sangue was slated to be published, accused not only of obstructing justice but of somehow being involved in the Monster of Florence murders. Three weeks later, a judicial tribunal exonerated him of all charges and he was released. The police detective and prosecutor responsible for Preston's interrogation and Spezi's arrest, as well as mishandling the serial-killing investigation, are awaiting trial on charges of abuse of office. Withso many characters and so many theories about the case, the book is sometimes difficult to follow, and Preston's flat prose does little to help. He is a likable narrator, however, and his commitment to untrammeled press freedom is inspiring. A cautionary saga about how the criminal-justice system can spin out of control.

Kirkus Reviews

"As taut and tense as any of the author's bestselling thrillers...fascinating, stomach-churning...nerve-tingling action and vivid writing...The Monster of Florence is a gripping tale, filled with shocking crimes, boldly drawn characters, and the careening suspense of the ultimate whodunit."

DALLAS MORNING NEWS

"Remarkable true-crime story...passionately describes the investigations gone wrong....Preston knows how to load his storytelling with intriguing evidence and damning details. His feverish style keeps the reader turning with the hope of uncovering the killer's identity."

USA TODAY

For over three decades, a serial killer stalked lover's lanes around the city of Florence, killing and mutilating victims with chilling violence. Enter thriller writer Douglas Preston, who is pursuing his dream of raising his children in Italy. His dream is shattered when he learns that one of the "Monster" killings took place near his new home. Soon the fiction writer is investigating the crimes, with help from coauthor Mario Spezi. Dennis Boutsikaris navigates Italian names and places with ease as all the chief suspects are acquitted or released from prison. He also shows impressive talent in later scenes when Preston and Spezi's continued investigation compels prosecutors to save face by jailing Spezi and interrogating Preston for obstructing justice. R.O. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

OCT/NOV 08 - AudioFile