The Monster of Florence

By: Douglas Preston, Mario Spezi

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

In 2000, Douglas Preston and his family moved to Florence, Italy, fulfilling a long-held dream. They put their children in Italian schools and settled into a 14th-century farmhouse in the green hills of Florence, where they devoted themselves to living la dolce vita while Preston wrote his best-selling suspense novels.

All that changed when he discovered that the lovely olive grove in front of their house had been the scene of the most infamous double-murders in Italian history, committed by a serial killer known only as the Monster of Florence. Preston, intrigued, joined up with the crack Italian investigative journalist Mario Spezi to solve the case.

The Monster of Florence tells the true story of their search for - and identification of - a likely suspect, and their chilling interview with that man.

Then, in a strange twist of fate, Preston and Spezi themselves became targets of the police investigation into the murders. Preston had his phone tapped and was interrogated by the police, accused of perjury, planting false evidence and being an accessory to murder - and told to leave the country. Spezi fared worse: he was thrown into Italy's grim Capanne prison, accused of being the Monster of Florence himself.

The Monster of Florence, which reads like one of Preston's thrillers, tells a remarkable and harrowing story involving murder, mutilation, suicide, carnival trials, voyeurism, princes and palaces, body parts sent by post, séances, devil worship and Satanic sects, poisonings and exhumations, Florentine high fashion houses, and drunken peasants. And at the center of it are Preston and Spezi, caught in the crossfire of a bizarre prosecutorial vendetta.

©2008 Splendide Mendax, Inc. and Mario Spezi (P)2008 Hachette Audio

Well-researched but a little hard to follow

This covers an interesting case and is as full of intrigue as any novel. However, the Italian names were hard for me to keep straight and made the story more difficult to follow than it would be as a traditional book.

A well done presentation.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

A friend of mine lived in Italy when these crimes were being committed and his father told him (since he was just a kid at the time) that he might want to learn about this string of crimes that happened when he lived there. So on a car trip one October we downloaded two versions of this story... and only got through this one. If you are going to purchase a version of this, purchase this one it will hold your interest.

Very well done, but not for everyone.

Some violent, upsetting content that is not fictional. Interesting perspective on the Italian justice system and the culture. Excellent overall.

Excellent book

Narration is well done
The story is very well presented and the ineptness of the Italian police is breathtaking

Kept Us Spellbound

Every year when we travel on vacation, my husband and I listen to a book. Even though this is not a novel, it read like one. It kept our attention for our entire 10 hour drive. Talk about life being stranger than fiction. This true story had more twists and turns than a well-written thriller. I've thought of this book so many times this year when I've followed the trial of Amanda Knox, the American student charged with the murder of her roommate. I wonder if Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi could have counseled both her and her family during her on-going trial. Give a listen, you won't be disappointed if you like suspense.

The story of the killer is only half the book.

I, like many Americans, first learned of the Monster of Florence from Thomas Harris's novel 'Hannibal', and was intrigued. And so I bought this book to learn more, and boy did I. The book is broken up into two parts. In the first, we get Douglas Preston's account of his move to Florence, his befriending the Italian journalist Mario Spezi, and Spezi's account of the history of the Monster of Florence, which he had reported on almost from the beginning. He gives a detailed account of the murders, the investigations, the numerous suspects, and the even more numerous errors committed by Italian authorities and members of the Judiciary. The second half of the book gives a fascinating look into the Italian judicial system and how easy it is for an innocent man to be vilified, harassed, and imprisoned without evidence. It tells in detail how two journalists were hounded by the Italian police and prosecutors for daring to disagree with their outlandish theories on the Monster case. All in all, this was a fascinating book that can be enjoyed by everyone.

Had to stop listening and just read it....

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I hope this book gets re-recorded because this narration is painful. Having someone that struggles with Italian words is painful for the narrator as well as the listener. Having dialogue between to Italians read with a pseudo Italian accent makes it sound more like a joke than authentic dialogue.

What did you like best about this story?

The story and the research is extremely compelling. Characters come alive as well as Florence and its culture.

Would you be willing to try another one of Dennis Boutsikaris’s performances?

Only if it doesn't involve an Italian narrative. I truly fault the production/directorial "team" for the choices made in regards to Boutsikaris' performance. He is a solid actor but just a poor choice as narrator. I hope, WHEN (and not if) they re-record this book, they spend some time with the basics as well as more complex words like Savonarola (Sah-voh-nah-ROH-lah). I could nearly hear Boutsikaris himself cringe every time he had to say his name....

Could you see The Monster of Florence being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I would love to see this story be made into a movie. I was only a child when the majority of the investigation was going on, but I have clear memories of warnings or judgments made towards certain people and their "love behavior".

Any additional comments?

I ultimately had to stop listening to this book because it was just too painful... the story is great and even the more research-ie parts don't pull you away from the story given the extremely fluid writing style. But would a recommend listening to this book? Absolutely not. Do this story a favor, re-record it and please please please, not only find a performer that can pronounce Italian words with ease, but don't have the dialogue read as if spoken by to Italian-Americans.

The Monster of Florence

The Monster of Florence is a story that wends it's way through the countryside of Tuscany. The accounts are harrowing and the narration excellent. Unfortunately, however, you wonder if the tale is ever going to get to a solution. I found this a 'good' read but really anticipated 'exciting.' The lack of follow through is why I only gave it three stars for story.

Good book, bad narration

As a Florentine who lived through the scary years of the “monster of Florence” I found the book captivating and well written. However, I though that the publisher should have picked someone else to narrate the audiobook version of it. First of all, it would have been nicer to have a reader who actually speaks enough Italian not to butcher the pronunciation of the majority of the Italian words mentioned in the book, as Dennis Boutsikaris does. Also, he uses an often-offensive, caricatural accent when giving voice to the Italian characters, which is a blend between a mafia boss from movie character and Steve Carell’s Gru in the Despicable Me franchise. I honestly have never heard Italians speaking like that, even when they speak English with a thick accent. It was hard to listen to, but I made it through the end.

Amanda Knox

Anyone who plans on reading the Amanda Knox book,"Waiting to be Heard" needs to read Douglas Preston's Book first. I read them in reverse order. What an eye opener. Once you read this book and Amanda's there can be no doubt as to her innocence. Mr. Preston's book kept me out of circulation for three days. Every spare minute I found myself listening to this book. By itself it is a great listen but combine it with Amanda's and it's a must listen.