The Monster of Florence

De: Douglas Preston, Mario Spezi

Narrado por: Dennis Boutsikaris

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

Yes

Love the accent! Check it out, interesting story. Also, nice to have interview at the end.

Great Story, but needs a better reader.

The story of the Monster of Florence is horrific, but not as horrific as the reader of this book. He use of a stupid Italian accent for so much of the book really took me out of the story in parts. The rest of the book is great!! Preston really pulls us into the investigation and missteps of the investigators.

A good (slightly confusing) read!

I really enjoyed this book. After reading some of the reviews regarding the "bad" Italian accent of the narrator, I hesitated to purchase it, but since I've never been to Italy and wouldn't know a good Florentine accent from a bad one, I rolled the dice. Aside from a few times where he dropped it when he shouldn't have, I was not bothered at all by his narration.

The story itself was interesting, shocking, confusing, and kept me wanting to know what happened next. The only reason I give this 4 stars instead of 5 is because by chapter six I was honestly lost. This is not the fault of the writers, rather the actual events were hard to follow no matter how clearly explained. Ultimately, I was able to follow generally everything that occurred and the few areas I was lost did not affect my overall understanding of the book.

I do have to say, regardless of who the actual Monster is, I am appalled at the Italian judicial system and am interested to read, as another reviewer suggested, the Amanda Knox story.

Must read for crime fans!

This is a story of amazing events and amazing judicial incompetence and idiocy or even lunacy. And it’s all true. The Amanda Knox tie-in is a bonus. I think we can all be assured that she was innocent, based on how ridiculous the outdated judicial system left over from the Communists operates in Italy.

Definitely makes me want to go back and visit Italy again. Also, as a lawyer, let me advise you: NEVER SPEAK TO THE POLICE WITHOUT A LAWYER!

A Chilling piece of Recent History

When I purchased this audio book I had a small understanding of what to expect. Being a fan of the Thomas Harris character Hannibal Lector and recently the television interpretation of that world, the Monster of Florence caught my eye.

But this fictional knowledge of the Monster is nothing compared to the facts.

This book is a chilling insight into the killings of Italian couples over a decade long spree. It details the evidence, connections, and various theories of the case. And presents it's own opinion on who the killer is. It also shows the affect these murders have had on the people of Florence and others involved, even to this day.

If you are interested in the darkest side of man and ponder how these horrible crimes can be committed, read or listen to this audio book. But know it will affect you too.

Excellent

It's not often that I can hang with a 9 hour book straight from beginning to end without straying into other books. This was different. It was a great story. I acknowledge all the other reviewers beefs with this book. But they were not problems for me. Sure, pictures would have helped keep suspects straight. But I did not need them. Sure, it resembles a documentary, but I like documentaries - so no problem there either. In the end, it's just a great story. In my opinion, the story is so compelling, I had no problem with the narrator speaking with an Italian accent at points in the book that require dialogue. At first it was slightly annoying, but I got used to it quickly. Overall, great story. I guess truth is indeed sometimes stranger than fiction.

Incredible lack of application of law for some levels

Dark Human minds shocking acceptance of evil. Chilling and dangerous for truth tellers. Held reader interest by incredible reality.

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.