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

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.

fantastic

Extremely fascinating, hard to put down
Enjoyed the extra conversation with Douglas Preston after the book

Very engrossing book with good narration

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book! Given the subject matter, I expected it to be somewhat difficult to get through at points, but this was not the case.

This book is well written; almost novel-like in how entertaining it is at times.
The narration of this book is fits the book perfectly; very well narrated.

Almost Unbelievable

As an American reader, I found this book both fascinating and horrifying. Horrifying, not because of the brutal crimes, but the absolutely stunning incompetence and vindictiveness of the Italian judicial system. It's quite literally almost impossible to believe that this story could occur in a civilized country. Definitely has me rethinking some of my vacation plans.

Well Done Real Crime Story

I really enjoyed this book. It isn't an easy listen-you have to pay attention because there are alot of characters and their names start to become hard to keep track of. It may be easier to read than to listen because you can flip back and reread a portion. But I found it worth my time. I loved the narrator so much that I went looking for other books he read. His Italian accents sounded true to me (a non-Italian speaker) and it is a well written book. It was a sensational crime spree but the book is not over the top.