The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston
The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston
6 Rating(s)
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
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The Monster of Florence

Author: Douglas Preston, Mario Spezi

Narrator: Dennis Boutsikaris

Unabridged: 13 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/10/2008


Synopsis

In the nonfiction tradition of John Berendt and Erik Larson, the author of the #1 NYT 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.

About Douglas Preston

Douglas Preston is the author of more than thirty books, both fiction and nonfiction, more than twenty of which have been New York Times bestsellers. He has worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. His first novel, Relic, coauthored with Lincoln Child, was made into a movie, and launched the famed Pendergast series of novels. His recent nonfiction book, The Monster of Florence, is also being made into a film. In addition to books, Preston writes about archaeology and paleontology for the New Yorker, National Geographic, and Smithsonian.


Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Sabina on 2009-10-14 12:36:27

And Dennis Boutsikaris - a briliant reader.

Goodreads review by Brooke on July 15, 2008

Despite my criminal justice background, I'm not a huge fan of true crime books. It's not that I dislike them, but unless the author has a personal connection to the case (ie: The Stranger Beside Me, Helter Skelter) they often just end up being a recitation of the facts without much more going for......more

Goodreads review by Barbara on April 22, 2023

From the late 1960’s to the 1980’s a serial killer sporadically stalked the countryside around Florence, murdering young couples and mutilating the female victims. Some victims of the Monster of Florence Over the years, numerous men became suspects, many were jailed, and some were put on trial. To th......more

Goodreads review by Erica on February 11, 2019

Preston: Well, my New Yorker article about the Monster of Florence won't be published now thanks to 9/11, so I think I should write a book instead. Editor: But will Americans really be that interested in unsolved lovers lane murders in Italy? We already have the Zodiac Killer and the Son of Sam. Let'......more

Goodreads review by Mrs. Kristin on September 05, 2015

I am stunned by how much I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Serial Podcast invoked an old and underlying interest in me that has now become an obsession; unsolved mysteries. It is a morbid confession to say how much I enjoy reading about serial killers and spooky mysteries because not only are serial k......more

Goodreads review by Nick on October 07, 2014

Dolci colline di sangue. That's a corruption of an Italian phrase about the rolling hills of Florence; it means Rolling hills of blood. It's also the title of an Italian version of this book and probably a better one. This book details the investigation into a series of murders that began in 1968 and......more


Quotes

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