The Monster of Florence (2008) Review

Author: Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Non-Fiction, True Crime
Length: 368 pages
ISBN: 1455573825

Goodreads rating: 3.75/5.0
My rating: 8.7/10

Amazingly informative and highly interesting coverage of Italy’s most well-known serial killer. Preston once again does a fantastic job with research and presentation, so much so that he even got himself mistakenly involved in the investigation.

I was instantly grabbed due to the sole fact that Florence is my favorite place in the world. To me, as I’m sure places such as New York and San Diego are to people who don’t live in America, Florence is a glimmering city full of rich history, glory and all the sights worth seeing. While in reality, much of the history was founded in violence and bloodshed, eventually leading to the tragic story of the Monster of Florence.

Preston, who spotlights as a crime novelist, I’m just learning, presents this very real case as one of his thrillers.. but he never lets you forget how terrifyingly close he and his journalist friend Mario Spezi are to the case. Each line is packed with more and more information on the bone chilling story, as the two provided the most well-researched case (even more so than the Italian police), which led to their near downfall.

Would love to revisit this every few years or so as the Italian people continue to speculate and gather evidence as to who the Monster really is/was.

Can’t wait to see the film adaptation of this! As he mentions throughout the novel, the Italian people were first bitter then overjoyed to have Hannibal filmed in their country, and now in full circle they will likely feel the same about this new movie. I’m also sure he is overly flattered that none other than George Clooney will be portraying him.