I wanted to love this book, as I am a lover of true crime. But I didn't. It was likeable to a point, but about midway through it became an effort to read. This is the story of a serial killer in Florence in the 1970's-1980's. It's really more about the bungling antics and corruption of the Italian police than the actual killer. Really, it is not surprising that the killer was never found what with evidence being switched, politicians inserting themselves into the investigation, etc. It made me think of the Amanda Knox goings on in the early 2000's. Even the author was arrested (and then released) as a possible accomplice in these murders, although he didn't live there when they began! A convoluted mess that I'm sure will never be solved at this late date. It is sad that there seems to be no justice for the victims' families or the perpetrators. I took a BB for this book from Tanya. I listened to this on audio, 9 hours 47 minutes. ( )

From 1968 to 1985, a serial killer lurked in the Florentine hills of Italy and slayed seven couples who were making out in their cars. Afterwards, he would engage in a gruesome post-murder ritual that would become the inspiration for Thomas Harris’s character, Hannibal Lector.
The first half of this true account is the story as told by Mario Spezi, an Italian journalist who covered the killings and became known as something of an expert in the topic. The second half of the book recounts Douglas Preston’s move to Italy twenty years after the last killing and becoming intrigued with who the murderer might actually be. Spezi and Preston proceed to initiate an investigation of their own, much to the ire of the local police. Spezi and Preston would end up being hauled before the Polizia for questioning and suffering consequences for their actions.
‘The Monster of Florence’ provides tantalizing leads but as admitted in the interview with Douglas Preston at the end of the audio, the identity of the killer, like Jack the Ripper will not likely ever be known with any certainty.
The audiobook narrator was clear and confident with his delivery and Italian but I had one quibble: All the Italians in the book were given comical American voices with heavy Italian accents. A bit cringey and a little distracting but you sorta get used to it. ( )

The details of the murders are horrifying, but the workings of the Italian legal system are even more frightening. ( )

This is an interesting true crime account of 14 murders that occurred around Florence, Italy. Between 1974 an 1985, a serial killer stalked the hills around Florence, brutally murdering and mutilating young lovers parked in the orchards and fields. The first part of the book describes the victims and their murders.

In the early 2000's, author Douglas Preston moved to Italy with his family. As it turned out, the home he rented was adjacent to the grove of olive trees in which one of the murders took place. Preston befriended Italian crime reporter Mario Spezio who had made it his life's work to solve the case of the so-called "Monster of Florence." The bulk of the book delineates Spezio's and Preston's investigation of the case over several years. Most interestingly to me, the book explores the labyrinthine, deeply flawed, and at times criminal efforts of the investigators and several prosecutors of the Italian justice system, which for a while even considered Spezio and Preston as suspects in the murder case.

Perhaps more familiar to current day readers might be the Amanda Knox murder prosecution, which was investigated by the same investigator/prosecutor who botched the Monster of Florence case and harassed Spezio and Preston. This book briefly discusses the Amanda Knox case in an afterword. ( )

Libro inchiesta su uno dei tanti misteri italiani, il Mostro di Firenze. La tesi argomentata da Spezi e Preston è ben spiegata, abbastanza convincente, spiazzante e parecchio inquietante. Scritto come se fosse un romanzo, scorre che è un piacere. ( )