The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi

by:  Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi
published by:  Grand Central Publishing
publish date:  2008

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.

The Monster of Florence tells the story of the investigation of a serial killer in Florence, Italy in the 1970's and 1980's.   The investigation was wildly unbelievable.  It was hard to believe that such an illogical prosecution could take place in modern times.  

I used to really enjoy true crime, but I guess I've grown out of it.  It's not so much my thing anymore.  This book was not badly written.  True crime just doesn't have the same flow as fiction writing.  However, I did find the mentions of Thomas Harris and his involvement in the courtroom proceeding interesting.   This case inspired his book Silence of the Lambs and his character Hannibal Lecter.

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of true crime.  I would encourage fans of Douglas Preston to read it as well.  I thought it was very interesting to read a non-fiction book from such a great fiction writer.