The Monster of Florence

Critical Praise

“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.”
—USA Today

“Preston’s account of the crimes is lucid and mesmerizing.”
—Time magazine

“This gripping collaboration…is a most unconventional thriller, a real-life murder mystery in which the authors become the suspects…. The fascinating story unfolds with memorable characters and dizzying plot twists…The writing is evocative, and the two collaborators skillfully weave the narratives back and forth to create, at times, a razor’s edge of tension.”
—Associated Press

“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

“Tightly calibrated suspense.”
—Entertainment Weekly, “B”

“A propulsive account of unsolved Zodiac-style series of murders.”
—Los Angeles Times

“The most memorable scene captures the collateral damage every murder inflicts…Preston is indeed a stranger in a strange land…Hard as this book is on the Italian legal system, a deep love for Italy, Italians and Italian culture permeates it.  Particularly on the part of Preston, who often sounds like a man locked out of paradise.”
—Seattle Post Intelligencer

“Think of the Zodiac Killer in San Francisco but without the taunting relationship with the public.”
—New York Times, 6/19/08

“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

“One of the most fascinating criminal cases in recent memory…. A vivid look at a largely close society, with elaborate mores and convoluted history, and a Byzantine justice system to match….The perfect summer page turner – enough grim details to satisfy those fascinated with serial killer lore, enough twists and turns to engross those who are drawn to police procedures, as well as a chilling story of what happens when a writer becomes identified with a murder investigation in the eyes of the authorities.”
—Times-Picayune

“One of this summer’s hot beach books…just the kind of book you want to take to the beach, provided you’re not to squeamish.”
— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“A lively, extremely readable account of the tortuous threads of the twenty-five-year investigations, and more particularly the authors’ own involvement in it. With its shenanigans and convolutions, the story might more properly belong in the realm of comic opera, were it not for the profoundly disturbing light it sheds on Italian justice.”
 —Times Literary Supplement

“Solid and thorough…a thoughtful indictment of Italian police work, the motives of jealousy, envy, and pure lunacy that drives it and a Byzantine court system.”
—Elle magazine

“Suspenseful…reveals much about the dogged writing team as well as the motives of the killers….this bit of real-life Florence bloodletting makes you sweat and think, and presses relentlessly on the nerves.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Meticulous…Preston’s commitment to untrammeled press freedom is inspiring.  A cautionary saga about how the criminal-justice system can spin out of control.”
—Kirkus

“Douglas Preston's The Monster of Florence, written with Mario Spezi, is one of the best true-crime mysteries I've ever read.”
—Kansas City Star

“What happens to a region caught in the grip of killer mania: psychologically, socially, governmentally.”
—Buffalo News

“Classic…It’s almost easier to believe in Brazilian lizard gods than it is to think that something like that could happen in modern, enlightened Italy. But The Monster of Florence isn’t a thriller. It’s a perfect example of how sometimes truth really can be stranger that fiction, and even more horrifying.”
—Foster’s Daily Democrat

“Gripping…will appeal to fans of John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil…Incredible and harrowing…the authors have brilliantly mapped out the dark, labyrinthine story of [The Monster’s] crimes.”
—Men’s Vogue

“Chilling…a perilous journey…reads like fast-paced fiction.  That the story is true lends an edge to it that is rarely achieved in fiction.”
—Bookpage

“Surreal…Truth is truly stranger than fiction, as lives are destroyed, reputations are ruined, and evidence is manufactured to fit the suspect-of-the-month.”
—Library Journal