7.4 /10 1 Votes
Country United States Publication date June 10, 2008 Pages 336 Originally published 2006 Page count 336 | 3.7/5 Goodreads Language English Media type Print (Hardcover) ISBN 978-0-446-58119-6 Genre True crime Publisher Grand Central Publishing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nominations CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction Similar Douglas Preston books, True crime books, Other books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Monster of Florence: A True Story is a 2008 true crime book by American thriller writer Douglas Preston and Italian journalist Mario Spezi. It relates to a series of murders that occurred between 1968 and 1985 and involved couples who were killed while having sex in their cars in deserted lanes around the city of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany.
Contents
Background
Preston, an author of fiction and non-fiction books, moved to Florence with his family and became interested in the Monster of Florence case because the murders had taken place in the surrounding countryside. Mario Spezi, co-author of the book, is a journalist who specialized in the Monster of Florence case for many years. Preston and Spezi became friends and then collaborated on articles and books about the case. Both became figures in the case when the Italian prosecutors came to suspect them and accuse them of crimes including obstruction of justice and potentially being accomplices to murder. Preston published an article about the case in American magazine The Atlantic in 2006.
Summary
The book recounts the authors' personal experiences while investigating the case and their problems of being accused by the Italian criminal justice system. Preston and Spezi are outspoken critics of the tactics and theories pursued by the Italian police and prosecutors in the Monster of Florence case.
Film version
In late 2008, film studio United Artists announced its purchase of the film rights to The Monster of Florence: a True Story. In 2010 the project was acquired by Fox 2000 and is in development, with George Clooney attached as producer as well as to play the role of Preston.