Rating: 5 stars (Spotlight Review)

"The Monster's crimes were so horrific that a mere man could not possibly have committed them. Satan, in the end, had to be invoked.

--Douglas Preston

America has a deep and, some would say disturbing fascination with serial killers. Jeffery Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, The Zodiac Killer; all have captured our attention. Strangely enough though, the one that passed us by is the one that almost cost author Douglas Preston his freedom. When he and Florentine journalist Mario Spezi began chronicling the decade-long career of the killer known as the Monster of Florence, neither knew that they would both end up on the wrong side of the investigation.

When Douglas Preston moved himself and his family to Florence, Italy in August of 2000 it was with the intention of writing a fictional thriller about a lost painting by the artist Masaccio. He soon made the acquaintance of journalist Mario Spezi in the process of learning more about Florentine police particulars. Spezi had worked the Florentine crime beat for twenty years. When Preston mentioned his current residence in Florence Spezi revealed its gruesome past; it had been the scene of one of the Monster's double-murders years before. As Spezi lay out more of the story Preston found himself fascinated, and soon hooked, by the story. Before long the two were working on a book to track a true account of the Monster, who as yet still hasn't been found.

The first murder to be laid at the Monster's doorstep was in 1981. A pair of young lovers, parked and doing what young lovers do, was brutally slain; the woman was mutilated and trophies were taken. Spezi managed to get the scoop and was on the scene immediately. From that moment he followed the story through every twist and convoluted turn. This would eventually be used against him. Spezi and Preston's investigation would all but declare that the police investigation, with it's talk of satanic sects, conspiracy theories, pedophilia, corpse-switching, and more was nothing but a contrived and wasted trail that was being used for nothing more then personal advancement by the officials involved.

Spezi would soon find himself on trial as the Monster of Florence, almost twenty years after the last killing had taken place and after numerous others had been tried, convicted, jailed, appealed, released, and/or died.

Douglas Preston would be indicted as an accomplice.

Without a doubt this is one of the best true crime books I have read in many years. The case of the Monster of Florence itself was horrifying enough but to have it become so convoluted by such insane theories is beyond the pale. Reading this book, one can see how Preston and Spezi's theories make absolute sense, and how the official's investigations absolutely do not. But sex and satanic cults sell. And apparently they sell very well in Italy. I truly felt for Preston and Spezi, most especially Spezi. He spent his career attempting to solve this case and received only the most vicious, abominable treatment from those that should have known better. And I thought the Satanic Panic was only an American phenomenon. What a shame.
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Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (June 10, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446581194