Book 28: The Monster of Florence

The Monster of Florence is non-fiction by Douglas Preston, who usually writes fictional thrillers (often with a writing partner, Lincoln Child). It is co-written by Mario Spezi, an Italian journalist. It tells the story of the hunt for an Italian serial killer who still remains at large (or at least was at large at the time of printing, in 2008).

Preston moved to Florence in 2000 and soon learned of this famous killer. He met and befriended the country's expert on The Monster: Mario Spezi. Eventually, they wrote a book together in Italian and then this book. They believe they know who the killer is but they were unable to obtain a confession or get the police to investigate this man.

Spezi's articles detailing the ineptness of the police, their botched investigations, and their nonsensical obsessions so pissed off several important players that he was actually accused of being The Monster and was imprisoned and tried. Preston was also pulled in for questioning and was told to leave Italy and never return.

The mistakes of the police are laughable, as long as you're not the one who's been wrongly accused! One police investigator based his entire theory on the crazy ramblings of a local psychic. Several of the crime scenes were left unsecured and the press was allowed to stomp all over them before the crime scene investigators arrived. Though the FBI provided a profile of a very intelligent young man, and the evidence showed that he must be in good physical condition (he chased down a sprinter and stabbed him to death), the Italian police accused and arrested a string of different old men, one of whom was mentally disabled, and one with terrible health problems. But, just like in the U.S., that kind of incompetence was often rewarded with promotions!

Though this is non-fiction, it is not too dry. It stands in sharp contrast to The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, which I read last year and could barely stand to finish. That one told a great true story, but it was written so dryly that it almost bored me to death. This one made me want to finish it, to find out what happened, and how Preston felt about it.