Ritualized serial killings of couples parked on lovers' lanes in Tuscany

[DemBones DemBones]

are the subject of The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi. It's a great read about a case that's never been resolved. The last killings were in 1985 but ten or eleven years later a Florentine friend explained to me the presence of so many cars parked on dark streets in Florence with newspapers covering their windows: fear of the serial killer. Couples used to drive out in the country around Florence to park but after fourteen people were killed in isolated areas by the Monster, who first watched them making love, staying in the city and covering the car windows became common practice.

For some reason, the story was never really covered in the U.S. although Italian authorities sought the help of FBI profilers. Some say that Thomas Harris based the character of Dr. Hannibal Lecter on the Monster and many thought/think the killer is/was a physician for the same reason many thought/think Jack the Ripper was a doctor. Harris definitely based "Inspector Pazzi" on a real Italian police detective.

Along with the story of the murderer, there are good descriptions of Tuscan scenery and food, rumours of a satanic sect masterminding the murders, investigations going in many different directions, power struggles, and the Italian law going after the two writers.

Preston is a good writer so I will be checking out the mysteries he's written -- he really went to Florence to write a mystery about a lost painting by the Renaissance painter Masaccio, got sidetracked into following the Monster story after he met Mario Spezi, long-time crime reporter in Florence and the man who named the killer Il Mostro di Firenze. Preston and Spezi have collaborated on several articles and two books about Il Mostro and I think they make a good case as to his identity. Read the book and see what you think.

[lavenderdiva]

1. I read this book while we didn't have electricity from Hurricane Ike

for 3 weeks! It was a great read. Here is a link to more background on the case: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/monster_florence/1.html


I didn't know Preston had written other mysteries; I'll be sure to check it out. I like his style of writing. It is gripping.... :hi:

[DemBones DemBones]

2. I'm going to try to get a book called

Brimstone first since it's set partially in Tuscany and is partly concerned with the Monster. It's part of a series that Preston has written with Lincoln Child. Preston has also written books alone and the titles sound like mystery titles.

I'm almost finished reading The Monster of Florence for the second time, making sure I have all the details straight, and it's gripping the second time, too. I'll bet it made very good reading with the power out! :hi:

[lavenderdiva]

3. yeah, there were times that I had a hard time going to sleep

with those images in my head! I love to read, but on an ordinary evening (when we have power) there's just too much going on to settle in and focus on a novel. It was a real treat to have the luxury of time to do it then. I had to read it by flashlight!