Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 10/24/2009 + 1178 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

I thought this was an engrossing story with a smattering of Italian history and large doses showing the total ineptitude of the Italian police and justice system in trying to solve and identify "The Monster of Florence." The Monster committed a series of double murders from 1968 to 1985 that remain unsolved. Thomas Harris actually used some of the bizarre aspects of this case to develop his novel "Hannibal". The Italian police come up with some really absurd theories on the killings involving Satanic cults and rituals. They totally ignored profiling from the FBI and instead listened to a woman who ran a conspiracy website and her unfounded accusations. The authors, including both Spezi and Preston, while themselves trying to identify the killer, end up getting in the middle of the investigation and actually accused by the Italian police of being accessories to the crimes! This non-fiction story had more twists than many suspense novels. This also makes one thankful for the American justice system even with its many flaws.

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