The Monster of Florence
A true story by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 2008.
Crimes so scandalous you'd think they were merely written for a movie--and, eventually, they helped inspire The Silence of the Lambs' sequel, Hannibal. A series of murders, committed over the span of two decades, all located in the area around Florence, Italy--crimes where the victims were murdered while "parking," often with the female victim's body being dragged away from the automobile and her genitalia being removed, probably as a trophy from the perpetrator, who may be impotent--definitely monstrous crimes.
But the "monster" of the title is not just the killer or killers, but also the justice system, where the criminal investigations are botched, the journalists (who are the book's authors) are slandered and even charged with crimes, and innocent people are sent to jail for murders that they did not commit. One of the shocking parts of the book for me was not the crimes, but the difference in the justice systems between Italy and the USA--I would opine that it's still not a fully democratic society.
A fascinating book that reads like a novel--and would make a good movie. Apparently the rights have been purchased and it may eventually be produced by George Clooney.
Crimes so scandalous you'd think they were merely written for a movie--and, eventually, they helped inspire The Silence of the Lambs' sequel, Hannibal. A series of murders, committed over the span of two decades, all located in the area around Florence, Italy--crimes where the victims were murdered while "parking," often with the female victim's body being dragged away from the automobile and her genitalia being removed, probably as a trophy from the perpetrator, who may be impotent--definitely monstrous crimes.
But the "monster" of the title is not just the killer or killers, but also the justice system, where the criminal investigations are botched, the journalists (who are the book's authors) are slandered and even charged with crimes, and innocent people are sent to jail for murders that they did not commit. One of the shocking parts of the book for me was not the crimes, but the difference in the justice systems between Italy and the USA--I would opine that it's still not a fully democratic society.
A fascinating book that reads like a novel--and would make a good movie. Apparently the rights have been purchased and it may eventually be produced by George Clooney.