The Monster of Florence, by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi

I bought this book when it first came out and finally read it yesterday.

Douglas Preston (who normally writes mystery and suspense type books) and his family travel to Florence because he's ready to write a mystery based on a missing Renaissance painting (and by the way, the outline of that book sounds pretty good). So, being the good researcher that he is, hooks up with someone who knows all about the local crime scene, and ends up becoming interested in an unsolved string of serial murders. His friend, Mario Spezi, is an award-winning crime reporter, and one of his passions is the so-called "Monster of Florence," who for over 20 years has gotten away with murdering young couples out for a romantic evening under the stars. Preston tries to work on his novel, but finds himself getting more interested in this serial killer, and soon he and Spezi are trying to solve the murders. This would have been good enough to keep me reading, but the most frightening thing about this book to me was the whole misguided system of justice in Italy, as portrayed (and lived) by Preston and Spezi. Politics and well, a bit of stupidity lead the investigation into some bizarre areas that have no merit, and soon Spezi finds himself on the wrong end of the law, as does Preston.

Very interesting, although actually it probably could have been a bit more taut and concise. I really liked it, though, and I'd definitely recommend it to readers interested in unsolved murder cases, or the workings of investigation and justice in foreign countries, or the power of the press. Or, if you're a reader of Preston's fiction, you may wish to give this one a go. Overall, very good.