The Dark Origins of the Story

I’m not sure if “inspiration” is the most appropriate word to explain where the idea for this novel came from, given the appalling nature of the crimes involved, but in any case, it all goes back to Il Mostro di Firenze – the Monster of Florence.

Il Mostro was the name given by the Italian media to the perpetrator – or perpetrators – of a series of terrible double-slayings of courting couples that took place in various countryside locations around Florence between 1968 and 1985.

In all, some 16 deaths (eight double-killings) were attributed to Il Mostro, and they usually followed a similar pattern: both victims were shot dead, and the woman’s body was sometimes mutilated in a fashion that would have appealed to Jack the Ripper.

It took some time before the investigating authorities realised that a single gun linked all these crimes. Quite whether one person or multiple perpetrators were involved was never definitively established, but at various times a number of individuals were arrested, and in one case even convicted — although Pietro Pacciani was freed on appeal and awaiting re-trial when he died of natural causes. So, I guess we’ll never know for sure.

My Connection to Florence

I spent some years in Florence in the mid-1980s, and experienced the collective shock and fear induced by Il Mostro at this time. The horrible mystery of the case has always remained with me, and in some way prompted me to write Flashover, although the details and locations of the novel differ considerably from those of the real-life Mostro.

As a nod to the provenance of the idea, however, I have lent the story an Italian angle in the character of Rick Harrington’s mother, Marisa.

Weaving Politics Into the Story

Having spent my working life as a professional political scientist, I was also drawn to the idea of setting the novel in a political context.

This context reveals itself as the story unfolds, so if you are intrigued by the sample chapters that you can find on this website, then please read on...