All the Lies They Did Not Tell

The True Story of Satanic Panic in an Italian Community

By: Pablo Trincia, Elettra Pauletto - translator

Narrated by: Adam Barr

The accusations. The suspicions. The devastating impact. This is the true story of the Devils of the Bassa Modenese—the most notorious Satanic Panic investigation in the history of Italy.

In 1997 a six-year-old boy questioned by authorities relayed disturbing stories of abuse. The more he talked, the more people were implicated in his shocking revelations. And he was only the first child to come forward.

Within a year, fifteen more children with similar tales were transferred out of the Bassa region of Italy to protected locations. Their parents were accused of belonging to a satanic sect that performed sex rituals under the aegis of beloved local priest Don Giorgio Govoni. With each child’s confession, the network of monsters grew. Families were torn apart. Lives were forever destroyed—and some ended—as allegations of kidnapping, torture, sacrifice, and murder escalated beyond comprehension.

But what was really happening in the Bassa Modenese?

In this gripping account of the Satanic Panic of the 1990s, investigative journalist Pablo Trincia returns to the scene of the crimes to find the answer. And the truth he uncovers is as terrifying as the lies.

©2019 Giulio Einaudi editore s.p.a., Turin (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2022 by Elettra Pauletto.

Critic reviews

“A difficult read but an eye-opening story best suited for die-hard true-crime fans.”—Kirkus Reviews

“In this harrowing account…Trincia lets the facts speak for themselves. True crime fans won’t want to miss this engrossing tale of mass hysteria and a massive failure of the Italian court system.”—Publishers Weekly

Profoundly Gut Wrenching

I knew nothing about this true crime case. This was a full immersive experience that ended with me in tears. The investigative journalism was thorough while still maintaining everyone’s humanity.

Boring and hard to follow

Although an intriguing story, especially a true case like this one. I became bored and lost interest. I also found it hard to follow along.

Disturbing

This was a disturbing read. The author makes you feel the injustice and the horrors that everyone went through.

Sad, Disturbing and Joyful

This book gave me the emotions in my title as well as many others. How one lie took over like a nasty cancerous tumor that quickly destroys is just shocking!!! That in the end to find out it was for money leaves me speechless. If it was one or two families I could have a little less dislike towards the players in this wicked game but to devastate many children and families in one swoop was too much.
I enjoyed the book because of the awesome work the writer did in researching to bring this situation to life and to me. Great book, great investigative work and great narrator!

All the Lies They Did Not Tell

All the Lies They Did Not Tell: The True Story. of Satanic Panic in an Italian Community I love anything that talks about Italy, especially being born in Florence, I do not remember hearing anything about this but the again it was many years ago. I guess it’s sad, this happens all over the world and we do not hear about this, while this was a disturbing book, it kept me intrigued. If you are a survivor of sex, or abuse, I would not recommend you reading this - it may trigger many hard memories. It was a difficult read, but I did get through this. I listened to the audible book and also read this book in between. I feel very bad for all the families that lost their children.
The author did a great job at getting the information and must of spent many years investigating great job to a tragedy that hit that region of Italy.

Could have been great

The book was really boring. I couldn’t get into it. I usually try to give the books 3 full chapters to give it a chance. I gave this one almost till the end and I just couldn’t get into it at all. The story seems interesting.