A Cold-Blooded Business

Adultery, Murder, and a Killer's Path from the Bible Belt to the Boardroom

By: Marek Fuchs

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1959, Olathe, Kansas was made famous by the murder of the Clutter family and Truman Capote's ground-breaking book on the crime, In Cold Blood. But fewer know that Olathe achieved notoriety again in 1982, when a member of Olathe's growing Evangelical Christian population, a gentle man named David Harmon, was bludgeoned to death while sleeping - the force of the blows crushing his face beyond recognition.

Suspicion quickly fell on David's wife, Melinda, and his best friend, Mark, student body president of the local bible college. However, the long arms of the church defended the two and no charges were pressed. The case was declared as dead as David Harmon.

Two decades later, two Olathe police officers revived the cold case making startling revelations that reopened old wounds and chasms within the Olathe community - revelations that rocked not only Olathe, but also the two well-healed towns in which Melinda and Mark resided. David's former wife and friend were now living separate, successful, law-abiding lives. Melinda lived in suburban Ohio, a devoted wife and mother of two. Mark had become a Harvard MBA, a high-paid corporate mover, a family man, and a respected community member in a wealthy suburb of New York City. Some twenty years after the brutal murder, each received the dreaded knock of justice at the door.

A Cold-Blooded Business provides fascinating character studies of Melinda and Mark, killers who seemingly returned to normalcy after one blood-splattered night of violence. A fast-moving true crime narrative, A Cold-Blooded Business is a chilling exploration into the darkest depths of the human psyche.

©2013 Marek Fuchs (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Unbelievable what ordinary people do

Highly recommended Audible book! This should be featured in Dateline’s Secrets Uncovered. The people in this true crime story were so normal that I’m still shaking my head that this could’ve ever happened. The book was so well written and narrated that I’ll read it agin one day.

True Crime Jewel

Would you consider the audio edition of A Cold-Blooded Business to be better than the print version?

A true crime junky I am not. I rarely read true crime. This, however, is a jewel both because of the type of people involved and because it was a cold case. The execution of the crime and apprehension of the culprits were separated by 23 years. It was very well written.I consider all audio editions to be better than the print versions.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The type of people involved and the influence of the Nazarene Church in regard to both execution and apprehension.

What three words best describe Kevin T. Collins’s performance?

Not so good. Perhaps this was his first one. His delivery was such that I began to get the feeling that he had recorded each word separately and then a machine had chosen the words and produced the sentences. Kind of weird. I have been known to ditch books when I just couldn't stand the reader, so he was not nearly that bad. At some point I got used to it and did not notice it. Or he got better.

Any additional comments?

The characters were very well developed (unusual in my experience with true crime). This is not a book I would read twice, but I surely recommend reading it once. It is a seven hour read and I had a seven hour drive. I had two other books I could have listened to, but it fully absorbed me for the entire drive.

ACold-Blooded Business

Very interesting story. Always sadder when it is based on real life. The narrator was kind of monotone at times.

If you like true crime, then this is the book

I found that the narrator did a great job. With that said he has a unique style of narration, so you may want listen to the preview before purchasing this.
When it comes to the story fiction could not have been any better. Without giving anything away it left me thinking.

Such a twisted tale of hypocrisy

It was very well told and showed once again how some people with no morals would hide behind religion and itts power players to get away with the most monstrous acts.
Not shocking but very sad

Good Story

This account of a premeditated, brutal murder is an interesting chronicle of the crime and its victims. But I feel the most amazing story is not about the murder but about the man who committed it. His background and stunning accomplishments make what he did almost unbelievable. I want a more sophisticated look at the influences on this very complex personality. No attempt was made to analyse the murderer.

Strange and Chilling Case of Murder

This author did an exemplary job of telling the story of David Harmon's murder and the circumstances surrounding it. To say that the tale is a complicated one is an understatement. As a Christian, I very much appreciate the detail and openness of the way it is told. At first, I was afraid there would be a bias, but there isn't. Religion, of any kind, can be toxic, can be used as a tool to wield against others, to influence, to gain wealth or to suppress truth. It can also be the thing that preserves us, heals us and makes us whole. There are instances of both of these in this sad story of a young man losing his life. The hero in this entire tale is John Harmon, father of David Harmon, who continued to hold on to his faith, after the murder of his only child. His confrontation of the two responsible for the death of his son in the courtroom more than twenty years after his brutal murder is the highlight of this story. John Harmon manages to get to the crux of the matter in a way that no jury ever could. After serving their sentences and being paroled, the two may be out in society again, living as if they had never committed murder. Their money and stature may serve them well in this world . . . but just as John Harmon indicated, there's another world coming, and a judgement that all us humans will have to face. Lord have mercy on their souls . . .

GOOD TRUE CRIME STORY

This is a surprising well-researched account of the not-so-exciting but gory cold-blooded murder of a husband perpetrated by his Bible-thumping wife and her "chaste" religious lover. (Apparently, kissing, necking, heavy petting, and even oral sex isn't REALLY cheating on one's spouse among the white upper echelon!) Wifey was more ashamed of flirting and inappropriate touching than she was of the prolonged, bloody beating of her husband (suspected weapon: a CROWBAR, purchased by her "Boo" right before the crime!

The interesting thing is that these two squares almost got away with the "perfect crime", but were finally brought down after more than 20 years, thanks to a new Cold Cse Squad! Of course, Wifey initially blamed the crime on the "usual two black men in masks" who just happened to show up in her bedroom in the middle of the night to kill her hubby for no apparent reason. The author does a great job giving an indepth and upbeat account of a really senseless crime. The reader can tell that even the author ain't buying it! Especially since the two "lovers" never spoke again after the crime, each going on with "life after murder" like white people do: Harvard MBA, marrying well, excelling spectacularly in business, making COO, multi-million dollar homes, trips around the world, and every day suburban tasks like taking the kiddies to soccer and piano practice. But being such religious people, each should have known that "God don't like ugly" and their indiscretion was just around the corner, waiting to pounce upon them when the time was right!

Ever since my days of "Nancy Drew", I've always been a big devotée of true crime. However, recently the books in the genre have been weak. Are we readers becoming jaded all of a sudden? This book is a rare find! Totally enjoyable with righteous retribution in the end! This, in spite of all-white juriy and an outrageously expensive legal "dream team", including the flamboyant Kennedy family lawyer Mickey Sherman! Unfortunately, the cards are stacked against the lily white defendants. Nobody will walk but, with a bit of luck and a heap of divine intervine, JUSTICE does often prevail and these cold-blooded killers could have hope of seeing their kids! A hope forever denied the victim, a father of 3 - particularly since one of his eyeballs flew across the bedroom during the savage predatory, lying-in-wait, blitz attack- an unprevoked attack premeditated for weeks! Good stuff!

Great story, reader is remedial

The reader reads one word at a time. It’s as if he learned to read two years ago. I’m going to speculate that Audible couldn’t find a professional reader to employ for this endeavor. Read the book and don’t rely on this reader to tell this fascinating story.

It gets better

Like another reviewer, I didn’t think I could get through this book initially. The narrator sounded like he was performing Shakespeare on stage instead of reading a true crime book. That, coupled with the slightly pretentious writing, was almost too much. But I stuck it out and I either got used to the writing and narration or they both got better. It was a good story overall and finished it faster than any book I’ve listened to through Audible so far. Some issues:
1) What’s with the homophobic slurs? The F-word seems totally unnecessary in the story (I mean it’s not like the writer was quoting anyone or anything).
2) What’s the deal with going on and on about how rough Melinda looked and how badly she aged? I mean, I know she’s a shitty excuse for a human, but the author had me thinking she looked like Quasimodo or something. She looked like any other normal middle-aged person from what I could tell when I looked her up online.
3) the descriptions of violence seems a little over-the-top and gratuitous at first. But maybe I was just so shocked at how gruesome the crime was. Anyone, the lessened up as the story went on.

Anyway, I enjoyed it overall.