Love's Blood The Shocking True Story Of A: Teenager Who Would Do Anything for the Older Man She Loved--Even Kill Her Whole Family. This item is unavailable.Love's Blood The Shocking True Story Of A: Teenager Who Would Do Anything for the Older Man She Loved--Even Kill Her Whole Family

A portrait of a teenage girl convicted in the brutal slayings of her father, mother, and brother looks at the causes, events and aftermath of the crime

Patricia Columbo, born in 1957 in Chicago, was unfortunate in many regards. Her father, a businessman who may have had Mafia ties, idealized her as his "little princess," failing to see her as a real person. Her mother, focused on assuring that the father was never upset, was cold and distant toward her daughter. An uncle abused her sexually throughout her childhood. Then, at age 15, Patricia fell in love with Frank DeLuca, a womanizing pharmacist in his mid-30s who introduced her to many varieties of sex and eventually left his wife and five children for her. Their affair culminated in 1976, when Patricia's father, mother and 13-year-old brother were shot, bludgeoned and stabbed to death in their suburban home. DeLuca and Patricia were found guilty and sentenced to 200- to 300-year prison terms. Howard ( Six Against the Rock ), the first writer to whom Patricia granted interviews, presents a vivid, captivating, exhaustively researched case history (and study of woman as victim). We never learn exactly what happened the night of the murders, however--several versions are offered, and readers are left to make their own determinations. Photos not seen by PW. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections; film rights optioned by Hearst Entertainment.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Deeply engaging tale of a teenager who may--or may not--have helped kill her parents. This is Clark's 20th work of mystery or true crime (Hard City, 1990, etc.). There's no question that Patricia Ann Columbo, 19, and her longtime sexual-sociopath lover, Frank DeLuca, 37, were involved in the murder of Patti's parents and her brother Michael, 13, in the family's Elk Grove Village, Illinois, home on a bloody spring night in 1976. But as the grisly details gather here, you note that Patti is never actually seen with weapon in hand--and by book's end you're likely to conclude that there's considerable evidence that Patti killed no one. Although she conspired with two men she thought were mob hit men to have her parents and brother killed, it seems that Patti's paranoid boyfriend actually did the deed in a fit of fear and rage that erupted during the perfect moment for a triple murder. Guilt fell first on Patti, who, upon her arrest, claimed to be able to remember that night only as if in a vision- -and, by the close here, it becomes clear how the hysterical teenager, who was in the house but not in the murder rooms, could remember the night of the killings only in a surreal way. Much of Howard's story comes from Patti herself, now 37, whom the author interviewed at length in prison, where she's serving a 200-to-300- year sentence. Howard takes no sides and is a model of evenhanded true-crime writing. Although paced for snails, with invented dialogue and much graphic lovemaking, his narrative keeps a tight grip, especially with Patti's forbidden 15-year-old body--and its ripening--as the emotional focus. A rich mix of sex and blood with eroticism too strong for any Amy Fisher-type TV miniseries--though it's a Drew Barrymore natural. (Sixteen pages of b&w photos--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

In 1976, Frank and Mary Columbo and son Michael were slaughtered in their home outside Chicago. The sensational nature of the crime intensified with the arrest and then conviction of the Columbos' 19-yar-old daughter, Patty, and her 38-year-old married lover, Frank DeLuca. Court testimony depicted Patty as a lying slut; stories about her sordid sex life with DeLuca kept the presses turning, and she was even reported later to be the center of a prison sex scandal. But what was her story? Howard, who talked to Patty, here gives a masterful account of both the story heard in court and the story she tells: that of an abused and confused girl struggling with an angry father and a domineering lover with unusual demands. The book's structure, which goes back and forth in time, may be a bit hard to follow at first, but the gripping narrative and the enigmatic, intriguing Patricia Columbo will keep readers involved. Only at the end will they find her version of events, which, Howard says, might not be true--but very well might be. The decision regarding her guilt is up to readers. This absolute spellbinder is highly recommended for all true crime collections. Photos not seen.
- Sally G. Waters, Stetson Law Lib., St. Petersburg, Fla.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.