Perfect Husband: The True Story of the Trusting Bride Who Discovered Her Husband Was a Coldblooded Killer

Describes the attempted murder of Lisa Fotopoulos by her husband Kosta, which brought to light a series of crimes perpetrated by Kosta and his girlfriend, Dierdre

The subtitle pretty well tells it all: in 1985, Lisa Paspalakis, the attractive, intelligent, hard-working daughter of a successful Greek-American businessman with extensive holdings on the boardwalk in Daytona Beach, Fla., was introduced to Greek immigrant Konstantin (Kosta) Fotopoulos. An accountant helping her father to run his business, she was 25 and felt no compulsion to marry. But Kosta--handsome, witty and charming--won her heart very quickly; they were wed. Apart from his obsession with guns, he seemed a normal young man, although resentful that he had to work for his father-in-law. After the sudden death of that father-in-law, for which Kosta later claimed responsibility, he became part-owner of a seedy pool hall, began an affair with a waitress there and schemed to kill his wife. He and the waitress murdered one of the young men who botched the hit, videotaping the murder. On the third attempt, another of Kosta's young hangers-on shot Lisa, who survived; the youth was in turn killed by Kosta. All of Kosta's so-called buddies testified against him; the videotape of the slaying was discovered; and both Kosta and his mistress were found guilty and sentenced to death. Provost ( Across the Border ) tells the tale well, creating an ominous picture of how attractive a sociopath can be.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Blood-chilling case history by Provost (Without Mercy, 1989) of a murderous psycho accepted by his credulous wife and small community. Lisa Paspalakis was the beloved only daughter of a Greek immigrant who had made a business success in Daytona Beach. When she met Kosta Fotopoulos, Lisa found him so charming that the knot was tied in six months. Soon Fotopoulos began angling with Lisa's father for a share in the family enterprises. Receiving $10,000--which he promptly spent on a BMW--but no part of the hard-won businesses, Fotopoulos killed the old man with a dose of mercury. As Lisa mourned her father's ``heart attack,'' Fotopoulos acted the sympathetic and supportive husband. Several flights to Milan produced suitcases of counterfeit C-notes, and soon Fotopoulos was a man of respect with his own business--a tawdry pool hall, Top Shots, that attracted every runaway, hophead, rip-off artist, and street sister in Daytona. There, Fotopoulos met his perfect match in Deidre Hunt--hooker at 15, coke mule at 16, armed robber at 18 (11 months served for shooting a victim four times). With Lisa being the only thing that stood in the way of several million dollars, Fotopoulos and Hunt arranged for a Top Shots drifter to murder her at her office--but the gunman spooked and ran away after showing his pistol. Taking a break from uxoricide, the pair got some kicks with a teenaged acid dealer by tying him to a tree, Hunt shooting him point-blank while Fotopoulos videotaped. Fotopoulos finally found a competent runaway who entered the bedroom and shot Lisa in the head, whereupon Fotopoulos promptly wasted the ``intruder'' with a Walther PPK. Maddeningly, Lisa survived without any brain damage. As she lay in the hospital beginning to suspect her husband for the first time, he was planning to send her a bomb in a potted plant. Psychiatric background is included in Provost's account of this monster's growing madness. A heavy hit for true-crime readers. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.