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

By: Clark Howard

Narrated by: David Colacci

"[This] deeply engaging tale of a teenager who may - or may not - have helped kill her parents [is] a model of evenhanded true-crime writing." (Kirkus Reviews)

Sixteen-year-old Patricia Columbo began working for pharmacist Frank DeLuca, a married father of five, in the 1970s, and the two soon entered into a sexual relationship. Against her father's wishes, Patricia and Frank moved in together. Then, in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, Patricia's father was brutally murdered, along with her mother and 13-year-old brother.

Police were suspicious of Patricia's strange behavior after the bodies were discovered, and following their investigation, they arrested both Patricia and Frank. The details revealed during their trial would horrify the residents of Chicago's middle-class suburbs. This book - informed by extensive interviews with Patricia Columbo in prison - tells the haunting story.

Contains mature themes.

©1993 Clark Howard (P)2021 Tantor

A story I did not know

Growing up in Illinois around this same time, I do not remember anything about this crime. Communication was not what it is today. Throughout the book, it was hard to determine fact from fiction. Having first hand experience of the Illinois court system, it could go either way. I enjoyed listening, and I think this is going to stay with me awhile.

A compelling story not for everyone

Kids shouldn’t be reading true crime anyway and people with Pollyanna stories don’t end up with life sentences. It’s a story that’s gritty, dark and replete with uncomfortable sexual themes. As usual there are tons of unanswered questions and frustrating ineptitude by law enforcement and prosecution officials. The 19 year old, clearly troubled daughter was held more responsible than the multiple full grown adults that surrounded her. I recommend the book to any True Crime fan that can deal with the somewhat graphic child sexual abuse depictions.

Too much time line “weaving”

This is a compelling true crime story, and has all of the “feels” to keep it interesting. However, the constant going back and forth in time — the 1970’s and then the 1990’s — in nearly every chapter was disruptive to the story. It took away from the flow.

Also, many true crime audiobooks open with the details of the crime scene to catch the listener’s attention right away, as did this one, but I wish the author would have saved that for later on. Narration was good enough, but not great for the true crime genre.

Great story. Very well written and narrated.

The detailed narration of this woman’s life with such convincing eloquence makes you want to slap her, and at the same time, you can’t help but feel sorry for her.

GREAT LISTEN

It was awesome. One of the best true crime novels I’ve ever listen to or read. The narrator was incredible, the 16 hours seemed like 2 hours it was that good.