Title: Cold Heart
Author: Kimberly Tilley
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Release Date: December 3, 2020
Page Count: 219
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Read book blurb here
This book surprised me in the best way possible. It could have a rather dull account of an old unsolved murder in turn-of-the century Buffalo, NY but the author does an exceptional job of using first-hand accounts, detective reports, newspaper accounts, etc. and really breathes life into this tale of an ill-fated affair.
Ed Burdick dies in his parlor, bludgeoned to death with a heavy stick. His wife Alice is not at home (they are in the midst of a divorce), and his daughters and mother-in-law in the house heard nothing. Alice is having a long-term affair with Arthur Pennell, a member of their social group, referred to as the Elmwood Avenue set. Arthur's wife Carrie is aware of the affair and apparently has no problem with Arthur and Alice's relationship. There is a long series of starts and stops with the divorce as Alice promises to set aside Arthur, but never does. As Ed's resolve in finalizing the divorce solidifies, he is murdered in his home with a gun nearby and indications that he was frightening of ... someone.
After finishing this book, it lived in my head for quite some time as I tried to figure out who was the killer. We sometimes forget in our world of 24/7 true crime that detectives didn't always have fingerprints, DNA, CCTV and the like to solve crimes with surgical precision. There are no answers, just some titillating possibilities. (Personally I think the mother-in-law had something to do with it, the reaction of the daughters was just plain strange, and the wife was surely a psychopath!)
4.5 stars. I really recommend this book (now available on Kindle Unlimited)!
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