Cold Heart : The Great Unsolved Murder of Turn of the Century Buffalo

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)!

At Any Cost : A Father's Betrayal, a Wife's Murder, and a Ten-Year War for Justice

Title: At Any Cost
Author: Rebecca Rosenberg and Selim Algar
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: April 6, 2021
Page Count: 304
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Please note that "At Any Cost" does not provide much in the way of an in-depth discussion of Rod Covlin and Shele Danishefsky or their respective backgrounds or personalities but rather focuses primarily on the long years it took to bring this case to trial and the subsequent courtroom drama. 

I mention this only because my initial perception of the book was that it was more of a "true crime" work and I had hoped to learn more about the respective personalities in this case. But, what the authors give us is an absolutely heartbreaking story of a woman murdered by her faithless ex-husband, who killed her to get her estate (valued at almost $6M) and the subsequent alienation (and essentially brainwashing) of their two young children. 

Because Rod Covlin is simply such a horrible person, I would have liked to learn more about his upbringing, his school friends, his relationship with his incredibly supportive parents, etc. Rod was incredibly lucky in that a seriously incompetent investigation by New York's "finest" compromised evidence, as well as no initial autopsy due to Shele's strong Jewish faith. And finally, the NYC DA wasn't terribly interested at first in bringing the case to trial. 

But despite this perfect storm of incompetence, the case was finally brought to trial, almost 10 years after Shele's murder, and where this work really shines is in detailing how the case was presented to the court, how the attorneys presented their case, and how all the circumstantial evidence was woven into a strong net to finally catch Rod Covlin. 

The heartbreaking remainder of this case is what has happened to Shele's beloved children, Anna and Myles, who were manipulated and gaslighted by Rod, and continue to believe in his innocence. The crime has been solved, but what lingers is still so sad and unsettled. 3.5 stars for "At Any Cost." 

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.