Marked for Death

by Brian J. Karem

A seasoned investigative reporter takes us behind the scenes of one of the most shocking cases in California history when a greedy and seductive wife brutally murders her devoted husband. Tavia Williams thought her new stepmother was sweet and charming. Tavia, just a few years younger than 36–year–old Elisa McNabney, was very happy for her father, 53–year–old Larry McNabney. Larry was a horse enthusiast, successful attorney, a pillar of the community, and was loved and admired by everyone he knew. For six years of marriage, Larry and Elisa spent their spare time on the country club and horse racing circuit. It was a perfect life, but it went perfectly wrong. On September 10, 2001, Larry attended a horse show. No one has seen him alive since. Months after his disappearance, police finally put out a missing persons report. They soon found out that Elisa McNabney was not the person she had claimed to be. A fugitive on the run, Elisa was a con woman who had enlisted the help of a girlfriend to slowly poison her loving husband with horse tranquilizers, in the name of pure greed. Larry was found buried in a vineyard, after Elisa kept his corpse in her deep freezer for months. The only thing more appalling than the horrific murder was the shocking manhunt that followed and the end to this tragic story of deception, murder, and deadly seduction.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 24, 2005

Reviews

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting story, but the book meanders and repeats itself throughout. If you are interested in this case, you might prefer Carlton Smith's COLD-BLOODED.

[Lorraine Rudy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible

This book rambles on in no chronological order at all, simply restating the limited facts this author bothered to gather. It could have been researched by a high schooler with internet access & is written on about that level also. One of the poorest deliveries of a true crime story I've ever read. Very disappointing.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a pretty interesting read - very detailed about everything that happened why the murder took place to how these ladies were captured - I was glued to my kindle, wondering what was going to happen next. This was great true crime book! Gave it five stars.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't bother wasting your time. Unlike the majority of true crime books that follow an easy to read formula by sticking to a timeline of events; this author is all over the place. In one paragraph he'll touch upon multiple decades. And info is repeated thru out the book. Hard to follow and keep my attention.

[Nolan Stout · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really wild story. It’s a total trainwreck. My only gripe is that in the later chapters there’s so much repetition of stuff from earlier.

[Leigh Podgorski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great Story Jumbled Writing

I was very disappointed in this account. Mr Karen wrote as if he assumed the reader was familiar with this story. There was a lot of repetition, and not much attention paid to good story telling or building of suspense. The second half was better, but over all, not well told.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just could not get over how heartless these two women were. This is not the best True Crime book I have ever read but it by far the worst. It does draws you in from the beginning. Does get a little to detailed for me and I did not care for the lay out of the story. This is such a surreal story that you will not be able to put it down.

[Gregory Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating read. True accounting of a news story from my hometown over a decade ago of a couple of psychopaths who had orchestrated the murder of one woman's husband and the other's boss that had remained in my memory. Incredible callousness and cunning by both killers.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This stuff couldn't be made up. Crazy real life crime story and mystery.

[Karianna Frey · Rating 4 out of 5]

true crime. Well written.