Fatal Jealousy: The True Story of a Doomed Romance, a Singular Obsession, and a Quadruple Murder

by Colin McEvoy, Lynn Olanoff

OUT OF CONTROL

June 26, 2010. A Pennsylvania State Trooper, heading home from work, witnesses a car speeding and crashing into trees. Stopping to help, he finds that the driver, Michael Ballard, is alive―and drenched in blood. When asked what happened, the man "I just killed everybody."

OUT OF HIS MIND

Not far from the accident, police make a gruesome discovery in the home of Michael's ex-girlfriend, Denise Mehri. Four bodies are found, stabbed repeatedly with a Denise on the kitchen floor; her grandfather, in his wheelchair; her neighbor, who tried to help; and her father, in a room with a blood-smeared obscenity painted on the wall. How could anyone do something so sinister?

OUT OF TIME…

Michael had already been convicted of murder when he was only eighteen. Despite several misconducts during his time in prison, he was found suitable for parole shortly after his minimum sentence lapsed. But this time, his deadly rampage would not be so easily pardoned. From authors Colin McEvoy and Lynn Olanoff, this is the shocking true story about four innocent people who fell prey to one man's

FATAL JEALOUSY .

Includes 8 pages of dramatic photographs

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 28, 2014

Reviews

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really loved the way this book was written. I hope you both write more. It made you feel like you knew the people .I highly recommend .

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 3 out of 5]

True Crime Commemoration # 16
Setting: 2010 Northampton PA
RTC

[Donna Humble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written with a lot of detail. This book goes from before the crime, to the crime, and the trial. The author also gives an update on the people involved after the trial is finished. I definitely recommend this book.

[The Loopy Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first, I was hooked. The tension was palatable. The authors managed to keep the reader in suspense despite the murderer being obvious from the start. They also conveyed the full horror of the crime without being overly grotesque. But, I wasn’t far into the book when the writers started to lose me. First it was obvious grammatical mistakes that were missed in the editorial process. For example: “Whether Ballard was actually a member the KKK was not immediately clear (p. 48). The “of” is obviously absent and this is but one example of several that I could offer. This is a short book written by two newspaper journalists. Also, I couldn’t escape the feeling that the authors were stretching. Perhaps it was the repetition of facts already mentioned or the odd device of placing people’s thoughts in italics (Did that mean the authors were making these thoughts up? It was hard to know). Many a sentence and even paragraph was devoted to reiterating how horrible this crime was. Indeed it was horrible, but saying so over and over again was redundant and unnecessary. To stretch the story even further, the authors devoted an entire chapter to the War on Drugs and the effect it has had on the prison system. Though interesting, it seemed misplaced in this book about a quadruple homicide. Finally, the authors revealed everything about the murderer, Michael Ballard, from the time of his birth. The victims however were left virtually unknown to the reader except for as they were just prior to death. I wanted to know more about them, so they could be more than just victims of a vicious crime. Still, it was a quick read and somewhat interesting if you are a fan of true crime. I liken it to reading a pretty good magazine article at the doctor’s office. Engrossing enough to pass the time, but easy to put down when your name is called.

[Bonnie Kernene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is basically the story of Michael Ballard and his murder of 4 people: His girlfriend Denise, 2 other family members and a neighbor. The book was well-written and well researched. The authors interviewed this sociopathic killer for about 9 hours, so they did get a lot from him. Including the fact that he did not take any real responsibility for what he did. He blames it all on Denise and his belief that she was cheating on him. So he killed her and the others, rather than being a man and either talking to her or just moving on. His control issues did not allow this. I did like the book, but this killer really riles me up! He is the poster boy for the death penalty and deserves each one of the 4 death sentences he received.

[Stella Gonzales · Rating 1 out of 5]

Difficult keeping my interest

I felt story not written with much interest of author. Several time while reading wanted to close and, put away. Spent too much written about the overcrowding of the American prisons.

[Denise Zendel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was “the shocking, true story of Pennsylvania mass murderer Michael Ballard who received the death sentence for his crimes—includes eight pages of dramatic photos.”

While heading home from work, a Pennsylvania state trooper saw Ballard speeding and crashing into trees. When he stopped to help, he found Ballard alive, bleeding profusely and swimming in blood. When he asked Ballard what happened, Ballard said, “I just killed everybody.” Ballard repeated this statement to just about anyone who would listen.

The story wasn’t particularly shocking, and my version of the book didn’t contain the promised photos, but it was mildly entertaining and I was on the treadmill when I started it, so I persisted.

The writing was fine, the book well-researched, and the authors did a good job of laying out the story. They accurately portrayed the slog of case investigation, and gave a balanced portrayal of the killer and the victims. I’m a fan of good true crime (early Anne Rule and Joel McGinnis); this wasn’t that but it wasn’t horrible either. It was just an OK read for me.

[Teena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written like a newspaper article in that it laid out the story, described the crimes and concluded. There was no incredible revelation, no twists--just a story.

Unlike other readers, I understood the commentary on the drug war in America. I believe the authors felt that with less emphasis on non-violent drug crimes, the killer may have not passed through the system so quickly after his initial murder and the system may have prevented the slaying of four innocent people.

I felt that the murderer also was mentally ill--perhaps life in a mental institution may
have prevented this crime, as well. Certainly, those accused of simple marijuana possession are far less likely to kill in cold blood, yet they clog up prisons and are denied leniency.

[Carly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy true crime and am impressed with the amount of detail in the storytelling, but I think this could have been condensed into a podcast episode. Maybe it's because I have been listening to so many true crime podcasts lately and I'm used to shorter versions, but this book seemed to drag.

It is a story I was not familiar with, so if you want to dive in and learn more about Michael Ballard, read away.

[Linda C Lettau · Rating 4 out of 5]

A page turner:

I have rated this true from novel a four star. It was a page turner for sure. It was a difficult read, the murdering
of five people was just horrible. I have tried to be opened minded because of his childhood abuse and his brain engeries .
His temper etc there was a good side of him , but not much.

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading the story. Although I found the way that Michael thinks and acts towards the crime is just simply disturbing. He has absolutely no remorse for killing Denise and her family. I found the book to be extremely well written and I would recommend this book.

[Katrin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just seemed like the book dragged

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tragic, factual true crime.

[Melissa Patton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great in the beginning, but the book seemed to drag on in the end. A lot of unnecessary information. I started to lose interest.

[Joleen Punches · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last line of the epilogue made my blood run cold. My jaw dropped. Talk about cold blooded.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️audio

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing read about the life and crimes of Michael Ballard, a mass murderer, who killed four people at once and had one further convicted murder he had served time for, committed in his late teens. The authors give emotional character portraits of the victims through the words of family members which is a compelling technique and appreciated in a true crime novel. There is nothing sensationalistic in this portrayal of the case even though at times it does give a fair accounting of the nature of the violence. The authors do have an agenda though and I found that not to my liking; I prefer to read unbiased accounts of crimes. The authors set out to use this crime as an example of the need for parole reform in the state of Pensylvania. There are some chapters which give the history of failed cases of violent offenders who were paroled only to kill again. Micahel Ballard fits this profile. I give them props for going into the full neuropsychological exams of Ballard and while legally sane he was also extensively brain damaged. The authors' agenda was to prove that Pennsylvania is lax in giving death sentences and Ballard's death penalty was a win for the people. Thus, their book ends with that sentence. More on the aftermath would have been appreciated. An unbiased approach would have discussed whether extensively brain damaged people *should* even be put to death for their crimes. Sane people (which Michael was/is) are responsible for their crimes but a book like this that actively comes across in support of executing all violent offenders regardless of mental health comes off cold and unbalanced in its representation of the "truth".

[Shari · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a true crime story, this book was not very suspenseful. However, I found the discussions around the incarceration trends in the US, the handling of minor drug and other non-violent crimes, and the strain that it puts on the system to protect us from truly violent individuals (like Michael Ballard) to be very interesting. The true crime in this story was that Michael Ballard was ever released from prison after his first murder conviction.

[Dayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no doubt about who committed these murders but the authors have done their research and this book is full of information about the victims, the killer and a host of others whose lives were impacted by this event. Also included are some interesting statistics on recidivism and parole, as well as brain injury as it relates to loss of control and anger issues.

[Judith Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been a good read.

The story it's self was interesting but I found myself skipping pages because of all the background information. The book would have been better without it.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

True murder

I love true crime books and this is a good one. This man should definitely be executed but in Pa. it will probably never happen.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ok True Crime story. I zoned out a lot during the story as it wandered around a lot and seemed a bit scattered.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing is terrible.