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author and writer Marek Fuchs

Marek Fuchs is a professor, journalist and volunteer firefighter. Fuchs is The Ellen Kingsley Hirschfeld Chair in Writing at Sarah Lawrence College, where he also serves as the Executive Director of The Journalism and Justice Institute. Better than that, though, he is a state championship winning youth basketball coach.

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Books by Marek Fuchs

Click on the cover of either book to buy


Local Heroes, by Marek Fuchs
Local Heroes: Portraits of American Volunteer Firefighters


“Riveting.” – Parade Magazine

“Beautiful portraits … wonderful homage … grace and elegance … lively text.” – ABC News

“This book is especially relevant.” – Newsday

“Quietly dignified.” – The UK Daily Mail

“Stark portraits and tightly written prose.” – Denver Magazine

“Heartfelt portraiture and pitch-perfect stories.” – Dotphotozine


Book Groups:

If you would like Marek Fuchs to participate with your book group by speaker phone or video feed, please click here to make your inquiry.

(Pictured below: Pompano Pals Book Club, Port Isabel, Texas)


 

“In the tradition of In Cold Blood, this yarn is wonderfully reported, with a terrific sense that only business writer Marek Fuchs can bring to the narrative.” – James Cramer, best selling author and host of “Mad Money”“A killer of a story – tight, relentlessly compelling, and superbly reported.” – James Kaplan, co-author of the #1 New York Timesbestseller You Cannot Be Serious

“Marek Fuchs has written a penetrating portrayal of twisted lust, eager betrayal, a savage murder, and a small town’s long memory. With the drama of a novel and the nuances of a seasoned reporter, he delivers a sober, blood-splashed narrative about justice delayed, but not denied.” – Ron Franscell, best selling author of The Darkest Night

“Readers will be riveted by Fuchs’ debut, which begins with background stories on the major players and testimony by the Harmons’ neighbors, but soon moves on to list key components surrounding the case. A breakneck pace is maintained right up to the final pages.”Kirkus Reviews

“One of the most amazing stories I have ever heard.” – Burl Barer, Edgar Award winning author, speaking on True Crime Radio

“Riveting. Captures your attention from the opening page until last. This must-read book is a story of a love gone wrong.” – Ronald M. Holmes, author of Profiling Violent Crimes: An Investigative Tool

“Marek Fuchs tells a riveting story of love, deceit and murder. He brings to life the conflicts in the lives of the central characters … Fuchs delves into minute detail without ever becoming boring and his research was meticulous.” – Metro Feature Syndicate

“I really, really recommended it, for any number of reasons … buy it. It’s terrific … a fascinating first person observation of a very fascinating trial.” – Mickey Sherman, lawyer for Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel and A Cold Blooded-Business murderer Mark Mangelsdorf

A Cold-Blooded Business is a compelling read and I highly recommend it to those interested in true crime.” – Crime Shadow News

“If Truman Capote’s influence is seen in the title and contents, it’s also being seen in the reviews of first-time true crime author Marek Fuchs’ new book.” – Clews


A Cold-Blooded Business 2nd Edition Paperback Now Out!

A Cold Blooded Business, available in paperback

A Cold Blooded BusinessA Cold Blooded Business, by Marek FuchsA Cold Blooded Business, by Marek Fuchs

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In 1959, Olathe, Kansas was made famous by the murder of the Clutter family and Truman Capote’s ground-breaking book on the crime, In Cold Blood. But fewer know that Olathe achieved notoriety again in 1982, when a member of Olathe’s growing Evangelical Christian population, a gentle man named David Harmon, was bludgeoned to death while sleeping–the force of the blows crushing his face beyond recognition.Suspicion quickly fell on David’s wife, Melinda, and his best friend, Mark, student body president of the local bible college. However, the long arms of the church defended the two and no charges were pressed. The case was declared as dead as David Harmon.

Two decades later, two Olathe policemen revived the cold case making startling revelations that reopened old wounds and chasms within the Olathe community–revelations that rocked not only Olathe, but also the two well-heeled towns in which Melinda and Mark resided. David’s former wife and friend were now living separate, successful, law-abiding lives. Melinda lived in suburban Ohio, a devoted wife and mother of two. Mark had become a Harvard MBA, a high-paid corporate mover, a family man, and a respected community member in a wealthy suburb of New York City. Some twenty years after the brutal murders, each received the dreaded knock of justice on the door.

A Cold-blooded Business provides fascinating character studies of Melinda and Mark, killers who seemingly returned to normalcy after one blood-splattered night of violence. A fast-moving true crime narrative, A Cold-blooded Business is a chilling exploration into the darkest depths of the human psyche.