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Laren Sims was a small-town Florida girl with big city aspirations. She was convinced that she was destined for greater things, but she had no plan or way of how to go about it. People agree that Laren was beautiful, smart, and resourceful; something of which she took advantage. She was an accomplished liar who could get away with almost anything and most people just accepted it. As a teenager she had been in trouble several times with the local police and served time for petty crimes on several occasions. One thing that most people in town could not comprehend was how she became who she was after being raised inside a loving home. It was just never enough for her. When she got the opportunity she left town not to be heard from again for several years. No one had any idea how bad things were going to get. MARKED FOR DEATH tells the story of how Laren survived on the road, constantly switching identities in the hope of finally finding happiness. She would find men who helped her live a lavish and comfortable lifestyle. Once she used them up she disappeared, took a new persona, and repeated the process. She was never a violent person, but she had a lot of cunning as she continued to live her life taking advantage of gullible men. All this came to a crashing halt once she met and married her third husband, Texas attorney Larry McNabney. It is here when she got in over her head, where things went horribly wrong and she wound up killing her husband in September 2001. Brian J Karem does a remarkable job in telling the story of this troubled soul, but makes it a point that this is not just the story of her, but that of her victims as well. The author spent some time interviewing some of the men that Laren conned trying to get a better picture of who she was. Karem spends more time detailing the life of Larry McNabney who went through a lot prior to meeting Laren. He feels that it is essential for readers to know that. McNabney wasn't someone anonymous; he had a life -- one that Laren wanted badly. It is important to learn about these two people in order to understand what happened. MARKED FOR DEATH is a well-written, well-thought out retelling of a shocking murder that did not need to happen, but nevertheless it did. It is a shocking turn of events as each page moves along. In the end it is all a tragedy, no matter where you look. It is a book worth reading.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, November 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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