Cold a Long Time: An Alpine Mystery

Author John Leake

 

Born in Dallas, Texas, John Leake studied history and philosophy with Sir Roger Scruton at Boston University. He then went to Vienna, Austria on a graduate school scholarship and ended up living in the city for over a decade, working as a freelance writer and translator.  His first book, Entering Hades: The Double Life of a Serial Killer (Sarah Crichton Books, FSG) was a New York Times Sunday Book Review "Editors' Choice," a Men's Vogue "Best Book of 2007," and the inspiration of The Infernal Comedy, starring John Malkovich. 

 

His second book, Cold a Long Time: An Alpine Mystery, was winner of the 2012 Independent Publisher Award. The German translation, Eiskalter Tod, published by the Residenz Verlag, received extensive media coverage in Austria (see Austrian Book Tour) and became a bestseller. His investigative work for the Jack Unterweger, Duncan MacPherson, and Angelika Foeger stories has been the subject of numerous television documentaries produced by A&E Biography, Discovery, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's "Fifth Estate," and the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation's "Am Schauplatz Gericht. German language interview on Austrian National Television

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His third book, which he co-authored with Dr. Peter McCullough, will be released on April 15, 2022 THE COURAGE TO FACE COVID-19: Preventing Hospitalization and Death While Battling the Bio-Pharmaceutical Complex is the story of doctors who developed a safe and effective early treatment for COVID-19 and their battle with the Bio-Pharmaceutical Complex that suppressed it. 

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Leake can be reached at: johnleake@yahoo.com

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John Leake wurde 1970 in Dallas, Texas, geboren. Er studierte Geschichte und Philosophie in Boston und in Wien, wo er schließlich ein ganzes Jahrzehnt lang blieb und als freier Autor und Übersetzer arbeitete. Sein erstes Buch „Der Mann aus dem Fegefeuer: Das Doppelleben des Jack Unterweger“ (2008) erhielt die Auszeichnung „Editors’ Choice“ der „New York Times Sunday Book Review“ und wurde von der „Men’s Vogue“ zum „Best Book of 2007“ gewählt. Es diente außerdem John Malkovich als Vorlage für „The Infernal Comedy“. „Eiskalter Tod“ („Cold A Long Time“) wurde 2012 mit dem „Independent Publisher Award“ ausgezeichnet.

http://oe1.orf.at/programm/333730

Presentation of "Der Mann aus dem Fegefeuer" at the Vienna Court (starting at 1:39 on the timer):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkP42S_QmTk

Presentation on the serial killer Jack Unterweger at the Austrian Parliament. Seated to my right is Ernst Geiger, who led the massive international investigation of this extraordinary criminal whom an FBI Behavioral Sciences psychologist described as a "uniquely high functioning psychopath."

 

Televised presentation of "Eiskalter Tod" (German edition of "Cold a Long Time") at the Thalia Bookshop in Innsbruck.

Four-hour presentation about Cold a Long Time at the Los Angeles regional crime lab--a facility located at the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center at California State University's L.A.campus. The event was hosted by Cal State forensic science professor Donald Johnson and the Los Angeles Visionaries Association.

http://www.lavatransforms.org/crimelabaugust26

With Dr. Lynne Herold (Senior Criminalist at the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept.) on hand to answer hard science questions, I presented the evidence of what happened to Duncan MacPherson so long ago. The eighty-member audience was shocked and astonished that both the Austrian government and press have completely ignored this outrageous story. 

"How could this possibly happen in our day and age?" one woman asked.

Special thanks to Lynne Herold and Professor Johnson for the invitation.

 

At the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center at California State University's L.A.campus

 

My first book was about the Austrian serial killer Jack Unterweger. At the time it was published in the U.S. (November 2007) John Malkovich and the Austrian conductor Martin Haselboeck were in the early stages of collaboration on a theatrical piece that combined music and drama, though they had not yet settled on a story. Malkovich attended my reading at Book Soup in West Hollywood, as he'd already heard about Jack Unterweger and was curious to learn more about the charismatic author and criminal--a man who managed to get a freelance assignment for the ORF to cover the very murders that he himself was committing. Malkovich and Haselboeck ended up producing and touring The Infernal Comedy about Jack's life and crimes. Michael Sturminger wrote the libretto. 

 

Listen to John's recent interview with Dan Russell, host of Sports Talk Live in Vancouver: Click here for Part I (starts at 4:12 on counter). Click here for Part II.