What do you think?
Rate this book
Crime Files #8
LAST DANCE, LAST CHANCE - and Other True Cases
“America’s best true-crime writer” (Kirkus Reviews) presents an all-new collection of crime stories drawn from her private files and featuring the riveting case of a fraudulent doctor whose lifelong deceptions had deadly consequences.
Dr. Anthony Pignataro was a cosmetic surgeon and a famed medical researcher whose flashy red Lamborghini and flamboyant lifestyle in western New York State suggested a highly successful career. But appearances can be deceiving—and, for the doctor’s wife, very nearly deadly. Now, the motivations of the classic sociopath are plumbed with chilling accuracy by Ann Rule.
Along with other shocking true cases, this worldwide headline-making case will have you turning pages in disbelief that a trusted medical professional could sink to the depths of greed, manipulation, and self-aggrandizement where even slow, deliberate murder is not seen for what it truly pure evil.
Dr. Anthony Pignataro was a cosmetic surgeon and a famed medical researcher whose flashy red Lamborghini and flamboyant lifestyle in western New York State suggested a highly successful career. But appearances can be deceiving—and, for the doctor’s wife, very nearly deadly. Now, the motivations of the classic sociopath are plumbed with chilling accuracy by Ann Rule.
Along with other shocking true cases, this worldwide headline-making case will have you turning pages in disbelief that a trusted medical professional could sink to the depths of greed, manipulation, and self-aggrandizement where even slow, deliberate murder is not seen for what it truly pure evil.
463 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 9, 2001
419 people are currently reading
2694 people want to read
About the author
Ann Rule
141 books4,512 followersAnn Rule was a popular American true crime writer. Raised in a law enforcement and criminal justice system environment, she grew up wanting to work in law enforcement herself. She was a former Seattle Policewoman and was well educated in psychology and criminology.
She came to prominence with her first book, The Stranger Beside Me, about the Ted Bundy murders. At the time she started researching the book, the murders were still unsolved. In the course of time, it became clear that the killer was Bundy, her friend and her colleague as a trained volunteer on the suicide hotline at the Seattle, Washington Crisis Clinic, giving her a unique distinction among true crime writers.
Rule won two Anthony Awards from Bouchercon, the mystery fans' organization. She was nominated three times for the Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. She is highly regarded for creating the true crime genre as it exists today.
Ann Rule also wrote under the name Andy Stack . Her daughter is Goodreads author Leslie Rule.
She came to prominence with her first book, The Stranger Beside Me, about the Ted Bundy murders. At the time she started researching the book, the murders were still unsolved. In the course of time, it became clear that the killer was Bundy, her friend and her colleague as a trained volunteer on the suicide hotline at the Seattle, Washington Crisis Clinic, giving her a unique distinction among true crime writers.
Rule won two Anthony Awards from Bouchercon, the mystery fans' organization. She was nominated three times for the Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. She is highly regarded for creating the true crime genre as it exists today.
Ann Rule also wrote under the name Andy Stack . Her daughter is Goodreads author Leslie Rule.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
February 5, 2019
At the end of the first story, I noticed the criminal was up for parole in 2019. Based on what Ms. Rule has taught me, I expected he'd gotten out earlier and was curious, so I googled his name.
Yes, he did get out early and yes, he's already been found to have committed the exact same crime in at least two different states since his release, although there don't appear to be any pending charges. I find that a bit disconcerting.
Yes, he did get out early and yes, he's already been found to have committed the exact same crime in at least two different states since his release, although there don't appear to be any pending charges. I find that a bit disconcerting.
October 18, 2021
I went through a True Crime re-read this weekend. This is the third book of Rule's I finished. This one was new to me, but the other two works were books I had read before. I recall this case being part of some Discovery Channel series, but here we get into all of the players with Rule following the case of Dr. Anthony (Tony) Pignataro. Readers are going to end up loathing the good doctor and wonder at times what his wife, Deborah, was thinking standing by her man for so long. A very interesting true crime case that you think is done at the halfway mark, but is not.
"Last Dance, Last Chance" follows the case of Dr. Anthony Pignataro. We find that he came from a very well to do family around Buffalo New York. He meets his soon to be wife and then the two of them do long distance while Pignataro finishes up medical school. When the two eventually marry and have a child though, Deborah realizes that Anthony is not who she thinks she is. But she decides to stay in the marriage due to advice from her father. From there Rule follows the family as they constantly move in order for Anthony to get a residence and complete it to be certified. Anthony we find out is kind of awful and no one likes him much. And then the man decides that he doesn't need to follow rules and that's when things start to turn.
I liked this one, but thought the story dragged at times. Rule does her thing when she gives background on all the players (which I didn't mind this time). I think what shocked me though is that so many people didn't realize that Anthony had no business practicing medicine. One wonders if he was the first Dr. Death that everyone knew was a bad doctor, but everyone just ignored it cause of a weird medical code that seemed to be going on.
"Last Dance, Last Chance" follows the case of Dr. Anthony Pignataro. We find that he came from a very well to do family around Buffalo New York. He meets his soon to be wife and then the two of them do long distance while Pignataro finishes up medical school. When the two eventually marry and have a child though, Deborah realizes that Anthony is not who she thinks she is. But she decides to stay in the marriage due to advice from her father. From there Rule follows the family as they constantly move in order for Anthony to get a residence and complete it to be certified. Anthony we find out is kind of awful and no one likes him much. And then the man decides that he doesn't need to follow rules and that's when things start to turn.
I liked this one, but thought the story dragged at times. Rule does her thing when she gives background on all the players (which I didn't mind this time). I think what shocked me though is that so many people didn't realize that Anthony had no business practicing medicine. One wonders if he was the first Dr. Death that everyone knew was a bad doctor, but everyone just ignored it cause of a weird medical code that seemed to be going on.
June 21, 2022
Last Dance, Last Chance follows the same general format as other entries in Ann Rule's "Crime Files" series. She begins with a case on which she has done a fair amount of legwork and research, which takes up the bulk of the book, before concluding with a series of undernourished treatments that hearken back to her days as a writer of magazine articles. The briefer entries always evaporate from your memory, so the books in this series really stand or fall on the strength of the title cases. "Last Dance, Last Chance" is the story of an incompetent plastic surgeon with delusions of grandeur, who graduates from medical malpractice (resulting in the death of a woman during a breast implant surgery and a very lucky escape for at least one more patient) to poisoning his wife. Rule does a good job documenting the story of strange, arrogant Anthony Pignataro, as well as its fallout, but he's not exactly Ted Bundy, is he? Anyway, I definitely prefer Rule's single-case books to these compilations.
January 2, 2017
*"Last Dance, Last Chance": Buffalo NY 1999: Anthony Pignataro capped off a long and despicable history of medical malfeasance by attempting to murder his wife as part of a convoluted plot to clear himself of culpability in the death of a woman who came to him for breast-augmentation surgery. Despite the phenomenal amount of arsenic Deborah Pignataro's doctors found in her system, some twenty times the naturally-occurring rate of arsenic in the human body, she survived. Pignataro pled guilty and was paroled in 2013.
*"The Accountant": In Seattle in 1948, Jack Gasser murdered Donna Woodcock (beaten, raped, strangled with her own bra, and sexually mutilated after death). Sentenced to life without possibility of parole, he was nevertheless paroled in 1962. He violated his parole in 1964 and was sent back to prison, then was paroled again in 1969. Got an accounting degree; got a job as a state auditor, traveling around Washington state; got married. Got divorced in 1981. Murdered another woman in 1982. (And as Rule points out, there are plenty of unsolved murders between 1969 and 1982 that might be his work as well.) As of 2003, he was 74 and still imprisoned.
*"The Killer Who Begged to Die": James Elledge beat a motel owner to death with a ballpeen hammer in 1974. He was paroled and reincarcerated, paroled and reincarcerated, paroled for the last time in 1995 and murdered again in 1998. He said there was something evil in him that he couldn't control. He refused to allow his defense attorney to argue against the death penalty and refused to allow him to file appeals. Elledge died by lethal injection in 2001.
*"The Beach": Moclips WA 1975: William Batten picked up two girls hitchhiking, took them to Moclips, then that night found them where they were camping on the beach and murdered them. He was caught partially because of the knots he used to tie their hands, which were exactly the same as the knots he'd used eight years previously when he kidnapped several young boys, tied them to trees, and threatened to castrate them. (He was sent to Western Washington State Hospital's sexual psychopath program and "released shortly thereafter." Rule's had things to say about the culpable negligence of that particular program in earlier books in her Crime Files series.)
*"The Desperate Hours": Kent WA 1963: man murders his girlfriend's mother because he thinks she's broken up their relationship, murders his best friend in order to steal his car (which then doesn't start), then invades the home of a woman alone with her three small children, kidnaps her, forces her to drive him to his brother's house, then when the brother (not realizing that the poor woman is a captive) refuses to help, forces her to keep driving him until law-enforcement officers mercifully force them off the road. Psychiatrists argued about whether he was psychotic, schizophrenic, sociopathic, and whether he was or was not legally sane. He was found sane and guilty and sentenced to death in 1971. The death sentence was commuted to life, and the "life" sentence, as per usual, fell a fair ways short. He was paroled in 1991.
*"The Accountant": In Seattle in 1948, Jack Gasser murdered Donna Woodcock (beaten, raped, strangled with her own bra, and sexually mutilated after death). Sentenced to life without possibility of parole, he was nevertheless paroled in 1962. He violated his parole in 1964 and was sent back to prison, then was paroled again in 1969. Got an accounting degree; got a job as a state auditor, traveling around Washington state; got married. Got divorced in 1981. Murdered another woman in 1982. (And as Rule points out, there are plenty of unsolved murders between 1969 and 1982 that might be his work as well.) As of 2003, he was 74 and still imprisoned.
*"The Killer Who Begged to Die": James Elledge beat a motel owner to death with a ballpeen hammer in 1974. He was paroled and reincarcerated, paroled and reincarcerated, paroled for the last time in 1995 and murdered again in 1998. He said there was something evil in him that he couldn't control. He refused to allow his defense attorney to argue against the death penalty and refused to allow him to file appeals. Elledge died by lethal injection in 2001.
*"The Beach": Moclips WA 1975: William Batten picked up two girls hitchhiking, took them to Moclips, then that night found them where they were camping on the beach and murdered them. He was caught partially because of the knots he used to tie their hands, which were exactly the same as the knots he'd used eight years previously when he kidnapped several young boys, tied them to trees, and threatened to castrate them. (He was sent to Western Washington State Hospital's sexual psychopath program and "released shortly thereafter." Rule's had things to say about the culpable negligence of that particular program in earlier books in her Crime Files series.)
*"The Desperate Hours": Kent WA 1963: man murders his girlfriend's mother because he thinks she's broken up their relationship, murders his best friend in order to steal his car (which then doesn't start), then invades the home of a woman alone with her three small children, kidnaps her, forces her to drive him to his brother's house, then when the brother (not realizing that the poor woman is a captive) refuses to help, forces her to keep driving him until law-enforcement officers mercifully force them off the road. Psychiatrists argued about whether he was psychotic, schizophrenic, sociopathic, and whether he was or was not legally sane. He was found sane and guilty and sentenced to death in 1971. The death sentence was commuted to life, and the "life" sentence, as per usual, fell a fair ways short. He was paroled in 1991.
October 31, 2013
A so-so read from Ann Rule who is America's foremost writer of true crime. This book is made up of one novelette and three short stories. This novelette, Last Dance, Last Chance save this book from getting a lower rating. It is the chilling story of a doctor who is a total charlatan, loses his license and then decides to poison his loving wife for a rather obscure reason. Not a case I have heard of but it is interesting enough to hold your interest. The rest of the book reads like a series of magazine articles of various crimes. Not one of Rule's best efforts by any means.
July 22, 2023
Just recently read this one. All I can think is: damn, I miss Rule.
She sure can tell a story. For those who don't know, Rule (RIP) was a crime writer and I've been reading her books for many years.
This one is not about any one crime. It's about a bunch of them. Rule often did that. In addition to single novels, often we'd get some books focusing on many crimes as shorter stories. This was one that I hadn't read.
There really isn't any Rule book, I didn't rate highly and this is no different. She was an incredible writer. If one enjoys true crime, check out Rule's books.
She sure can tell a story. For those who don't know, Rule (RIP) was a crime writer and I've been reading her books for many years.
This one is not about any one crime. It's about a bunch of them. Rule often did that. In addition to single novels, often we'd get some books focusing on many crimes as shorter stories. This was one that I hadn't read.
There really isn't any Rule book, I didn't rate highly and this is no different. She was an incredible writer. If one enjoys true crime, check out Rule's books.
April 19, 2019
Good, solid Ann Rule classic of true crime cases. This volume has one story that takes up about half the book, and then several shorter stories.
Though I'm sure she didn't have a choice in the matter, one thing I don't understand is why the convicted criminals' names were changed to protect their identities, especially since they were murderers and repeat offenders. They also weren't pictured most of the time. I think once you've committed that kind of crime, your right to privacy is outweighed by the public's right to safety. Unbelievable that the criminal in the last case is walking around free, even though he strangled a woman, shot a man, and kidnapped a mother of three.
Though I'm sure she didn't have a choice in the matter, one thing I don't understand is why the convicted criminals' names were changed to protect their identities, especially since they were murderers and repeat offenders. They also weren't pictured most of the time. I think once you've committed that kind of crime, your right to privacy is outweighed by the public's right to safety. Unbelievable that the criminal in the last case is walking around free, even though he strangled a woman, shot a man, and kidnapped a mother of three.
July 7, 2017
Rule hits another one out of the park!
July 2, 2022
What to say about an Ann Rule book? She pulls no punches. One of the most famous true-crime writers, the one who wrote the 'Bible' on Ted Bundy, a killer she personally knew, This book is about Anthony Pignataro and his wife, Debbie. An egotistical and narcissistic doctor to the nth degree. A man you will hate from Page One.
Ann Rule writes in a matter-of-fact, straightforward way. She writes like a newspaper writer, which she once was, and the story moves along chronologically, with only occasionally falling into a back story. She paints a grim picture in this one, the true story of a woman from a poor background falling for a man from a more wealthy and established (Buffalo, NY) family. Anthony Pignataro's got looks, charisma, and supposedly great intelligence. Son of a doctor, he sets out to follow his father's path...
Then doesn't. He's so weird you can't believe a woman would stick with him for years and years. What happens is Debbie paints a picture in her head of what she 'wants' her husband to be, then fits him into it. If he lies, steals, cheats, exaggerates, and complains incessantly that all his failures are due to those around him, she accepts it, integrating it into the picture of the family she needs and wants to have. She's a doormat.
But even a doormat deserves more than she gets. To say much more is to ruin the entire book for anyone who hasn't read it, but want to do so. It's one of Ann Rule's good ones. I found this book in a small book drop outside a local grocery store and said, why not? I had four books to drop; I picked up this one. If a reader is looking for a story about love, life and how one heinous individual - and a doctor! - can ruin himself, his family and many of those in his circle of acquaintances, patients and so on - this is the one to read.
There are a few other short true-crime stories in this book, too, each quite interesting. But the main tale is the one of Debbie and Anthony Pignataro.
Four stars.
Ann Rule writes in a matter-of-fact, straightforward way. She writes like a newspaper writer, which she once was, and the story moves along chronologically, with only occasionally falling into a back story. She paints a grim picture in this one, the true story of a woman from a poor background falling for a man from a more wealthy and established (Buffalo, NY) family. Anthony Pignataro's got looks, charisma, and supposedly great intelligence. Son of a doctor, he sets out to follow his father's path...
Then doesn't. He's so weird you can't believe a woman would stick with him for years and years. What happens is Debbie paints a picture in her head of what she 'wants' her husband to be, then fits him into it. If he lies, steals, cheats, exaggerates, and complains incessantly that all his failures are due to those around him, she accepts it, integrating it into the picture of the family she needs and wants to have. She's a doormat.
But even a doormat deserves more than she gets. To say much more is to ruin the entire book for anyone who hasn't read it, but want to do so. It's one of Ann Rule's good ones. I found this book in a small book drop outside a local grocery store and said, why not? I had four books to drop; I picked up this one. If a reader is looking for a story about love, life and how one heinous individual - and a doctor! - can ruin himself, his family and many of those in his circle of acquaintances, patients and so on - this is the one to read.
There are a few other short true-crime stories in this book, too, each quite interesting. But the main tale is the one of Debbie and Anthony Pignataro.
Four stars.
March 20, 2009
Ann Rule is always captivating in her story telling. She takes your mind and emotions with her into the thick darkness of the criminal world. Her books are hard to put down once you start. As the victim's in the story start running, you, the reader start breathing harder as well.
July 16, 2009
I thought Last Dance Last Chance was boring. The only part that I thought was somewhat interesting were the short stories at the very end.
July 12, 2016
It's been a while since I've read anything by Anne Rule, now I remember why. She writes of these criminals and their victims so vividly that they get into your head. I need to get them out now!
August 31, 2021
Interesting case! This all happened in my hometown, so it was particularly fascinating to me. Sad that the bastard is free now and up to his old tricks in Florida.
September 12, 2020
Vol. 8 of Ann Rule's Crime Files Books, which was centered around infamous Brooklyn-based plastic surgeon and his wife. No, it's not your serial killer story. It's quite dragging, focusing more on the struggles of the victimized wife (the author's trademark). The book contains 4 more short stories and one thing about all of these stories is, the perpetrators are still alive and some are already out there living with us.
July 25, 2013
Very enjoyable. The first story reminded me of this of Stalin and his son before WWII.
Apparently, Stalin was a horrific father. He had at least three kids, two boys and a girl. The girl fled to America and the boys were killed in WWII.
However, before WWII broke out, one of his sons decided to kill him. Why? Ah, hell! Come on! Why wouldn't he want to? There's just too much to write on that topic.
This was his first of two attempts. The later attempt succeeded (because suicide is much more preferable to allowing his father to execute him for the high crime of getting himself captured by the Germans.) This time, however, he ran up to his room, grabbed his gun, and shot himself.
After the family was made aware of this, Stalin said "He can't even shoot straight."
The first story in this book involves a Narcissistic doctor. He was smart but his narcissism tended to get him kicked out. He tried five different hospitals in his attempt to finish the two year service before certification. He was always let go and he eventually forged papers that let him take the certification tests.
So, after killing patients that he truly hadn't meant to, he decided to kill his wife. He gave her enormous amounts of arsenic. She had levels of arsenic poisons the worst they'd ever seen. She survived. No one thought she would. It was unheard of.
So what's this have to do with Stalin? Well, I couldn't help thinking about how ironic this doctor was. He couldn't even kill a person on purpose. XD
Apparently, Stalin was a horrific father. He had at least three kids, two boys and a girl. The girl fled to America and the boys were killed in WWII.
However, before WWII broke out, one of his sons decided to kill him. Why? Ah, hell! Come on! Why wouldn't he want to? There's just too much to write on that topic.
This was his first of two attempts. The later attempt succeeded (because suicide is much more preferable to allowing his father to execute him for the high crime of getting himself captured by the Germans.) This time, however, he ran up to his room, grabbed his gun, and shot himself.
After the family was made aware of this, Stalin said "He can't even shoot straight."
The first story in this book involves a Narcissistic doctor. He was smart but his narcissism tended to get him kicked out. He tried five different hospitals in his attempt to finish the two year service before certification. He was always let go and he eventually forged papers that let him take the certification tests.
So, after killing patients that he truly hadn't meant to, he decided to kill his wife. He gave her enormous amounts of arsenic. She had levels of arsenic poisons the worst they'd ever seen. She survived. No one thought she would. It was unheard of.
So what's this have to do with Stalin? Well, I couldn't help thinking about how ironic this doctor was. He couldn't even kill a person on purpose. XD
October 4, 2017
Your basic Ann Rule story where she writes her characters so well and vividly you feel like you know them. The main story was quite chilling, but not in a macabre sense. What made it so frightening is that Tony Pignataro was a practicing doctor (and now we know why them call them 'practicing' because it turns out we're all guinea pigs) who used his authority as a doctor to do whatever medical procedure he pleased whether he knew how to or not. His surgical standards were nowhere near code yet he just kept chugging along, his patients unaware. It appears he was censored several times but still allowed to keep on doing what he was doing. Fascinating tale and quite surprising that one of Tony's victims managed to live through what he did to her. The other stories in the book were interesting too but I have a hard time with short stories--you just start getting into them when boom, they are over.
July 4, 2008
You probably already know that Rule writes true crime stories. Last Dance... contains about 5 stories. SAdly, as a somewhat desensitized, modern American, the stories don't stack up against other horrific thrillers, until you remember that you are reading about actual killers and actual victims. Then, it becomes a bit disturbing. I haven't read any other Ann Rule books, although someone gave me two more of her books, but I suspect she has better books out there than this.
August 5, 2011
I don't know why I like true crime, and I don't think Ann Rule is a good writer, but there's something really enjoyable about reading these "Crime Files" books. Maybe it's similar to that morbid fascination that makes one slow down and look for blood when passing by a car accident.
August 7, 2018
This was more interesting than the usual anthology, partly because a couple of the stories took place in locations and times that have links to my husband's life. The main story, about a criminally incompetent doctor, is fascinating.
May 22, 2019
Interesting cases, but the first case was filled with too many tedious details. I feel like it could have been a lot shorter.
November 27, 2020
"guns don't kill people, but cosmetic surgery often does."
Social Selection Theory postulates that each individual enters the social order with a specific set of attributes which distinguish him or her from all others. This is the basic postulate from which all other conclusions may be derived. To illustrate how this works, let us set one Anthony Pignataro in motion. We trace these movements from his conviction-"Anthony Pignataro was the first medical doctor in the region's history to be convicted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide"(Rule, page 150)-to his entrance in the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden, New York. Currently this detention facility holds over 800 inmates under the paternal gaze of Timothy Howard, Sheriff. At this time you find that Erie County Correctional Facility is a "New Generation" detention center with open bays, pods, and rows of brightly colored cell doors, lending a light flavor to the surroundings. The emphasis on empty space encourages inmates to consider their privileges and freedoms, though restricted in scope.
"Anthony was used to the best in life, and he considered himself in the upper echelon of society, both in terms of intelligence and in breeding."
Apparently entering the jail system was a shock and a blow to his self-esteem. He didn't "technically" belong in such an environment; he was too good for prison. Now, perhaps for the first time in his life "he was forced to mingle with people he never associated with before." (Rule, page 150) For Anthony there were two categories of people, patients, people who might or might not be in his class, and peers, people who were accustomed to living the way he was. The cold prison walls required a new set of calculations: he would survive, but it would require calling up his reserves in social charm.
Immediately upon entering the prison/jail system, Anthony's only thoughts, far from remorse for his crimes, was speculation that he would soon be a target. Little did he understand that Anthony was now "a pigeon to be plucked." (Rule, page 151)
As Social Selection Theory requires, when individuals of different attributes meet in a 'common area' they formulate hypotheses about the unknown Other. For the African-American inmates, with their focus on hair style, Anthony was awarded with the honorific "Frankenstein" because of the bolts on display in his head, since wearing a toupee in prison was against regulations. Just as the fantasmagoria of the African-American imagination required invention, so did Anthony's reception of the kindness shown by another inmate, Arnie, who Anthony viewed as "my guardian angel."
As any reader can see, Social Selection Theory is the groundwork for exploring/analyzing/explaining the legions of mythical entities created by the human mind. When an individual finds himself/herself in the wrong/place/wrong/time, the mind generates through its defensive posture a new set of attributes to stabilize the inherent instability of awkwardness.
Social Selection Theory postulates that each individual enters the social order with a specific set of attributes which distinguish him or her from all others. This is the basic postulate from which all other conclusions may be derived. To illustrate how this works, let us set one Anthony Pignataro in motion. We trace these movements from his conviction-"Anthony Pignataro was the first medical doctor in the region's history to be convicted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide"(Rule, page 150)-to his entrance in the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden, New York. Currently this detention facility holds over 800 inmates under the paternal gaze of Timothy Howard, Sheriff. At this time you find that Erie County Correctional Facility is a "New Generation" detention center with open bays, pods, and rows of brightly colored cell doors, lending a light flavor to the surroundings. The emphasis on empty space encourages inmates to consider their privileges and freedoms, though restricted in scope.
"Anthony was used to the best in life, and he considered himself in the upper echelon of society, both in terms of intelligence and in breeding."
Apparently entering the jail system was a shock and a blow to his self-esteem. He didn't "technically" belong in such an environment; he was too good for prison. Now, perhaps for the first time in his life "he was forced to mingle with people he never associated with before." (Rule, page 150) For Anthony there were two categories of people, patients, people who might or might not be in his class, and peers, people who were accustomed to living the way he was. The cold prison walls required a new set of calculations: he would survive, but it would require calling up his reserves in social charm.
Immediately upon entering the prison/jail system, Anthony's only thoughts, far from remorse for his crimes, was speculation that he would soon be a target. Little did he understand that Anthony was now "a pigeon to be plucked." (Rule, page 151)
As Social Selection Theory requires, when individuals of different attributes meet in a 'common area' they formulate hypotheses about the unknown Other. For the African-American inmates, with their focus on hair style, Anthony was awarded with the honorific "Frankenstein" because of the bolts on display in his head, since wearing a toupee in prison was against regulations. Just as the fantasmagoria of the African-American imagination required invention, so did Anthony's reception of the kindness shown by another inmate, Arnie, who Anthony viewed as "my guardian angel."
As any reader can see, Social Selection Theory is the groundwork for exploring/analyzing/explaining the legions of mythical entities created by the human mind. When an individual finds himself/herself in the wrong/place/wrong/time, the mind generates through its defensive posture a new set of attributes to stabilize the inherent instability of awkwardness.
October 13, 2021
Bryce Converse
Mrs. Neff
LA9G 2
11 October 2021
Dr. Anthony Pignataro was capable of many things. Such as staying with his wife after being caught having an affair with another woman, and even murdering multiple innocent victims and playing it off as an “accident”. Although he seems to be able to deceive those around him, finding a way out of difficult situations, can he get away with murdering his wife? My overall opinion of the book is that it was a decent read. I didn’t find it to be amazing or even super interesting throughout; but certain parts of the mystery were interesting to read about. I felt that the story was weak in the area of keeping the reader captivated with its storytelling. While yes some areas of the book were attention grabbing, most of the book was just stating facts and was hard to pay attention to for extended periods of time. The biggest appeal of the book was the mystery itself. The crimes that Dr. Pignataro was so captivating which made the book somewhat enjoyable. Although I feel that if the story telling had used more descriptive vocabulary and possibly epithets throughout, the book would have been much more of a fun read. A quote from the book that really stood out to me is when the book states, “ Debbie's children were the most precious thing in the world to her. She would walk over hot coals for them.” This quote stood out to me because it puts Debbie (Dr. Anthonys wife) in a very respectable light making her seem generous and caring. Meanwhile her husband is committing murders and she will soon be one of his victims.
Mrs. Neff
LA9G 2
11 October 2021
Dr. Anthony Pignataro was capable of many things. Such as staying with his wife after being caught having an affair with another woman, and even murdering multiple innocent victims and playing it off as an “accident”. Although he seems to be able to deceive those around him, finding a way out of difficult situations, can he get away with murdering his wife? My overall opinion of the book is that it was a decent read. I didn’t find it to be amazing or even super interesting throughout; but certain parts of the mystery were interesting to read about. I felt that the story was weak in the area of keeping the reader captivated with its storytelling. While yes some areas of the book were attention grabbing, most of the book was just stating facts and was hard to pay attention to for extended periods of time. The biggest appeal of the book was the mystery itself. The crimes that Dr. Pignataro was so captivating which made the book somewhat enjoyable. Although I feel that if the story telling had used more descriptive vocabulary and possibly epithets throughout, the book would have been much more of a fun read. A quote from the book that really stood out to me is when the book states, “ Debbie's children were the most precious thing in the world to her. She would walk over hot coals for them.” This quote stood out to me because it puts Debbie (Dr. Anthonys wife) in a very respectable light making her seem generous and caring. Meanwhile her husband is committing murders and she will soon be one of his victims.
May 21, 2022
I have always enjoyed Ann Rule's true crime books.
Last Dance, Last Chance is the longest and the most interesting story in this collection.
Anthony Pignataro was a narcissist who was overconfident in all aspects of his life
and totally self-centered. He fudged his medical credentials and because no hospital would give him the right to practice in their facilities, he performed operations at his own clinic with no
anesthesiologist and only a very inexperienced LPN , his wife who had no medical training and
a high school student. He always insisted he was a top notch doctor who could handle anything.
When a patient dies, he pled guilty to criminally negligent homicide. He lost his license to practice medicine and his spiraled downward. He was always a heavy drinker and used drugs. His wife,
Debbie stood by him even though he was not faithful to her. Then he started to poison her with
arsenic. She was lucky to survive. True to form, he still begged her to forgive him and preserve
their marriage.
The other stories are much shorter, do not go into the depths of Last Dance, and are not as
interesting.
Last Dance, Last Chance is the longest and the most interesting story in this collection.
Anthony Pignataro was a narcissist who was overconfident in all aspects of his life
and totally self-centered. He fudged his medical credentials and because no hospital would give him the right to practice in their facilities, he performed operations at his own clinic with no
anesthesiologist and only a very inexperienced LPN , his wife who had no medical training and
a high school student. He always insisted he was a top notch doctor who could handle anything.
When a patient dies, he pled guilty to criminally negligent homicide. He lost his license to practice medicine and his spiraled downward. He was always a heavy drinker and used drugs. His wife,
Debbie stood by him even though he was not faithful to her. Then he started to poison her with
arsenic. She was lucky to survive. True to form, he still begged her to forgive him and preserve
their marriage.
The other stories are much shorter, do not go into the depths of Last Dance, and are not as
interesting.
August 28, 2023
In this volume (8) of Ann Rule’s crime files, she describes in chilling detail the unimaginable true story of Dr. Anthony Pignataro, a greedy and manipulative cosmetic surgeon who would kill anyone who got in the way of his master plan. Whether the murder weapon was a scalpel, drugs, or deadly arsenic, no one was safe from the egomaniacal sociopath - not even the doctor’s loving, unsuspecting, and devoted wife.
Dr. Anthony Pignataro’s story will shock you; maybe even - temporarily - rock your faith in a profession that is bound by a Hippocratic Oath that pledges a physician “to prescribe only beneficial treatments according to his abilities and judgment; to refrain from causing harm or hurt; and to live an exemplary personal and professional life.” Dr. Anthony Pignataro -society’s worst nightmare - ignored EVERY single aspect of that pledge, until his heinous acts caught up with him and justice was served.
A highly emotional read.
Dr. Anthony Pignataro’s story will shock you; maybe even - temporarily - rock your faith in a profession that is bound by a Hippocratic Oath that pledges a physician “to prescribe only beneficial treatments according to his abilities and judgment; to refrain from causing harm or hurt; and to live an exemplary personal and professional life.” Dr. Anthony Pignataro -society’s worst nightmare - ignored EVERY single aspect of that pledge, until his heinous acts caught up with him and justice was served.
A highly emotional read.
September 7, 2017
You just can't make stuff like this up; no one would believe it! The novella is about a man from an upper middle class family who wanted to be a Dr. Since he couldn't do it the traditional way, he did it himself. He printed up his own diplomas and accreditations, opened a clinic where he did surgeries in the basement. He was successful, if by that you mean he drove a Lamborghini. However the basement surgery room had nothing in case a patient went into crisis. Not a smart move, considering no there was no anesthesiologist on staff!
This book is great for anyone who works in the medical field. You will not believe what you are reading!
If you do read this book, be sure to Google the " doctor". He was released from prison last year and went right back into " practice"!! Unbelievable !!!
This book is great for anyone who works in the medical field. You will not believe what you are reading!
If you do read this book, be sure to Google the " doctor". He was released from prison last year and went right back into " practice"!! Unbelievable !!!
September 24, 2019
“In a sense, all my stories are about liars. Some of the killers I write about have lied all their lives, and some have lied only to throw their victims off balance so that they become vulnerable.”
I really feel like Ann Rule was the very best at writing true crime, and Last Dance, Last Chance was no exception to this. The main story followed a narcissistic doctor on his path of killing patients and eventually poisoning his wife. Anne Rule always does a great job at looking at the why’s of the cases she writes about and gets into the backgrounds of all the players involved including the investigators of the case. This story was concerning and captivating. I give this book 5 stars and am glad I have so many Ann Rule books left to read.
I really feel like Ann Rule was the very best at writing true crime, and Last Dance, Last Chance was no exception to this. The main story followed a narcissistic doctor on his path of killing patients and eventually poisoning his wife. Anne Rule always does a great job at looking at the why’s of the cases she writes about and gets into the backgrounds of all the players involved including the investigators of the case. This story was concerning and captivating. I give this book 5 stars and am glad I have so many Ann Rule books left to read.
May 20, 2022
3.5 Stars
Young Debbie professed her attraction to a handsome and equally young man. After Debbie’s confession, Anthony chose to break up with his girlfriend at the time to pursue the woman who would become his wife. The couple persevered through many years of medical school, the loss of children, and plenty of money troubles. Despite seeming to overcome it all, their love story was far from over. The curtain wouldn’t close without malpractice, infidelity, drugs, and murder.
I greatly enjoy Ann Rule’s ability to tell real life crime stories like they are a thriller novel. I also appreciate how much energy and attention she awards to victims of crimes as opposed to glorifying the killers. All in all, this is a good continuation of her Crime Files Series.
Young Debbie professed her attraction to a handsome and equally young man. After Debbie’s confession, Anthony chose to break up with his girlfriend at the time to pursue the woman who would become his wife. The couple persevered through many years of medical school, the loss of children, and plenty of money troubles. Despite seeming to overcome it all, their love story was far from over. The curtain wouldn’t close without malpractice, infidelity, drugs, and murder.
I greatly enjoy Ann Rule’s ability to tell real life crime stories like they are a thriller novel. I also appreciate how much energy and attention she awards to victims of crimes as opposed to glorifying the killers. All in all, this is a good continuation of her Crime Files Series.
August 31, 2022
Ann Rule’s books are always interesting reads! This one was largely about a doctor in upstate NY whom had delusions of grandeur regarding his skills as a doctor. He didn’t really even qualify as a doctor or a plastic surgeon and yet, he ended up practicing medicine. How does this even happen? In addition to killing some patients, he attempts to kill his wife by poisoning - what a catch he was! Reading true accounts like this make you wonder how people don’t see what’s happening in front of them. How did this wife stand by her husband and not realize that she was being made sick by him? It was pretty obvious!
January 3, 2024
There are several true crime stories in this book, but I picked it up out of interest in the main story about Anthony Pignataro, because of our connection to Buffalo and the medical community there. Pignataro was doing sketchy plastic surgery for which he was not certified, and he was first in court for the 1996 death of one of his patients; later, he was convicted and served time for poisoning his wife--a horrifying story. The other cases covered in the book occurred in the Pacific Northwest, where Ann Rule was based. This book could have used a little editing, but Rule's work is very readable and well researched.
November 10, 2022
I was going to give this 3 stars because sometimes true crime is just what hits the spot, but I just simply couldn’t when I got to this passage “The air smelled of honeysuckle and the salty spray of Lake Erie”
There are many things that Lake Erie smells like, but salty water is most certainly not one of them.
(But in my googling to just 100% make sure that I didn’t somehow miss learning in my (midwestern!) elementary school that Erie was actually a salt lake, I did learn that there’s a huge salt mine UNDER Erie near Cleveland, so almost (not really at all) right, Ann Rule & editors…)
There are many things that Lake Erie smells like, but salty water is most certainly not one of them.
(But in my googling to just 100% make sure that I didn’t somehow miss learning in my (midwestern!) elementary school that Erie was actually a salt lake, I did learn that there’s a huge salt mine UNDER Erie near Cleveland, so almost (not really at all) right, Ann Rule & editors…)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews