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Crime Files #16
Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors: Ann Rule's Crime Files Volume 16
The New York Times bestselling True Crime Files series continues with this haunting collection of the dangers lurking among those we trust the most—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Stranger Beside Me.
Doomed relationships and deadly betrayals are at the heart of this unputdownable collection of true cases from the personal files of Ann Rule, “America’s best true-crime writer” (Kirkus Reviews). First is one of the most tragic unsolved crimes of the last twenty years: the disappearance of Susan Powell and the murder of her two young sons. With in-depth research and clear-eyed compassion, Rule leaves no stone unturned as she searches for the truth in this shocking story.
Rule also chronicles the strange tale of a Coronado, California mansion that was the site of two horrifying deaths only days apart: a billionaire’s son’s plunge from a balcony and his girlfriend’s hanging. Although the cases are quickly closed, baffling questions remain. In these and seven other riveting cases, Ann Rule exposes the twisted truth behind the façades of Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors.
Doomed relationships and deadly betrayals are at the heart of this unputdownable collection of true cases from the personal files of Ann Rule, “America’s best true-crime writer” (Kirkus Reviews). First is one of the most tragic unsolved crimes of the last twenty years: the disappearance of Susan Powell and the murder of her two young sons. With in-depth research and clear-eyed compassion, Rule leaves no stone unturned as she searches for the truth in this shocking story.
Rule also chronicles the strange tale of a Coronado, California mansion that was the site of two horrifying deaths only days apart: a billionaire’s son’s plunge from a balcony and his girlfriend’s hanging. Although the cases are quickly closed, baffling questions remain. In these and seven other riveting cases, Ann Rule exposes the twisted truth behind the façades of Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
677 people are currently reading
2997 people want to read
About the author
Ann Rule
128 books4,430 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
July 16, 2025
Because Ms. Rule understands the big picture, and all its moving parts, her writing covers the crime from all aspects. It's like being on the sidelines, but having an expert beside you, to answer all your questions.
January 10, 2013
Ann Rule is an auto- buy for me. I've been reading her books for many years. However this latest left a lot to be desired. I was most interested in the Susan Powell case after seeing so much of it on the news and having grown up in the Puyallup area. However I could have written this. There was nothing new and I got the impression Rule was simply fulfilling her promise to the Cox family. The other stories were simplistic to downright boring and included an arson and an apologetic rapist -- stories nearly 40 years old. This collection felt thrown together to meet a deadline. I will continue to read Ann Rule's books because I know how wonderful she can be. But most of these stories should have been left in the files and not reopened. I hope Ann will show her readers the respect they've shown her and dig a little deeper for more interesting, timely, and relevant cases for her legions of fans to devour next time or just focus on the one hardcover a year.
February 9, 2013
Reason for Reading: It's been years since I read this type of true crime. I used to read it a lot. I had been wanting to get back into reading something like this and who better to start with than Ann Rule. I read a couple of her books waaaay back at the beginning of her career, but I had never read one of her crime file collections before.
The publisher's summary and information on the book itself is quite careful in not letting the reader know which cases are discussed in the book, except the Powell case, so I will not reveal that information either. I really enjoyed this read and the format of 8 separate cases made it easy to pick up and read a chapter at a time once the two beginning 'novella' sized cases had been presented. I enjoy Rule's writing, she has little sympathy for the offenders and yet on the rare occasion can show compassion *if* it is warranted. Rule does not go into gory details, but she does not gloss over the heinous acts either. First and foremost her objective is to preserve the victim's dignity while letting the reader know the seriousness of the crime but not crossing over into that which would become voyeuristic. I appreciated this style of writing and Rule's own concern and compassion for those she writes about is evident.
The book has a theme of murders/rapes committed by friends or neighbours though not every story sticks precisely to that theme. It starts off with two 'novella' length cases then the next six are short story length. The first case is the Susan Powell case, an extremely tragic story which started in 2009 and continued right up to the time of the author writing the book. Next follows a strange tale where the police have closed the case on two deaths that occurred within 24 hours of each other in the same house. The deaths were ruled as accidental and suicide but the public has taken the death of the six year old to heart not believing it to be an accident and the family of the other do not believe suicide is at all possible. This is also a recent (2011) case which I found fascinating. Personally, my thoughts lean towards the boy being an accident and the woman a murder.
The following six stories are mostly from the seventies, some solved, some cold cases. I learned that back in the seventies they didn't use the term 'cold case' but referred to these cases as 'losers' at the time. These cases involve murder, rape and missing persons and were all of interest. I had not heard of any of the stories presented in this book, which was refreshing and Rule picked a great selection of stories to present together. A quick, light read for the true crime fan.
The publisher's summary and information on the book itself is quite careful in not letting the reader know which cases are discussed in the book, except the Powell case, so I will not reveal that information either. I really enjoyed this read and the format of 8 separate cases made it easy to pick up and read a chapter at a time once the two beginning 'novella' sized cases had been presented. I enjoy Rule's writing, she has little sympathy for the offenders and yet on the rare occasion can show compassion *if* it is warranted. Rule does not go into gory details, but she does not gloss over the heinous acts either. First and foremost her objective is to preserve the victim's dignity while letting the reader know the seriousness of the crime but not crossing over into that which would become voyeuristic. I appreciated this style of writing and Rule's own concern and compassion for those she writes about is evident.
The book has a theme of murders/rapes committed by friends or neighbours though not every story sticks precisely to that theme. It starts off with two 'novella' length cases then the next six are short story length. The first case is the Susan Powell case, an extremely tragic story which started in 2009 and continued right up to the time of the author writing the book. Next follows a strange tale where the police have closed the case on two deaths that occurred within 24 hours of each other in the same house. The deaths were ruled as accidental and suicide but the public has taken the death of the six year old to heart not believing it to be an accident and the family of the other do not believe suicide is at all possible. This is also a recent (2011) case which I found fascinating. Personally, my thoughts lean towards the boy being an accident and the woman a murder.
The following six stories are mostly from the seventies, some solved, some cold cases. I learned that back in the seventies they didn't use the term 'cold case' but referred to these cases as 'losers' at the time. These cases involve murder, rape and missing persons and were all of interest. I had not heard of any of the stories presented in this book, which was refreshing and Rule picked a great selection of stories to present together. A quick, light read for the true crime fan.
March 13, 2024
It was an excellent book as her books always are.
If I want to pick up a true crime book, she's the one I read.
This book is packed full of grisly stories but the one that haunted me was, as it seems to be for many other reviewers, the case in California, where a small boy dies and shortly after the girlfriend of the house owner is found hung. I mean this all happens in HOURS.
To this day there is no definitive answer as to what happened to either of them. The police ruled the hanging a suicide, but many think there was a cover up. You may have heard about this case as it's been widely talked about.
It's also , I think been featured on Dateline.
And I must come back to this review as my computer is being a real pain in the ass.
If I want to pick up a true crime book, she's the one I read.
This book is packed full of grisly stories but the one that haunted me was, as it seems to be for many other reviewers, the case in California, where a small boy dies and shortly after the girlfriend of the house owner is found hung. I mean this all happens in HOURS.
To this day there is no definitive answer as to what happened to either of them. The police ruled the hanging a suicide, but many think there was a cover up. You may have heard about this case as it's been widely talked about.
It's also , I think been featured on Dateline.
And I must come back to this review as my computer is being a real pain in the ass.
April 24, 2017
This was just an okay read from beginning to end.
I think the issue is that the first two cases were pretty much unsolved mysteries. So you can guess at what happened, but you don't really know. After that, I didn't get the reason why some of these cases were included in this volume. The last two were just sad and by the end of the book I ended up feeling worse when you read about how little time some of the guilty actually do get.
I think the main problem is that after a while Rule writes in such a predictable way that I don't feel surprised. But I will say that the first case had so much similar language to how she starts off some of her volumes or other stand alone books that I got confused for a while wondering if I had bought this book before. I had to go back to my Kindle account to make sure.
Rule includes some pictures of some of the victims and murderers and police involved in this volume and honestly besides the pictures of the victims and accused, I never get why she always involves the police officers in the book so much. At least she skipped over their backgrounds for this, and I think she had to cause of the length of the volume.
The first case deals with the Susan Powell case that I think many readers may know about. That ended up being in the media for a while due to the missing woman and what happened afterwards. I won't spoil for those who don't know. But the fact that there is still a question of what happened to Powell and you find out how limited justice is with regards to one of the men involved in her case, it just makes you a bit frustrated.
The second case deals with a man who deals with two quick tragedies. One involving his young son and his girlfriend. This case left way too many questions than answers. I am still confused about what went on and why the police ignored some leads. There seemed to be something else going on there. But once again, you don't get a happy resolution to this case.
The third case was a quickie. We quickly find out the who and why behind the murder of an elderly couple who were good philanthropists.
The fourth case was a head scratcher. I felt like Rule was just dragging this out. You find out that someone is setting fires and the same person is always on the scene. She made it seem like the police did this tireless work, but honestly it seemed like the guy finally got caught after the fourth fire he set. She includes pictures of the police involved and I maybe went who cares at that point.
The fifth case was disturbing. I tell myself that something like that can't happen again, but you never know in this world. A serial rapist is involved.
The sixth case I honestly don't know what to make of it. Once again just like cases one and two there seemed to not be a definitive answer about the person's guilt. And I didn't feel swayed by Rule's arguments.
The seventh case was open and shut due to all of the links to the person who did it. And then they confessed. I felt unsettled though since this and many of the cases highlighted in the 70s show that most of these people seemed to get out within 10 years or so and are out among us now. Rule doesn't say if the person who was the murderer in this one is out, but it's heavily implied due to his sentence and when he was convicted.
The eighth case was definitely one where everyone was covering for the guilty party and then you can see what additional mistakes are made when the guy gets out of prison eventually. I didn't even know what to say about this one.
The ninth case was devastating. This one was truly a case of a deadly neighbor and all I could think about was the poor family.
I think the issue is that the first two cases were pretty much unsolved mysteries. So you can guess at what happened, but you don't really know. After that, I didn't get the reason why some of these cases were included in this volume. The last two were just sad and by the end of the book I ended up feeling worse when you read about how little time some of the guilty actually do get.
I think the main problem is that after a while Rule writes in such a predictable way that I don't feel surprised. But I will say that the first case had so much similar language to how she starts off some of her volumes or other stand alone books that I got confused for a while wondering if I had bought this book before. I had to go back to my Kindle account to make sure.
Rule includes some pictures of some of the victims and murderers and police involved in this volume and honestly besides the pictures of the victims and accused, I never get why she always involves the police officers in the book so much. At least she skipped over their backgrounds for this, and I think she had to cause of the length of the volume.
The first case deals with the Susan Powell case that I think many readers may know about. That ended up being in the media for a while due to the missing woman and what happened afterwards. I won't spoil for those who don't know. But the fact that there is still a question of what happened to Powell and you find out how limited justice is with regards to one of the men involved in her case, it just makes you a bit frustrated.
The second case deals with a man who deals with two quick tragedies. One involving his young son and his girlfriend. This case left way too many questions than answers. I am still confused about what went on and why the police ignored some leads. There seemed to be something else going on there. But once again, you don't get a happy resolution to this case.
The third case was a quickie. We quickly find out the who and why behind the murder of an elderly couple who were good philanthropists.
The fourth case was a head scratcher. I felt like Rule was just dragging this out. You find out that someone is setting fires and the same person is always on the scene. She made it seem like the police did this tireless work, but honestly it seemed like the guy finally got caught after the fourth fire he set. She includes pictures of the police involved and I maybe went who cares at that point.
The fifth case was disturbing. I tell myself that something like that can't happen again, but you never know in this world. A serial rapist is involved.
The sixth case I honestly don't know what to make of it. Once again just like cases one and two there seemed to not be a definitive answer about the person's guilt. And I didn't feel swayed by Rule's arguments.
The seventh case was open and shut due to all of the links to the person who did it. And then they confessed. I felt unsettled though since this and many of the cases highlighted in the 70s show that most of these people seemed to get out within 10 years or so and are out among us now. Rule doesn't say if the person who was the murderer in this one is out, but it's heavily implied due to his sentence and when he was convicted.
The eighth case was definitely one where everyone was covering for the guilty party and then you can see what additional mistakes are made when the guy gets out of prison eventually. I didn't even know what to say about this one.
The ninth case was devastating. This one was truly a case of a deadly neighbor and all I could think about was the poor family.
March 21, 2019
RATING: 3 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)
I have always wanted to read Ann Rule but have been scared off by the subject material. While I have always watched true crime shows, the thought of reading it made it seem "too real". After dipping my toe into a few true crime books over the past few years I was finally ready to try an Ann Rule book. I picked this one up from the library as it was a new paperback so I thought it was meant to be. I enjoyed Ann Rule's writing but also her compassion for the victims, the victim's family and the perpretator's family. I rated it a three stars just because I read three true crime books, and one of them was of high standard (Murder by Milkshake: An Astonishing True Story of Adultery, Arsenic, and a Charismatic Killer). I am looking forward to another Ann Rule book.
(Review Not on Blog)
I have always wanted to read Ann Rule but have been scared off by the subject material. While I have always watched true crime shows, the thought of reading it made it seem "too real". After dipping my toe into a few true crime books over the past few years I was finally ready to try an Ann Rule book. I picked this one up from the library as it was a new paperback so I thought it was meant to be. I enjoyed Ann Rule's writing but also her compassion for the victims, the victim's family and the perpretator's family. I rated it a three stars just because I read three true crime books, and one of them was of high standard (Murder by Milkshake: An Astonishing True Story of Adultery, Arsenic, and a Charismatic Killer). I am looking forward to another Ann Rule book.
April 13, 2017
This was an absolutely fascinating read. The first few cases are gut-wrenching, and I had to google after several because I was so curious as to whether there had been new developments. These are true crime stories but written to keep you on the edge of your seat. Well researched and it's clear a lot of care was taken to remain respectful to families and friends involved. Couldn't put it down. I will definitely be looking out for more books in this series.
January 10, 2014
Ann Rule was one of the first true crime authors I've read back in the days cause not many books were translated in Dutch and back then I only read Dutch. I did find afew books of her that were translated and I did enjoy them.
Now more than a decade later I am appalled as to how she treats her readers. Apparently she thinks her readers are dumb and can't think for them self which is why she constantly, early in every sentence, has to tell us how dumb, how ugly, how childish the supposed and probable killer is.
I noticed this when I read Heart Full of Lies but apparently this habit of her to treat her readers as idiots has gotten worse and more readers are complaining about it. (Check out the reviews of In the Still of The Night for instance)
The first story in this book is about a very sad case. A woman Susan Powell, mum of 2 little boys, disappears. Her husband is suspect but cops do not have enough evidence to arrest him. Children are assigned to parents of the woman and he does not like that and slaughters his son and then kills himself.It begins with telling us that Susan was very well liked, and that Josh was socially awkward cause Josh speaks only about himself and how he looked.
Yes Josh Powell is an ass but I do not need Ann Rule to tell me all his faults in every bloody sentence.
Let's look at some examples which are so many they are easy to find.
"Rather being a handsome dynamic man, Josh looked like he was no older than 16/17. At five feet, ten inches he was slender and somewhat weak appearing"
"Maybe he seemed so full of himself because beneath the surface he felt he really did not measure up"
# Everything about Josh seemed weak"
Let's see he lacked tact,he had a severe deficit in getting along with people, he lived with his dad and he was not stable.
Okay I did not write everything negative down she wrote about Josh but this is just chapter 1.
Yes he might be like that but if Ann Rule would just write her story, we would be perfectly capable to realize Josh was a scumbag.
Sh did the same in Heart of Lies. There everything the killer did or how this person was was negative and everything about the victim was positive. The victim was an angel apparently.
Now reading the second story where she does not do it so much but that is because she really can't cause the killer was never caught although I think the brother did it. (Becky Zahau case)
This book does not really deserve 3 stars just because the other short stories were not so bias so I am going to give it 2.
Now more than a decade later I am appalled as to how she treats her readers. Apparently she thinks her readers are dumb and can't think for them self which is why she constantly, early in every sentence, has to tell us how dumb, how ugly, how childish the supposed and probable killer is.
I noticed this when I read Heart Full of Lies but apparently this habit of her to treat her readers as idiots has gotten worse and more readers are complaining about it. (Check out the reviews of In the Still of The Night for instance)
The first story in this book is about a very sad case. A woman Susan Powell, mum of 2 little boys, disappears. Her husband is suspect but cops do not have enough evidence to arrest him. Children are assigned to parents of the woman and he does not like that and slaughters his son and then kills himself.It begins with telling us that Susan was very well liked, and that Josh was socially awkward cause Josh speaks only about himself and how he looked.
Yes Josh Powell is an ass but I do not need Ann Rule to tell me all his faults in every bloody sentence.
Let's look at some examples which are so many they are easy to find.
"Rather being a handsome dynamic man, Josh looked like he was no older than 16/17. At five feet, ten inches he was slender and somewhat weak appearing"
"Maybe he seemed so full of himself because beneath the surface he felt he really did not measure up"
# Everything about Josh seemed weak"
Let's see he lacked tact,he had a severe deficit in getting along with people, he lived with his dad and he was not stable.
Okay I did not write everything negative down she wrote about Josh but this is just chapter 1.
Yes he might be like that but if Ann Rule would just write her story, we would be perfectly capable to realize Josh was a scumbag.
Sh did the same in Heart of Lies. There everything the killer did or how this person was was negative and everything about the victim was positive. The victim was an angel apparently.
Now reading the second story where she does not do it so much but that is because she really can't cause the killer was never caught although I think the brother did it. (Becky Zahau case)
This book does not really deserve 3 stars just because the other short stories were not so bias so I am going to give it 2.
December 19, 2012
These true crime files collected by Ann Rule are always different and many of them are fascinating. This particular collection includes a majority of what had been unsolved crimes in the 1970s, but which with some new technology and canvassing, became closed cases. The one story in this volume that especially got to me was one that involved a billionaire owner of a pharmaceutical company who owned a vacation home in Coronado, CA. In the early years of the current century this man (who lived with his fiancee since his estranged wife refused to sign divorce papers) lived with two older children by a first marriage, and a six year old boy named Max, the son he had by his estranged wife. One horrible day, while he was travelling, and his fiancee was showering in one bathroom, and her younger sister in another, a huge crash was heard and to the horror of the witnesses, the little boy had either jumped, been tangled up with his huge dog, or was riding his razor scooter on the third floor of the five story house and he had tried to grab on to a huge crystal chandelier hanging in the foyer, the result being that he was basically crushed by the fall. Speculation was that his spinal cord was severed near the brain stem and three days later he died in the hospital. In the meantime, the man's fiancee was found by her brother-in-law who was staying in the guesthouse hanging from a red cord from the balcony in her bedroom. The odd thing about this case was that the woman had bruising and markings consistent with being strangled before the rope was put around her neck, although this matter was at first ruled a suicide. To this day, these possible two crimes have not been solved and the man who owned the house sold it because he couldn't bear to live there anymore after the strange events which happened over a three day period. A very haunting story which makes one wonder.....
November 25, 2021
Ann Rule binge continues - there was quite a few in this book that I had read before/listened to before but the extra notes and research she does just puts new light on some of the cases that I thought I knew .. which I love, a little bit of doubt
February 1, 2025
Some cases were 3 stars, some were 4. A lot of the cases were older from the 70s though which is why I gave it 3 overall
December 27, 2012
I will start off by saying how dissapointed I am with the Publisher. My copy was missing about 50 pages. It was very dissapointing to read the story and to get into it, and all of a sudden have the final part of the story go missing.
With that, I will say that I enjoyed the book. I am glad that the 2 main cases that made me pick up the book so fast when it first came out (Coronado Suicide & Powell Case) had all of the pages in tact. I learned a lot of things on both of the cases that I did not know. Each case was just so heart breaking. Especially the Powell Case. It is obvious to me that Josh is the one responsible for his wife's dissapearance.
As for the Coronado suicide. This one was very interesting to me because it takes place in the county we live in. (I don't reside in one of the huge mansions though lol) I think something fishy is going on with that whole case. Why did the Police Department close the case soo fast without a lof of questions being answered. Especially when there are so many suspects still. I think Adam & Max's mom should be questioned more....
I can't wait for Anne's next book in October of 2013! I remain a loyal fan of hers.
With that, I will say that I enjoyed the book. I am glad that the 2 main cases that made me pick up the book so fast when it first came out (Coronado Suicide & Powell Case) had all of the pages in tact. I learned a lot of things on both of the cases that I did not know. Each case was just so heart breaking. Especially the Powell Case. It is obvious to me that Josh is the one responsible for his wife's dissapearance.
As for the Coronado suicide. This one was very interesting to me because it takes place in the county we live in. (I don't reside in one of the huge mansions though lol) I think something fishy is going on with that whole case. Why did the Police Department close the case soo fast without a lof of questions being answered. Especially when there are so many suspects still. I think Adam & Max's mom should be questioned more....
I can't wait for Anne's next book in October of 2013! I remain a loyal fan of hers.
January 5, 2013
Not the best collection of Ann Rule stories. Several of these tales bothered me quite a bit, especially the first two, which chronicle two very recent crimes, while the others occur mostly in the 1970's. Still, a so-so Ann Rule book is better than most other true crime books, but I would only recommend this one to those who really enjoy her work. Photos and an excerpt from her next book, Practice to Deceive, due in October 2013. Somewhat recommended.
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Ann_Ru...
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Ann_Ru...
February 12, 2019
This was my book club’s pick-the only way I could get it from the library was on audio. I have not read a book this way before and probably won’t again-I may be just reacting to the narrator’s voice but I found this method less involving. The author, Ann Rule, is a former newspaper reporter and a well known true crime author. It seems as though, in this book, she was cleaning out her desk and scooped up some cases from the 1970s which were largely unsolved. The first two cases were novella length and ended with a person of interest, rather than a definite solution. It’s not that I only want to read about neatly tied up cases, it was more that there was not a lot of detail regarding the investigations. I will not be returning to Ann Rule’s books!
April 8, 2020
Ann Rule books never disappoint
April 20, 2020
More true crime stories from the master at researching. I feel for the victims and families and rejoice when each perpetrator is put away. She was a local author, but I am always amazed how often I have a connection to her tales. I couldn't put it down.
Read
March 8, 2024if you love ann rule you will love this book.
March 29, 2024
Love her books. Listened to this one on youtube
June 23, 2020
I loved this book!! It was sad how they were murdered in all the stories!!Love this author's books!!
July 20, 2022
Always great to read Ann Rule's books. This is one that I had missed reading when it was published. Great stories of true crimes.
July 30, 2013
I usually enjoy reading true crime books by Ann Rule who I consider to be one of the best in the genre. However, she is at her best when she writes books about one particular crime or criminal rather than a series of vignettes. Some of the vignettes were interesting and did grab my attention but others not so.
One of the main problems I note with Ms. Rule's writing is that she inserts all the names of the policemen, forensic specialists and prosecutors involved in a case. It is not likely that the reader will remember all those peripheral characters, especially the names. She would do better to just highlight the more important characters involved in the investigation of these crimes such as the chief homicide detective, medical examiner and the prosecutor. She also describes the location/city of the crime (usually Washington state) too excessively. The reader is tortured having to read about the past history of the city, the tourist highlights and every natural characteristic of the area. This is a tendency that she continues as well in her full length books which is unnecessary. All the reader needs to know are succinct general characteristics of a city and not the entire roster of the police force and every waterfall in Washington state. Additionally, some of these stories, especially the shorter ones are written dryly and journalistically. However, considering that these are short stories, Rule does not have the time to delve into the psychology of the characters and background information of both victims and criminals that she does so well in her full length books.
There are several good stories that stood out for me. One of my favorites was the Coronado murders; although still unsolved, she provided a good background of the main characters and did go into detail about their personalities and lives. This story is a bit longer than the others so I suspect this is the reason why it is one of the best written. It is one of the longer stories in the book. This vignette deals with the fatal accident which occurred to the young son of a millionaire scion and the aftermath which included the questionable suicide of his girlfriend. That story continues to be shrouded in mystery.
Another good story is one of the last ones of her series and is called "Has Anyone Seen Wendy?" Here she keeps the description minimal and focuses on the search of the little girl and the family's anguish. The other two short stories: "The Man Who Loved Too Much" and "The Yosemite Murders" are short and, in these two stories, she doesn't belabor much on description but focuses on the victims' ordeals with a perfunctory psychological background of the characters.
The best written in the series (I do not remember the title offhand) concerns the Powell family. This story did make national news so the reader is likely aware of it. It details the story of a deteriorating marriage with a mentally unstable husband with horrific consequences for all parties concerned. In this story, her longest and her best, she does a great job of detailing the personalities of the Powells, the couple in the story, how the love between them developed only to end with the husband's mental deterioration which led to tragedy for all of them. This is the one I recommend the best. It is the longest and better written than the others.
I rarely read Ann Rule's short crime stories because they do not rise to the literary level of her full length books but the title of the book intrigued me. I expected to read stories of betrayal by friends and spouses and only the Powell's story and "Has Anyone Seen Wendy" are appropriate to the title. Unless you are a diehard Ann Rule, I would not recommend this book but definitely encourage the reader to read her full length books which are well-written.
One of the main problems I note with Ms. Rule's writing is that she inserts all the names of the policemen, forensic specialists and prosecutors involved in a case. It is not likely that the reader will remember all those peripheral characters, especially the names. She would do better to just highlight the more important characters involved in the investigation of these crimes such as the chief homicide detective, medical examiner and the prosecutor. She also describes the location/city of the crime (usually Washington state) too excessively. The reader is tortured having to read about the past history of the city, the tourist highlights and every natural characteristic of the area. This is a tendency that she continues as well in her full length books which is unnecessary. All the reader needs to know are succinct general characteristics of a city and not the entire roster of the police force and every waterfall in Washington state. Additionally, some of these stories, especially the shorter ones are written dryly and journalistically. However, considering that these are short stories, Rule does not have the time to delve into the psychology of the characters and background information of both victims and criminals that she does so well in her full length books.
There are several good stories that stood out for me. One of my favorites was the Coronado murders; although still unsolved, she provided a good background of the main characters and did go into detail about their personalities and lives. This story is a bit longer than the others so I suspect this is the reason why it is one of the best written. It is one of the longer stories in the book. This vignette deals with the fatal accident which occurred to the young son of a millionaire scion and the aftermath which included the questionable suicide of his girlfriend. That story continues to be shrouded in mystery.
Another good story is one of the last ones of her series and is called "Has Anyone Seen Wendy?" Here she keeps the description minimal and focuses on the search of the little girl and the family's anguish. The other two short stories: "The Man Who Loved Too Much" and "The Yosemite Murders" are short and, in these two stories, she doesn't belabor much on description but focuses on the victims' ordeals with a perfunctory psychological background of the characters.
The best written in the series (I do not remember the title offhand) concerns the Powell family. This story did make national news so the reader is likely aware of it. It details the story of a deteriorating marriage with a mentally unstable husband with horrific consequences for all parties concerned. In this story, her longest and her best, she does a great job of detailing the personalities of the Powells, the couple in the story, how the love between them developed only to end with the husband's mental deterioration which led to tragedy for all of them. This is the one I recommend the best. It is the longest and better written than the others.
I rarely read Ann Rule's short crime stories because they do not rise to the literary level of her full length books but the title of the book intrigued me. I expected to read stories of betrayal by friends and spouses and only the Powell's story and "Has Anyone Seen Wendy" are appropriate to the title. Unless you are a diehard Ann Rule, I would not recommend this book but definitely encourage the reader to read her full length books which are well-written.
January 15, 2024
I mostly chose this book because of the Rebecca Zahau case that was recently in the news because of a civil case filed by her family. That plus I usually enjoy Ann Rule even if she can be biased at times. This collection of short crime stories differs from the rest. There is not one but two novella length stories and there is no story that has the same name as the title of the book. That being said let's dig into these stories. It begins with the first novella Fire and Ice which tells the story of Susan Powell. Rule never usually writes about headline grabbing crimes like O.J. Simpson or Casey Anthony but made an exception after promising her family she would tell the story. Poor Susan tried to make her marriage to Josh work but she couldn't change him. Between that and a father in law with a creepy obsession with her when she went missing one blizzardy winter night it's no wonder all eyes were on Josh. The case turned tragic and resulted in two more horrific deaths and one suicide. Rule of course can be counted on to constantly tell us just how awful Josh was. The next story Two Strange Deaths in Coronado fascinated me when I first heard about it a few months ago. First a young boy is seriously injured in what appears to be an accident then a young woman is found dead allegedly by hanging, her hands and legs tied, a t-shirt tied around her neck the only item of clothing she had on. Cops immediately ruled it a suicide. Then the young boy dies from his injuries, and private investigators dig up a few conflicts of interest involving the defense attorney of a main suspect and the police department investigating. Needless to say the Rebecca Zahau case is far from over and hopefully her family will find justice for her. Next are the short stories, one involves an elderly couple bludgeoned to death by a young man who had recently tried to admit himself to a mental facility only to be told he wasn't sick enough. A sad case of what happens when the system doesn't work. Next is a case of an arsonist who sets fires only to be a hero who rushes in and saves the day, fortunately despite his horrible acts no one died as a result of his fires. Then there are a couple of cases involving rapists, one obsessed with blondes who apologizes to his victims after he commits the crime, the other who escalates from rape to cold blooded murder. Finally there are three rather sad murder cases, one involving a sixteen year old found dead in her backyard, another dead in her bed, her stab wounds washed clean by a murderer who loved her too much, and finally the tragic kidnapping of a young girl who trusted a neighbour more than she should have. While overall enjoyed this book it lagged in places and of course Rule does like to tell you how rotten people are even though their crimes speak for themselves. Still worth the read for the first two stories, the others were decent quick reads some a bit uncomfortable due to the nature of the crimes covered, but overall a worthy installment to this true crime series.
January 15, 2013
I have been an Ann Rule fan for decades. Crime stories have always interested me, but I'm careful about which true crime authors I read. I have made the mistake of picking up books that focused on the gruesome details of the crimes themselves with little empathy for the victims or the families. Ann Rule is steadfast in her support of and respect for victims and their families. She also supports law enforcement and, having once been a cop herself, has an innate understanding of the job and the people that must investigate these crimes. Over the years, I have read almost all of her books.
Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors is particularly chilling because most all of the cases involve victims and perpetrators that lived near each other or who had some familiarity with one another. We all know to be wary of strangers, but seldom do we suspect that our friendly neighbor or friend could be capable of doing us harm. We tend to trust them. The cases in Ann Rule's latest crime files demonstrate just how misplaced that trust can sometimes be.
The last case in the book is particularly frightening for parents. But, it serves as a valuable warning. Parents are always careful to teach their children about stranger danger, but the sad fact is most children are molested or harmed by someone that is familiar to them.
Not only are the cases of Ann Rule interesting, but more often than not they serve as cautionary tales. I'm not suggesting we all walk around paranoid, but we should be aware of the potential dangers in this world and make our children aware as well. Sometimes knowledge is the best protection of all.
Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors is particularly chilling because most all of the cases involve victims and perpetrators that lived near each other or who had some familiarity with one another. We all know to be wary of strangers, but seldom do we suspect that our friendly neighbor or friend could be capable of doing us harm. We tend to trust them. The cases in Ann Rule's latest crime files demonstrate just how misplaced that trust can sometimes be.
The last case in the book is particularly frightening for parents. But, it serves as a valuable warning. Parents are always careful to teach their children about stranger danger, but the sad fact is most children are molested or harmed by someone that is familiar to them.
Not only are the cases of Ann Rule interesting, but more often than not they serve as cautionary tales. I'm not suggesting we all walk around paranoid, but we should be aware of the potential dangers in this world and make our children aware as well. Sometimes knowledge is the best protection of all.
January 22, 2013
this is my first ann rule's book. I don't know much about the writer technic that she use to write, but this book is just really fascinating.
the chapter that really caught me the most is the first case : Fire and Ice
I cried so badly even tough I read it in my workplace. I couldn't imagine how such a tragic life that the two children have to go through. And a few minutes later I got so angry about all of the factor that caused the death of the 2 innocence. Especially for the police and law institution, how could they took this case really easy for such a definite killer. All of us know about how the law works, how the police and detectives have to collect strong enough evidence to make the killer suspected, but, God gave all of us instincts, a really good one. Even peoples and media already knew who is the one that killed Susan Powell. They don't have to made him to be a suspect,they just have to be a little strict to treat him. i just couldn't stop asking 'Why??'
I really want to see Josh Powell got tortured and screaming for help in hell right now. I don't want him to rest in peace. i just couldn't.
a great book. a really great one.
the chapter that really caught me the most is the first case : Fire and Ice
I cried so badly even tough I read it in my workplace. I couldn't imagine how such a tragic life that the two children have to go through. And a few minutes later I got so angry about all of the factor that caused the death of the 2 innocence. Especially for the police and law institution, how could they took this case really easy for such a definite killer. All of us know about how the law works, how the police and detectives have to collect strong enough evidence to make the killer suspected, but, God gave all of us instincts, a really good one. Even peoples and media already knew who is the one that killed Susan Powell. They don't have to made him to be a suspect,they just have to be a little strict to treat him. i just couldn't stop asking 'Why??'
I really want to see Josh Powell got tortured and screaming for help in hell right now. I don't want him to rest in peace. i just couldn't.
a great book. a really great one.
January 21, 2013
This Ann Rule lived up to it's name.
FIRE AND ICE: The Powell family tragedy.
TWO STRAGE DEATHS IN CORONADO: The Rebecca Zahau and Max Shacknai deaths. I still say this one smell like old fish.
DOUBLE DEATH FOR A PHILNATRIPIST: In August 1978 Burle and olive bramhall were killed by thier 23 year old next door neighbor.
FIRE: About the Edmon Meany Hotel fires in Seatle 1974.
AN OBSESSION WITH BLONDS: Marci Brunswick and Nadine Jermer rape by Ernest Leroy Donadelli in 1976. Sentenced to 20 years.
THE LAST VALENTINES DAY: Diana "Dina" Peterson murdered by boy friend who had a crush on her, Jim Groth,1975.
THE MAN WHO LOVED TOO MUCH: Man murdered wife, Sue Ann Elizabeth Baker, Keith William "Ron" Baker. 1978, 10-20 years.
TERROR ON A MOUNTAIN TRAIL: Mark Rivenburgh raped two women on a mountain trail, later went on to kill Jeffery Hurd.
NO ONE KNOWS WHERE WENDY IS: On July 10, 1975 Wendy Ann Smith, age 9 is kidnapped reped and killed by neighbor Larry Mayo.
NEXT BOOK: PRACTICE TO DECEIVE.
FIRE AND ICE: The Powell family tragedy.
TWO STRAGE DEATHS IN CORONADO: The Rebecca Zahau and Max Shacknai deaths. I still say this one smell like old fish.
DOUBLE DEATH FOR A PHILNATRIPIST: In August 1978 Burle and olive bramhall were killed by thier 23 year old next door neighbor.
FIRE: About the Edmon Meany Hotel fires in Seatle 1974.
AN OBSESSION WITH BLONDS: Marci Brunswick and Nadine Jermer rape by Ernest Leroy Donadelli in 1976. Sentenced to 20 years.
THE LAST VALENTINES DAY: Diana "Dina" Peterson murdered by boy friend who had a crush on her, Jim Groth,1975.
THE MAN WHO LOVED TOO MUCH: Man murdered wife, Sue Ann Elizabeth Baker, Keith William "Ron" Baker. 1978, 10-20 years.
TERROR ON A MOUNTAIN TRAIL: Mark Rivenburgh raped two women on a mountain trail, later went on to kill Jeffery Hurd.
NO ONE KNOWS WHERE WENDY IS: On July 10, 1975 Wendy Ann Smith, age 9 is kidnapped reped and killed by neighbor Larry Mayo.
NEXT BOOK: PRACTICE TO DECEIVE.
December 26, 2012
I just finished the first long story in this collection, which is about Susan Powell. Although I was familiar with the story, I wasn't aware of a lot of details. Definitely very interesting. The second novella was also pretty good, but not quite as good as the first. I enjoyed the shorter stories as well. Overall, a good, interesting read.
December 12, 2012
This is the newest installment in Ann Rule's series of short true crime stories. In this, there are rapes and murder, and the strange, sad case of Josh and Sarah Powell. This book includes an excerpt from a longer book she is writing called "Practice to Deceive." As is usual for Ms. Rule's books, this one is hard to put down and as interesting as any of her many other works.
Want to read
August 16, 2012Can't wait for it to come out!!!!
September 21, 2014
I always enjoy Ann Rule's books. I like them best when the cases are solved. These cases were pretty sad! Just not up to her usual standards.
January 12, 2013
True crime writing at its best, especially the in depth research and insight with the Powell case.
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