So I went on a True Crime and romance read binge starting on Friday. I honestly didn't feel like posting updates (I embraced my laziness) so here goes some huge review posts.

I have been reading Ann Rule for the past couple of years, and decided to start reading her other books I haven't gotten around to yet. I honestly enjoyed the stories in this one even though there are a lot of questions left for some of the stories and I hate things to not have a tidy little ending. I thought Rule's writing was tight in this one. For once she didn't get overly invested in the detectives in these stories. I have never liked it when she goes into the past/history of the police and the prosecutors. It tends to ruin the flow of the story. All of these stories except for one take place in Washington state. "Death in Paradise" story takes place in an ocean.

But I Trusted You (5 stars)-What a sad story. A couple that should not have married (in hindsight) where the husband and wife eventually separate, it seems the wife was going to do whatever she could to get what she wanted out of life (a new husband and her ex dead). The wife in this story is Teresa Gaethe and the dead ex is Chuck Leonard. I do wonder though at people that were taken in by this woman (she had an affair with a married man who was bankrolling her lifestyle and apparently wanted nothing to do with her daughter). This story actually goes from Seattle, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico as Teresa tries to escape justice. I did like the fact that Rule provided an update about Teresa and Chuck's daughter Morgan who was raised by her paternal aunt. I always want to know what happens to the kids and other relatives after they lose a loved one through murder.

Death in Paradise (3 stars)-This one was very confusing. Ann Rule promised to lay out what happened and hypothesize about what she think occurs. But for me I found it all confusing. I don't know what happened to the Edwardses (the two parents who perished at sea) but to me it would be a stretch to think that three people would cover up someone murdering them. I felt like this was a low budget "And The Sea Will Tell."

Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth (5 stars)-What a sad story. A mother, Lorraine Milroy is trying her best to deal with her son Dusty who has become addicted to drugs. It also appears that he may have a mental illness as well. When Lorraine finally tells him he is going to have to move, Lorraine ends up missing shortly afterwards. Rule tends to discuss a lot of murders where the victim's body goes missing. This story of course doesn't have a happy ending.

Monohan's Last Date (5 stars)-Wow. So this one deals with the swinger culture and how dangerous it really is. it is a pretty convoluted tale, but I found it very fascinating reading about how people were putting out ads in the 70s discussing orgies/threesomes/etc. one man used these ads to steal and eventually murder men.

Run as Fast As You Can (5 stars)-What a sad story. I felt sad for the victim and for the murderer's family. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for what happened to the woman in this story who went for a run and didn't come home. I sear Ann Rule's books make me paranoid to even go outside and be around other people.

The Deadly Voyeur (4 stars)-What a sad story. A teen boy and girl walking along the road get abducted with one of them left for dead while the other escapes. I honestly don't know what if anything I was supposed to get from this story. The man in the story, who Rule calls The Enumclaw killer wasn't a serial killer. Her equating him at the first with the Green River killer seems a stretch to me. I do think the underlying story is sad, that a young teen is killed and how it devastated the community.

Dark Forest: Deep Danger (3 stars)-my least favorite story. I think that once again Rule tries to fit pieces together that don't really fit. The Cowden family goes missing and is found dead in a cave. Then we jump to Dwain Lee who killed and raped a teen named Orla Fay. Rule goes into Lee's life and jump forward to when he abucts a young woman. Everything feels jumbled together and there is no real resolution to the Cowden case in the end. ( )

This was not one of my favorites ( )

I borrowed the paperback edition of this book from the library. This was a quick read and I enjoyed the true crime stories in it. However, I did find it a little bit repetitive at times and not quite as compelling as other books by this author. ( )

the longer "but i trusted you" was okay but the other shorts aren't that good ( )

An engrossing and at times disturbing read for any true crime fan. Ann Rule is consistently the best true crime writer out there. I couldn't put it down. ( )