File Size: 3563 KB
Print Length: 484 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books (November 29, 2011)
Publication Date: November 29, 2011
Sold by: Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B004T4KXE6
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
X-Ray: Enabled
Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #96,718 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store) #35 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > True Crime > Hoaxes & Deceptions #59 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > True Crime > Hoaxes & Deceptions #115 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > True Crime > Espionage
I'm baffled about why some other reviewers have given this so few stars. The cases are "cold cases," true, but to my mind that makes them more intriguing. These murderers thought they got away with it long ago -- they thought no one would figure it out now -- but they were wrong. It's nice to see that murder cannot be hidden, however long it may take to be discovered. Ann Rule has done a lot of research about these cases, even though the murderers clearly wanted to hide their tracks. And it's a fascinating portrait of some families who regard murder as "just another day's work," as well as of some people who have survived terrible situations. My only complaint is that the Kindle edition doesn't seem to come with photos (not sure about the print edition). Ann Rule's collections of murder cases, the Crime Files, are always going to have shorter cases than the single-murder books, but there's still a lot of detail in here. And for what it's worth, I didn't spot a single typo.
This hurts to write but my former favorite TC author Ann Rule may need to take a break and not crank out a new book every November. This and her last have been subpar with her usual work and I am disappointed...No pics in my Kindle edition...she actually included the Miranda rights read to Renee Curtiss as some kind of filler. There are phrases repeated over and over as if to hike up some kind of word meter, like where it mentions that upon questioning from the cops, Renee's "chest and neck flushed scarlet"...and then a few pages later we are informed again that "Renee's face and chest were now brick red". There are many other examples of filler. The most blatant would be all the information I now have on Jimi Hendrix. Yes, he was a great musician but his minute and peripheral connection to this case is hardly an excuse for pages of information about him. All that is missing from the first case I have been describing would be more of a geography lesson about Alaska which thankfully was fairly brief. I feel quite capable of writing a review of her book as I have read EVERY one of them and "Small Sacrifices" is one of my fav TC books ever. I noted people asking for good TC books/authors and I would recommend Jack Olsen (Charmer, Salt of the Earth), Joe Mcginnis, Gregg Olsen, Lowell Cauffiel, "Bad Blood" by Richard Levine, "Bad Karma" by Deborah Blum, and any of Ann Rule's earlier full length books before "Too Late to Say Goodbye" which is where I feel her downfall began.
I don't know what the bad reviews are about. I found this book to be as excellent to read as any of Ann's books are. It held my attention and once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down until it was read from cover to cover. I enjoy Ann's true crime files and always look forward to the next book. Ann breathes life back into Joe and left me with the impression of having known him personally. Quite an accomplishment for any author. I hope Joe's family has found peace. I loved this book and I think you will too.
Generally I don't enjoy Ann Rule's crime case files books as much as the ones that have just one case in them, but this one was an exception. I am always fascinated by "cold cases", and this book was a great study in them. As other reviewers have said, the people who perpetrated the crime Ann Rule's books, and this one was no different, I read it through in about 2 days. I was disappointed that I didn't get the photos with the kindle edition, but otherwise I didn't note any egregious errors or typos (and I am an editor at heart!). I can't wait for the next book to come out.
I have read every single one of Ann Rule's books for years and have loved every one of them; when I see that she has a new book coming out I pre-order it, as I did this one. To my surprise this book was almost unreadable and at times I was going to stop reading and just dump the book. The stories simply failed to hold my interest and I still fail to understamd why these particular stories were of such interest to her. In any event, I will always read Ann Rule's books but I hope the next one is more interesting than this one. I think Ann deserves for her loyal readers to cut her some slack because she has written so many great books over so many years. Who can forget "The Stranger Beside Me" or "Small Sacrifices"; these are works of art. Let's just call this one a clunker and move on.
I have always loved true crime. I have also had half brothers who committed it so I suppose the connection is reasonable. Ann Rule has been my hero in crime writers from the very day I discovered her, which was a long time ago. "Don't Look Behind You and Other Stories" is tour de force by a write so consistently so good, it's impossible to imagine that she'll ever produce anything bad. And no, there's teaser here. Don't Look Behind You is another Ann Rule venture into the darkest minds. What amzes me the most about Ann Rule is that no one seems to be publishing exposes about what a dark creature she is. Which just tells me that she's not. I don't know that I could get through all these dreadful crimes committed by the utter flotsam of human society and still have a sunny smile and love this author. But I do and I do. All I can say without utterly giving away everything in this book is, buy it. Read it. Revel in it. And if you want to write to her, she does respond. At least, she's responded to three friends of mine who have written to her, so from that I assume she responds. Try it. She might. But meanwhile, get them all. Because the other thing that doesn't happen? It never gets old reading her.
Don't Look Behind You: And Other True Cases: Ann Rule's Crime Files, Book 15 Don't Look Behind You: Ann Rule's Crime Files #15 Lying in Wait: Ann Rule's Crime Files: Vol.17 Lying in Wait: Ann Rule's Crime Files, Book 17 Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors: Ann Rule's Crime Files Volume 16 Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors: And Other True Cases: Ann Rule's Crime Files, Book 16 The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck: How to Stop Spending Time You Don't Have with People You Don't Like Doing Things You Don't Want to Do True Crime Stories: 12 Shocking True Crime Murder Cases: True Crime Anthology, Vol. 1 True Crime Stories Volume 3: 12 Shocking True Crime Murder Cases (True Crime Anthology) True Crime Stories: 12 Shocking True Crime Murder Cases (True Crime Anthology) True Crime Stories Volume 2: 12 Shocking True Crime Murder Cases (True Crime Anthology) Serial Killers: Most Horrific Serial Killers Biographies, True Crime Cases, Murderers, 2nd Book! (True Crime, Serial Killers Uncut, Crime, Horror Stories, Horrible Crimes, Homicides) Ann the Word: The Story of Ann Lee, Female Messiah, Mother of the Shakers Jayne Ann Krentz CD Collection 2: Light in Shadow, Truth or Dare, Falling Awake (Jayne Ann Krentz CD Collections) Don't Call Me Special: A First Look at Disability (A First Look At...Series) Offshore: Tax Havens and the Rule of Global Crime Top Secret Files: The Civil War: Spies, Secret Missions, and Hidden Facts from the Civil War (Top Secret Files of History) Sound (Science Files) (Science Files) Case Files Neurology, Second Edition (LANGE Case Files) I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: Rebel Allies (Lorien Legacies: The Lost Files)