Crime

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. ( )

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.

( )

True crime writing at its best, especially the in depth research and insight with the Powell case. ( )

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. ( )