Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder, Ann Rule
Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder, Ann Rule
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Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder
And Other True Cases

Author: Ann Rule

Narrator: Laural Merlington

Unabridged: 12 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/01/2013


Synopsis

Real-life murder. Real-life mystery.In some murder cases, the truth behind the most tragic of crimes crystallizes with relative ease. Not so with these fascinating accounts drawn from the personal files of Ann Rule, America’s #1 bestselling true-crime writer. What happens when the case itself becomes an intractable puzzle, when clues are shrouded in smoke and mirrors, and when criminals skillfully evade law enforcement in a maddening cat-and-mouse chase? Even the most devoted true-crime listener won’t predict the outcome of these truly baffling cases until the conclusions revealed in Ann Rule’s marvelously insightful narrative: An ideal family is targeted for death by the least likely enemy, who plotted their demise from behind bars.… A modest preacher’s wife confesses to shooting her husband after an argument—but there’s more to her shattering story than meets the eye. These and other true cases are analyzed with stunning clarity in a collection you won’t be able to stop listening to.

About Ann Rule

Ann Rae Stackhouse was born in Lowell, MI in 1931. Her mother taught school, specializing in developmentally disabled children, and her father was a coach. Ann was in law enforcement in her young adult years, as was many in her family. She received various degrees from different colleges and universities, including studying creative writing, criminology, and psychology at University of Washington.

Ann's marriage, and eventual divorce changed her last name to Rule, which she keeps as her author name. Her extensive education and experience as a police woman gave her the perfect credentials to become regarded by many as the foremost true crime writer in America, setting the standards for the genre. For example, while she was volunteering at a suicide hotline center in Seattle in 1971, she met a work study student by the name of Ted Bundy, not realizing until a few years later that it was the same Bundy responsible for a series of murders. To her, he was kind, solicitous, and empathetic. She wrote her first book about him, considered one of the definitive biographies of Bundy.......The Stranger Beside Me (written under her own name, rather than the previously used pen name).

Rule has been a full-time crime writer since 1969, and has published 33 books and 1400 articles, mostly on criminal cases.

Today, she teaches seminars to law enforcement groups, a certified instructor in many subjects such as: Serial Murder, Sadistic Sociopaths, Women Who Kill, and High Profile Offenders. She has consulted with the FBI at their headquarters in Quantico, VA tracking a system to help identify and trap serial killers. She testimonies twice before the Senate Judiciary Sub-committee on victim's rights and the danger of serial killers.

Simon and Schuster currently have Rule under contract. Eight of her books have been made into TV movies, and more are in the works. Ann is in active support groups for victims of violent crimes and their families, in programs to help battered and abused women, and support group.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Donna on March 06, 2011

As someone who has spent decades working with teenagers, I know how naive they can be. It's long been my opinion that every teen—especially every young woman—should be required to read two or three books by Ann Rule, just so she can begin to understand how perfectly normal, and even attractive, a tr......more

Goodreads review by ♥ Marlene♥ on May 06, 2014

Finished the book this morning. I used to love Ann Rule's books but was never much interested in the short stories although with most of them in each book there was one long story. Now that I have picked this book to read I can say I did enjoy some of the stories she wrote. This book's long story was......more

Goodreads review by Katherine on March 06, 2017

If this collection doesn't cure you of that abhorrent coinage The [Male Noun]'s [Female Noun], nothing will. *"The Deputy's Wife": Seattle WA 2001: Just when I think the bar can't get any lower . . . Bill Jensen, a former King County Deputy, conspired while in prison awaiting trial on charges of felo......more

Goodreads review by ~☆~Autumn on August 23, 2019

This was fascinating making it hard to put down. Some of the murderers in this book are still out there! Ann Rule tells their ages now and of course, they are old. If you are interested in true crime this is a good book. I guess the last story was the saddest one. I sure wish someone had helped Mary......more

Goodreads review by Ashley on June 13, 2023

One thing I know I’ll never tire of is Ann Rule’s writing. Every time I pick up one of her books I know it’s a guaranteed good read and there’s something very priceless about that! This wasn’t my absolute fave by her but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I prefer her longer stories over her shorter one......more