Ann Rule - Böcker

In 1971, while working the late-shift at a Seattle crisis clinic, true-crime writer Ann Rule struck up a friendship with a sensitive, charismatic young coworker: Ted Bundy. Three years later, eight young women disappeared in seven months, and Rule began tracking a brutal mass murderer. But she had no idea that the “Ted” the police were seeking was the same Ted who had become her close friend and confidant. As she put the evidence together, a terrifying picture emerged of the man she thought she knew—his magnetic power, his bleak compulsion, his double life, and, most of all, his string of helpless victims. Bundy eventually confessed to killing at least thirty-six women across the country.Forty years after its initial publication, The Stranger Beside Me remains a gripping, intimate, and unforgettable true-crime classic, “as dramatic and chilling as a bedroom window shattering at midnight” (New York Times).

In 1971, while working the late-shift at a Seattle crisis clinic, true-crime writer Ann Rule struck up a friendship with a sensitive, charismatic young coworker: Ted Bundy. Three years later, eight young women disappeared in seven months, and Rule began tracking a brutal mass murderer. But she had no idea that the “Ted” the police were seeking was the same Ted who had become her close friend and confidant. As she put the evidence together, a terrifying picture emerged of the man she thought she knew—his magnetic power, his bleak compulsion, his double life, and, most of all, his string of helpless victims. Bundy eventually confessed to killing at least thirty-six women across the country.Forty years after its initial publication, The Stranger Beside Me remains a gripping, intimate, and unforgettable true-crime classic, “as dramatic and chilling as a bedroom window shattering at midnight” (New York Times).

Award-winning student Randall Woodfield was every college girl's dream - and nightmare. This "boy-next-door" type cruised an 800-mile-long northwestern highway, the I-5 in search of his prey - woman of all ages. He subjected them to horrifying abuse and notched up at least 44 victims before he was caught and convicted. This is his story.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Stranger Beside Me comes a shocking true crime account of the destructive forces that drove a beautiful young mother to murder.“Somebody just shot my kids!” Diane Downs brought her car to a halt in front of a Springfield, Oregon, hospital, her three gravely wounded children beside her. Thus begins the tale of a truly unthinkable crime that shattered the tranquility of a tight-knit community. As police searched for the “shaggy-haired stranger” Diane accused of shooting 8-year-old Christie, 7-year-old Cheryl, and 3-year-old Danny, a suspicion grew that was even more horrifying than the crime itself: Did Diane shoot her own children? Haunted by this question, a dedicated district attorney searched for the answer and uncovered a chronology of incest, psychological wounding, desperate affairs, and surrogate motherhood.Ann Rule's gripping, powerful, and ultimately terrifying true story of passion and murder will hold you in thrall as it plumbs the unimagined depths of darkness concealed within a human being.

Linda Slawson disappeared while making a living selling encyclopaedias. Jan Whitney never completed her drive home on the freeway. Karen Sprinkler failed to turn up for lunch with her mother. As a pattern of disappearances emerges, Oregon State Police launch a search for the sadistic monster.

In an update to one of the most astonishing crimes of the Case Files volumes, Ann Rule profiles the criminals that kill without conscience and shatters their crimes without pity.In eight stunning Case Files volumes, from A Rose for Her Grave to the #1 blockbuster Last Dance, Last Chance, Ann Rule reigns as "America's best true-crime writer" (Kirkus Reviews). Now, she updates the most astonishing cases from that acclaimed series—and presents shocking, all-new true-crime accounts—in one riveting anthology. In every explosive chapter of Without Pity, Ann Rule deepens her unrelenting exploration of the evil that lies behind the perfect facades of heartless killers...and the deadly compulsions of greed and power that shatter their outward trappings of material success. They are the admired, trusted neighbor; the affable family man; the sexy, charismatic lover; the high-achieving professional. Perhaps most frightening of all is that they are heroes in their own minds. But when someone gets in the way of their deluded dreams, they are capable of deadly acts of violence with no remorse. Analyzing the true nature of the sociopathic mind in chilling detail, Ann Rule traces the murderous crimes of seemingly ordinary men—killers who drew their unsuspecting victims into their twisted worlds with devastating consequences.

Joined in a romantic love that most people only ever dream about, Pat Taylor's marriage to Tom Allanson was all she ever wanted. Both came from fine Southern families, and both longed to recreate for themselves a plantation where they would raise horses, grow roses, and move with grace and style in the highest social circles of Atlanta; in short, to be the Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler of their time.But scarcely two months later, their perfect world had erupted into family hatreds, terror, bloodshed and murder, The beautiful estate was mysteriously burned to the ground and Tom Allanson stood accused of the brutal slaying of his own mother and father. Before the terrifying truth about the perpetrator was revealed, other innocent victims were to suffer attempts on their lives as intricate family loyalties and cruel, obsessive jealousies were played out.

A FEVER IN THE HEART dissects an explosive triangle that led to obsession and murder in a small town in the north-west of America. Ann Rule reveals the story of an alluring wife and the two men desperate for her love; a story with a bizarre and deadly twist that no one could have suspected. In this and several other riveting true-crime cases from her personal files, Ann Rule masterfully probes the delusions of the criminal mind, the fateful circumstances and the unrelenting investigative forces at work in the aftermath of murder.

* Sixth volume of Ann Rule's Crime Files anthologies - a benchmark in true crime writing.

Dr Anthony Pignataro was a cosmetic surgeon and a famed medical researcher whose flashy red Lamborghini and flamboyant lifestyle in western New York state suggested a highly successful career. But appearances, as this shocking insider account of Pignataro's tailspin from physician to prisoner proves, can be deceiving - and, for the doctor's wife, very nearly deadly. No one was safe if they got in his way. With scalpel, drugs and arsenic, he betrayed every oath a physician makes - until his own schemes backfired.Now the motivations of the classic sociopath are plumbed with chilling accuracy by Ann Rule, along with other shocking true cases, where even slow, deliberate murder is not seen for what it truly is: pure evil.

Somebody just shot my kids!' Diane Downs brought her car to a halt in front of a Springfield, Oregon, hospital, her three gravely wounded children beside her. Thus begins the shocking tale of a truly unthinkable crime that shattered the tranquility of a tight-knit community. As police searched for the 'shaggy-haried stranger' Diane accused of shooting 8-year-old Christie, 7-year-old Cheryl, and 3-year-old Danny in cold blood, a suspicion grew that was even more horrifying than the crime itself: Did Diane shoot her own children? A dedicated district attorney, haunted by this question, searched for the destructive forces that seemed to possess this beautiful young mother and uncovered a chronology of incest, psychological wounding, desperate affairs and surrogate motherhood.

THE NEW EDITION OF THE TRUE CRIME CLASSICThe Inside Story of Serial Killer Ted BundyAnn Rule was a writer working on the biggest story of her life, tracking down a brutal mass-murderer. Little did she know that the young man who was her close friend was the savage slayer she was hunting . . .TED BUNDY was everyone's picture of a natural 'winner' - handsome, charming, brilliant in law school, successful with women, on the verge of a dazzling career. Fast-forward to 24 January 1989, Ted Bundy is executed. He had confessed to taking the lives of at least thirty-five young women, coast to coast.This is his story: the story of his magnetic power, his unholy compulsion, his demonic double life and his string of helpless victims. It was written by a woman who thought she knew Ted Bundy, until she began to put all the evidence together and the whole terrifying picture emerged . . .As recommended by the hosts of the podcast My Favourite Murder.Fascinating further reading for viewers of the Netflix documentary Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.

DEAD BY SUNSET is the extraordinary cautionary tale of Bradly Morris Cunningham, a real-estate entrepreneur whose misogyny and rampant egocentricity wrecked the lives of a succession of women. Over a period of years Cunningham duped, seduced, abused and harassed his way through a string of destructive relationships, preying not on the weak, but on women who were distinguished by their striking good looks and intelligence. The scars he inflicted on his victims varied: sometimes emotional, sometimes psychological, sometimes physical. More often than not, they suffered all three. And in the tragic case of Cheryl Keeton, Cunningham's fourth wife, her association with him ended in her brutal and mysterious death.Making use of direct access to all the principal players in this incredible story, including Cunningham himself, Ann Rule explores both the causes and effects of this deadly charmer's behaviour in vivid and dramatic terms. Horrifying, compelling, enthralling, perhaps even life-saving to female readers, DEAD BY SUNSET proves that justice delayed is not justice denied.

From the bestselling true crime author comes the mesmerising true story of Debora Green, a beautiful, wealthy, successful doctor and mother of three whose murderous rage and jealousy brings death and destruction to her family. With direct access to all the principles including Green, the prosecutor, detectives and arson investigators Ann Rule gives us a horrifying portrait of a woman who had it all and lost it.BITTER HARVEST is the chronicle of a tragedy in the heartland of America, the true story of the disintegration of a marriage and its horrifying consequences. As in her earlier books, Ann Rule takes the reader deep into the psyche of a killer whose behaviour, so twisted and so evil, defies belief. Her book is also the story of the tireless and skilful investigators, forensic scientists and prosecutors who finally brought that killer to justice. Gripping, powerful, and ultimately terrifying, BITTER HARVEST is a vivid re-creation of an unthinkable crime - and a depiction of the unimaginable depths of darkness within the human spirit.

From America's most celebrated true-crime writer comes the heartbreaking real-life drama of a doomed young woman hopelessly trapped in a web of sexual intrigue, political manipulation and emotional deception by her charming and successful - but ultimately deadly - lover. In the most complex and shocking book of her long career, Ann Rule delves into the motivation that drove a seemingly successful man to kill, and she explores hitherto unknown aspects of a fatal affair between a beautiful young woman who moved confidently in the heady world of the upper echelons of government and a widely admired millionaire attorney who was an immensely popular political figure. Ann Rule brilliantly traces the lives of both Ann Marie Fahey and Tommy Capano as she discloses the intimate details of their ill-fated bonding. A vulnerable, trusting woman becomes spellbound by a charming, duplicitous married man, and what begins as a seemingly unremarkable affair is slowly transformed into an obsessive, convoluted and deadly relationship.

“America’s best true-crime writer” (Kirkus Reviews) presents an all-new collection of crime stories drawn from her private files and featuring the riveting case of a fraudulent doctor whose lifelong deceptions had deadly consequences. The inspiration behind the upcoming Lifetime movie event Desperate Hours.Dr. Anthony Pignataro was a cosmetic surgeon and a famed medical researcher whose flashy red Lamborghini and flamboyant lifestyle in western New York State suggested a highly successful career. But appearances can be deceiving—and, for the doctor’s wife, very nearly deadly. Now, the motivations of the classic sociopath are plumbed with chilling accuracy by Ann Rule.Along with other shocking true cases, this worldwide headline-making case will have you turning pages in disbelief that a trusted medical professional could sink to the depths of greed, manipulation, and self-aggrandizement where even slow, deliberate murder is not seen for what it truly is: pure evil.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author and true crime icon Ann Rule, the cases in this collection grapple with murder, false identity, and much more. 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 reader won’t predict the outcome of these truly confounding cases until the conclusions are revealed in Rule’s marvelously insightful narrative: - A “picture perfect” family is targeted for death by the least likely enemy, who plotted their demise from behind bars. - A sexual predator hides behind multiple fake identities, eluding police for years while his past victims live in fear that he will hunt them down. - 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 page-turning collection you won't be able to put down.