Deadfall [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert Scott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 2006

John Annibel, 40, was the bad half of a set of twins. James stayed out of trouble...but John, with his hair-trigger temper and paranoia, was different. On Thanksgiving weekend, 1998, Debbie Sloan, 42, sat down next to a stranger in a bar. She wound up gasping her life away, slowly strangled to death by Annibel. He then dumped her nude body in a ravine in North California's secluded redwood forests. In September, 1999, thanks to the efforts of Mendocino County investigators, Annibel was convicted of Debbie Sloan's murder. But what of his other alleged crimes? In 1976, 15-year-old Sherry Lynn Smith was last seen alive heading toward Annibel's car. In 1980, Annibel's live-in girlfriend Andrea LaDeRoute vanished - until her skull was discovered in 2002. Georgina Pacheco was found raped and strangled in 1988. When the sisters of Sherry Lynn Smith and Andrea LaDeRoute teamed up to uncover the truth behind why earlier investigations of Annibel's activities in Humboldt County failed, what they found was possibly a trail of lies and criminality that defied the wildest fiction. As layer upon layer of deception was stripped away, new questions would be raised: Why were so many people willing to protect this man - and would he ever be brought to justice?

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (July 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786016825
• ISBN-13: 978-0786016822
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #652,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Still Wondering the Outcome, July 15, 2006

By 

Kim Cantrell "Soap Box Bandit" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadfall (Mass Market Paperback)

While well written with few misspellings or grammatical errors, this book leaves a lot to be desired. Despite Scott's history of true crime writing, I found that many things included in this book were simply not explained; and whether he noted it was because police or other entities failed or explain or he didn't explain it, most of those notations were not necessary anyway.

The one thing I found the most annoying, however, was that by the halfway point of this book, we had the condensed version of the killer's trial and sentence. The second half of the book details the struggle of victims' sisters searching for justice with the help Investigator Harris. We made privy to numerous email exchanges, strange occurences, and political power plays. However, as evidence becomes available to try John Annibel (the suspect of many murders and convicted murder of one) for twenty-five year old murder of his live-in girlfriend Andrea DeLaRoute, the book simply ends. It left me wondering: (1) Was he tried? Convicted? Sentenced?; (2) What about the case of Sherry Lynn Smith?; (3) What about the Georgina Pecharo case? Too many questions, too little answers.

Interesting read, plenty of suspense. But plan on being left hanging.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Humboldt Co law enforcement should be ashamed., July 31, 2006

By 

Donna Kiely - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadfall (Mass Market Paperback)

I am the wife of DA Chief investigator Tim Kiely. I read the book because it was about his interview and confession obtained on the Annibel/Sloan case. The Pacheco homicide was his first one as a detective with the Sheriff's office and still bothers him that it has never been solved.

I don't understand how the police depts and DA's office of Humboldt county could be so unwilling to get resolution for these families.

If I was Lisa I wouldn't give up. EVER! There is no excuse with all of the physical evidence, circumstantial evidence and Annibels history of violence and subsequent confession that the DA's office should back away from prosecution. Technology today wasn't the same as it was when this evidence was collected. What is the harm of testing it again. If DNA from Annibel is found on Sherry Lynn or Andrea-they need to open up the investigation and do the jobs are paid to do.

I am frustrated and had a long discussion with Tim after reading it. He feels the same way. I mentioned another missing coast woman to him, I believe her name was Kristy Krebbs, but Tim doesn't think Annibel was involved, however it was arround the same time in Fort Bragg and she has never been found. Kind of makes you wonder.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mystery in the Redwoods, July 19, 2006

By 

Detective Dan "Dan" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadfall (Mass Market Paperback)

Robert Scott's book, Deadfall, reads almost like a mystery, because he recounts John Annibel's murder of Debbie Sloan, but also goes into other unsolved cases in the redwood region. Mr. Scott makes many good points as to why John Annibel is the main suspect in the murders of Andrea LaDeRoute and Sherry Smith. I see that Lisa, the sister of Andrea has made a review of this book. I found it very interesting that Lisa has a thread on Court TV's website called "Sister's Remains found after 22 Years!" This is in the Cold Cases section. Her thread is up to date as to where the cases stand on Andrea and Sherry. Since Mr. Scott seemed to have finished writing Deadfall sometime in 2005, Lisa's thread is a good way to see how things stand now. All in all, the book is fast paced and very readable.

Detective Dan