Customer Reviews

Empty Promises (Ann Rule's Crime Files: Vol 7)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

As expected from the files of true crime writer Ann Rule, EMPTY PROMISES is as frightening of an anthology a reader will find because the tales really happened. The premise behind the collection is not all relationships end in a happily ever after. Some end in violent death in which the killer betrayed the love and trust of their victim.

The ten stories, including the "novel" length title piece, of

EMPTY PROMISES all hinge on a glib predator taking advantage of love to the point that perhaps it is better to not have loved and lived than to love at all. Each tale is haunting because they can easily happen to family, friends, and readers. Although not for everyone, this book proves Ms Rule still rules the true crime genre.

Harriet Klausner

I wait breathlessly for every book Ann Rule puts out, but I'll begin to breathe easier now. Her last few books, this one included, have not lived up to the earlier promise of such titles as "Small Sacrifices," "The Stranger Beside Me," and "If you really love me." Granted, the crimes in her latest books have not been as spectucular, the criminals not as incomprehensible as those in earlier books, but it does seem that the publishers are rushing her to put out books to satisfy readers like me--rather than giving Rule adequate time to find a criminal type and do what she does best -- explore his/her background and bring him/her to life for the reader. Too many of the stories in "Empty Promises" are empty of Rule's talent for sketching out the criminal character. Too many read no better than a newspaper account--they leave you wanting to know more rather than wanting to read more.

It makes me sad, but that's my take

Ann Rule says "I often say that what real people do can be so heroic, bizarre, savage, and completely unpredictable that no fiction writer could have pulled it out of her imagination."

No living person * chronicles those things that real people do better than Ann Rule does when she is in her stride. But Ms. Rule is a "marathoner" and these "sprints" are not her strength. There are many more "I"s (first person narrative) in this book than in most books of the true crime genre - but that is probably a "good thing" as it is evident that Ms. Rule becomes deeply involved with the stories and cases which she covers. She describes herself as a "fact-detective." This is her 7th volume of "chaff" (cases that didn't make it into full length books) from her files. The longer title story in this compilation is the best - because the author excels at getting those close to her cases to talk to her - thereby giving her readers that "YOU ARE THERE" feeling. Of the shorter work-ups, the case told in "A Dangerous Mind" is eerily prescient of the Jon Benet Ramsey case almost 20 years later - but with better crime solvers.

The shorter stories here are too short - depriving the reader of the author's forte. I prefer the "Whole Grain" of her full-length works such as "Small Sacrifices" "The Stranger Beside Me" "Dead By Sunset" "Bitter Harvest" et al.

* Truman Capote is deceased, otherwise Ann would be second best.

I purchased this book from Von's supermarket(couldn't find it in a book store!) I was done reading it in four days. Ann Rule takes you through every phase of the victims life and make's you feel as if you are in the court room when the trials are taking place. I have read every last one of her books and this is yet another jewel from the best true crime writer. I would also recommend Dead by Sunset to those of you who have not read it yet. It will break your heart. Good job Ann.

Ex-cop and serial killer expert Ann Rule isn't a profound writer. She tells the same story over and over again with new victims and grisly variations on the way a human being can die. I suppose there's nothing profound about me either, since I read her stories. But it's a relief to know that no matter how badly my life is behaving, I'm better off than the victims of Rule's psychopaths.

The title story, "Empty Promises" is 216 pages long, and I had a problem empathizing with the victim, an abused wife who eventually disappears, because the husband in this case is such an unrelenting crudball. Ann Rule allows Steve Sherer absolutely no redeeming features and as a result, I can't figure out why Jami married him, much less went out on that first date with Steve. She learned right away that Steve was still beating up his previous girlfriend. It was quickly obvious that he was into drugs, thievery, and insurance scams. He bullied Jami into dyeing her hair blond and getting her breasts enlarged. Part of this bullying went on while Steve was in prison. Then when he is set free, Jami MARRIES him, supports him financially, and bears his child. When she finally decides to leave him for yet another druggie, Jami disappears.

The only really interesting thing about this story is the trial, which was conducted on purely circumstantial evidence and the personality of the accused.

This book's shorter case histories are more interesting and varied than the long, sad story of Jami and Steve:

"Bitter Lake"--another woman tries to break off a relationship with an overly-possessive boyfriend with a very brutal outcome.

"Young Love"--A teen-age romance goes sour and the boy breaks into his ex-girl-friend's college dorm, loaded down with dynamite.

"Love and Insurance"--Two publicity-seeking men enter into a gay relationship that lasts only until one of them is murdered.

"The Gentler Sex"--Some women are tempted by the thought of widowhood, cushioned by scads of life insurance, including the wife of one hard-to-kill Marine drill instructor.

"The Conjugal Visit"--Nowadays some prisons include nearly all the comforts of home, including conjugal relations. Even a man who has committed crimes of extreme violence can sometimes fool prison officials into thinking he is willing to reform. When cop-killer, kidnapper, and repeat felon Carl Bowles is allowed to visit his 'fiancée' in a Motel 6 room, the couple disappears.

"Killers on the Road"--Some American murderers are named after the roads where they pick up their victims. Ann Rule shares one of the first trials she covered as a true-crime writer. A married woman goes missing on the way home from work. Her killers are traced only after another one of their victims survives multiple gunshot wounds.

"A Dangerous Mind"--A pretty blond child is murdered in her own home during the dark hours of the night. This case predated by almost two decades that of JonBenét Ramsey.

"To Kill and Kill Again"--Four separate victims have only one thing in common--their nineteen-year-old killer.

"The Stockholm Syndrome"--This true case was explored on the TV show, "Forensic Files." A young couple and their collie meet a stranger while camping in the woods.

No surprises here. Ann Rule's name is on the cover and it's another great book. She just gets better and better. I became so involved in the main case, "Empty Promises," that I stayed up well past midnight, despite having an early appointment the next morning. I kept pulling for Jami to find a way out, for Judy to gain justice, and for Steve to spend the rest of his life locked in a cell. The book just rings so true. Ann always does a superb job of bringing her characters to life. I've loved every one of her books, and as I finish one I can't wait for the next. Thanks, Ann, from a very satisfied reader.

OK...the electric nose hair trimmer was good but this book was my favorite gift. Ann becomes more compulsively readable as time goes on. I especially liked the way she mixed things up a bit like the addition of crime stories involving gay perpetrators (i.e. the cruely inept lesbian murderers...OY!...spider venom sac in the blueberry pie!). Thanks Ann for all your hard work and skilled distillation of investigatory knowledge. The world's a little bit better place with you in it.

I am as hooked on Ann as any of the previous customer reviewers, but this time something was missing. Jami Hegel-beautiful, smart, well-liked, from a loving family with no major pathology or skeletons in its closet-gets involved in a toxic, abusive relationship with a sociopathic loser who controls her for years....what's wrong with this picture??? Usually Rule explains or at least speculates on why the seemingly well adjusted people she chooses to write about get victimized by those they trust and love, but not this time. Steve Sherer was not successful, smart or particularly handsome. His jealous rages were easily understandable especially given his family's tragic past. I was left entertained, but puzzled, at the end of this story.

"Empty Promises" is a collection of short stories by Ann Rule, built around one long, book-length story. The main story is about Jami and Steve Sherer. He is a drug addict, thief, insurance defrauder, and con man who uses and abuses his wife Jami and finally murders her. The big lesson in Ann Rule's books is that people are not always as they appear on the surface, and charm is often a tool used by the dishonest to manipulate the naive. Often, as is the case in the title story "Empty Promises", it is hard to understand how an abused woman could be so compliant and stupid about staying with her abuser. One thing I know from experience is that men like Steve Sherer have practiced lying and sneaking from childhood. From the day they meet a potential girlfriend, they carefully construct an intricate web of lies, and they are very, very good at it. They always have an ex-girlfriend in the wings who they are still threatening and abusing. They always have at least one other potential or second-string girlfriend waiting in the wings to support them if the main wife or girlfriend manages to get away. They enlist friends and family members to back up their stories, and for some reason these people support them. It is hard feel too much sympathy for Jami Sherer, after all, she helped him defraud insurance companies, and was into drugs herself. The man she picked out to leave Steve for was an even worse druggie than Steve. But no matter how stupid or even complicit a woman is, no one ever deserves the brainwashing and violence the victim of a pathological narcissist goes through. I have wondered over the years how many women Ann Rule has helped get away from men who are manipulating and using them. I bet it is a lot. Thanks for this book, Ann.

This time around with Empty Promises, I felt cheated. Don't mind paying for a true crime book if it is a good one, but in this case it didn't happen. These stories were obviously left over from Ann's files; ones that were just not ready for print. Unfortunately for us readers, they should have remained in the files. In all honesty, I didn't recommend this book to my friends so we won't be hopping aboard the train anytime soon.