AS SEEN ON 48 HOURS -- AN EXPLOSIVE ACCOUNT OF LETHAL GREED AND TWISTED DESIRE, FROM THE FILES OF AMERICA'S #1 TRUE CRIME WRITER, ANN RULE
They were best friends, four talented and charismatic young men who lived charmed lives among the evergreens of Washington state: Kevin, the artist; Steve, the sculptor; Scott, the nature lover and unabashed ladies' man; and Mark, the musician and poet. With their stunning good looks, whip-sharp minds, athletic bodies -- and no lack of women who adored them -- none of them seemed slated for disaster.
But few knew the reality behind the leafy screen that surrounded Seven Cedars, Scott's woodland dream home -- a tree house equipped with every luxury. From this idyllic enclave, some of these trusted friends would become the quarry for a vigilant Seattle police detective and an FBI special agent, who unmasked clues to disturbing secrets that spawned murder, suicide, million-dollar bank robberies, drug-dealing, and heartbreaking betrayal. When the end came in a violent stand-off, the ringleader of the foursome -- the fugitive dubbed "Hollywood" for his ingenious disguises and flawless getaways; the persuasive talker who turned his friends into accomplices -- faced a final chapter no one could have predicted. In a blast of automatic gunfire, the highest and lowest motives of the human heart were, at last, revealed.
Along with four other true-crime tales, The End of the Dream is a masterful and compelling tour of the criminal mind from Ann Rule.
John Saul [Ann Rule is] the undisputed master crime writer of the eighties and nineties.
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
About the Author
Ann Rule is the author of more than two dozen New York Times bestsellers, all of them still in print. A former Seattle police officer, she knows the crime scene firsthand. She is a certified instructor for police training seminars and lectures frequently to law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and forensic science organizations, including the FBI. For more than two decades, she has been a powerful advocate for victims of violent crime. She has testified before U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittees on serial murder and victims' rights, and was a civilian adviser to the VI-CAP (Violent Criminal Apprehension Program). A graduate of the University of Washington, she holds a Ph.D. in Humane Letters from Willamette University. She lives near Seattle and can be contacted through her Web page at www.annrules.com.
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
I am an author of true-crime books, and I'm now working on my 25th and 26th: NO REGRETS and TOO LATE TO SAY GOODBYE. I have lived in the Seattle Area for many years. Before that, I grew up in Michigan and Pennsylvania, and lived in Texas, Oregon, and near Niagara Falls, N.Y. I always wanted to be a police officer--because my grandfather was a sheriff in Michigan. I joined the Seattle Police Department when I was 21, worked a year and a half, but then I couldn't pass the eye test. After five years of rejection slips, I finally sold my first article for $35! Soon, I found my niche when I began writing for the fact-detective magazines like TRUE DETECTIVE in 1970, and I wrote more than a thousand homicide cases, and went to hundreds of trials. My first book, THE STRANGER BESIDE ME, was about Ted Bundy, but, amazingly, I had the book contract to write about an unknown killer six months before Bundy was identified as the "Ted Killer." And I had known him all along, and didn't realize it; he was my partner in the all-night shift at Seattle's Crisis Clinic! Oddly, I started out writing humor, but unless you are Erma Bombeck, Garrison Keillor, or Fanny Flagg or Dave Barry, it's hard to make a living. Now I write humor for fun and for my friends.
I graduated in Creative Writing from the U of Washington, with minors in criminology and psychology. I also have an AA degree in law enforcement, taking classes in crime scene investigation, arrest, search and seizure, crime scene photography and forensic science. I've lectured in seminars all across America to detectives, prosecutors, and even at the FBI Academy. My subjects have been serial murder, high profile offenders, and women who kill. I write two books every year--one hardcover single-case book, and one Ann Rule's True Crime Files original paperback. Although people tend to think I write only about the Northwest, I go wherever the cases are most interesting. I've written about murder cases in Florida, Georgia, New York, Kansas, Texas, Hawaii, and California, too.
I raised five children on my own--starting out with articles for baby care magazines, Sunday features, true confessions, and then "slicks" like Cosmopolitan, Ladies' Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and Reader's Digest. Now, my children are grown.
I like to keep in very close touch with my readers, and I'm able to do that with a weblog and a guestbook on my website pages at www.annrules.com This also gives readers a chance to talk with each other, and its' a pretty lively spot--as I'm sure this page will be.
To choose a book subject, I weed through about 3,000 suggestions from readers. I'm looking for an "anti-hero" whose eventual arrest shocks those who knew him (or her): attractive, brilliant, charming, popular, wealthy, talented, and much admired in their communities--but really hiding behind masks.
I'm a reader myself, and I always have several books going at once--one upstairs, downstairs, near the bathtub, in my car, and beside my hammock (in the summer, of course!)
I am 51 years old and I live in St.Peters, Mo. I am an avid reader and love Ann Rule's books on true crime. Most of her books take place in the northwest states of Washington and Oregon. I have traveled several times to this region which I call "Ann Rule Country". I work for myself in the lawn mowing business and I have plenty of time from December to April in which to read and also to travel. I have a wife and 9 year old daughter who accompany me on many of my journeys. On my last trip, we visited the Columbia River Gorge area and climbed up to the top of Beacon Rock, about 600 feet tall. It was one of the most amazing and eerie things I've ever done. This is a lava dome, or the inside of a long ago volcano and also the site of a famous murder. The case is written about by Ann Rule in her book, "A Rose For Her Grave". The murderer threw his wife off of this rock and collected insurance money. This was my favorite Ann Rule Book until I picked up a copy of "The End Of The Dream". This is now my favorite of her books. I plan to go up to the northwest in a year or two and investigate the place where Scott Scurlock called home. He was the subject of the book and was one of the most fascinating people you could ever read about. He lived in maybe the biggest and tallest treehouse in the world near Olympia Wa. Scott Scurlock and the other important characters were free spirit people who enjoyed adventure and living on the edge. We all have known a guy like Scott Scurlock at some time in our lives; the guy that everyone likes and admires; the guy who might get you in serious trouble but also the guy who just might give you some of the most fun and exciting times of your life. Most people like this turn out fine and become fine people, but a few like the subject of this book take a dark path. They use their charm and charisma in a negative way. Scott Scurlock could have been successful in any thing he tried, but instead he became maybe the northwest's most infamous and successful bank robber. His name that FBI and local police gave him was "Hollywood". He and his accomplices were finally nabbed in what was to be the last robbery. They stole over 1 million dollars, but were apprehended. The story ends tragically, but this story was different from other Ann Rule books because there were no murders in it, but from an adventure standpoint, it was her most interesting story. You will like it, I could almost guarantee it. Happy Reading.
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This book was wonderfully entertaining -- I could hardly believe it was true. Usually I can tell by reading the captions under the pictures in the middle of the book generally what happened. Not so in this case. Ann did her usual wonderful job of taking me through the life of each character. However, when the crime began, the partners in crime changed so much and Kevin still remained such a close friend that I wondered almost to the end if he was going to get sucked into this horrible plan. The book was excellent, Ann did a wonderful job of introducing all of the characters to the reader. For the first time, I felt a little sorry for the criminal in the end (because of the end). Ann had taken me through his entire life so well that I felt I knew him. This book was especially interesting to me because I work in the criminal justice field and was amazed that these guys were able to get away with what they did for so long. I highly recommend this book to any true-crime reader.
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I enjoyed the book tremendously because it reconnected me to a time in my youth when I had a strong association with Scotty and the Scurlock family. How painful it must have been for all of them to go through. I feel the strongest for MaryJane Scurlock. She has had enough heartache in one life for any woman. Scotty was always a free spirit. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a bit of what Ann Rule described in her book as his magnetism and presence. Ann doesn't deserve to be attacked though, and I've seen a bit much on this site. She may not have hit the nail every time she swung the hammer, but I had little difficulty believing most of what I read, because it closely fit my memories, images and understanding of the principals involved. In fact, there was more than a bit of ugliness left under the sheets and she deserves some credit for keeping it there. As for me, I'm sad any of these things have happened at all. Scotty may have reaped what he had sown, but I still feel a sense of loss with his passing. Scotty chose his path and denied his gifts; it's a good lesson for all of us. I also feel some loss regarding Rev. Scurlock. I was one of many who listened to his thoughts and sermons and feelings for hours on end. He had much of the same charisma Scotty had. But his "reported" treatment of the Seattle police was arrogant and more than a bit disappointing. His deeds and unheeded philosophies are going to burden him for the rest of his life. It's a sad and well told story, worthy of more thought.
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