Customer Reviews

And Never Let Her Go: Thomas Capano: The Deadly Seducer

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

It's been many, many years since I've stayed up all night to finish a book, but this one did it for me.

Ann Rule is in top form in this book; her writing is quite well done, unlike many in the true crime genre. The book flows, and while no stone is left unturned, one doesn't feel exhausted and distracted by detail.

At first, I wasn't interested in purchasing this book, believing that since the case received a lot of national publicity and was so recent, I'd know beforehand what I'd read. But I was utterly wrong.

This is really Ann Rule's best book yet, and one of the best books I've ever read in true crime.

I've been an Ann Rule fan since she wrote "Stranger Beside Me," about Ted Bundy. I've read nearly all of her books, and her current work, "And Never Let Her Go," ranks at the top of my list. It's a page turner, and it doesn't matter that you begin the book knowing the outcome! Ann Rule expertly draws the reader into the lives of the victim and her slayer, and manages to evoke true empathy for the victim. A sense of outrage pervades the book, as well it should. There is also the realization that evil knows no socio-economic class, which makes it a very scary eye-opener!

In many ways, this book is the only real justice the victim, Anne Marie Fahey, will ever have. It stands as a true memorial, and no one who reads this book will ever forget her.

It is easy to see how Ann Rule gains the confidence of the people involved, in that her facts are impeccably researched, and her portrayal of the lives of the victims is sensitive to a fault.

I can't wait until the next book by Ann Rule is published!

As stated, I found this book to be a very compelling read, even though I live in the Delaware Valley and followed this story closely in the local news. The intricate details and obviously well researched information by the author of this case and the two families involved only emphasizes this unreal tragedy. Since I did follow this as a news story, I was astounded to read some of the background information, quite often overlooked when news coverage is limited to a few sensational headlines. I found this to be a well written story which I couldn't put down.

During the time covered in this book I worked as a federal law enforcement officer with an office at the Byrne Courthouse at 6th & Market Streets in Philadelphia, PA. I worked with most of the agencies mentioned by the author and I found the book gave me even more information than I already knew. The author really painted a portrait that makes one want to empathize even more with the Fahey family and her once hoped-to-be husband Mike. What a great piece of research and writing.

It is unusual for Ann Rule to write on such a widely covered story, but her experience as a author of true crime books is again apparent. Having read the Vanity Fair article and another book on the subject, I thought there would be nothing be gained from reading this book. She has captured every detail about an overly controlling murderer who had to have his own way even to the point of weakening his defense in court. Her sympathetic portrayal of the many victims in this book including Tom Capano's daughters and Ann Marie's family reminds us of how one man's actions can affect so many.

I am a burned-out former paralegal from Wilmington, Delaware. I knew Thomas Capano and Anne Marie Fahey. I followed the trial closely, and I have read all four true crime books based on this case. Even though Ms. Rule is not a local reporter, her understanding of Wilmington's unique political and social climate is much deeper and more nuanced than any of the other authors'. I strongly recommend this book, which is both a clear-eyed study of this case and a real pleasure to read -- fast-moving and yet deeply felt.

Ann Rule does a masteful job of showing the reader the background of the people involved in one of the most sensational murder trials of the past decade. She shows us how the murderer and his victim played out a deadly pas de deux: a master manipulator and a woman whose deeply-entrenched insecurities made her easy to manipulate; a glib and suave psychopath and a woman who was just too trusting, too unsophisticated, too darn NICE. Although she eventually tried to break off the relationship with a man she had come to recognize as a domineering control freak and stalker, she constantly worried about hurting his feelings! In e-mail after e-mail, she's apologizing to him, when she should be furious and appalled at the way he is treating her. She became afraid of him, but it's obvious that she never grasped the full extent of how he was manipulating her - nor did she understand the real danger she was in.
Ann Rule shows us that this was the pattern in Capano's other relationships - when his long-time mistress Debby McIntyre found out that the so-called love of her life had been cheating on her with other women and lying to her - she panics because she's afraid it means he's going to leave her! Once again, Thomas Capano chose a woman who was so insecure and needy that she would stay in a relationship purely on his terms and blame herself for anything that went wrong.
Highly recommended.

I loved And Never Let Her Go, and I was happy to see this review in the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER this month that really sums up the way I felt. All of Ann's books are wonderful (and I've read them all), but this book about Anne Marie Fahey and Tom Capano was in a class by itself.

Everlyn Theiss wrote this review, and I wanted to quote her for people who may not have read And Never Let Her Go:

"Ann Rule at her best in retelling Delaware Murder. Killer and victim are portrayed in powerful detail.

Ann Rule's skill in selecting crimes that actually merit a book--and bookstore sale bins are filled with ones by other authors who don't--is unparalleled...From the start, 'And Never Let Her Go' is a psychological portrait of a narcissistic murderer and his victim that on its face deserved full-length treatment and not just because of his social prominence. Rule delves so deeply into her characters and their motives that she takes us farther than even the hungriest reader might have expected. What has always separated Rule from others is the skill and compassion with which she presents the background of victims. We come to feel we knew them as well as the killers. No one is ever portrayed one-dimensionally-not even someone as irredeemably evil as Thomas Capano."

"...The elements of the crime are familiar. A beautiful woman becomes involved with a powerful man; when she finally breaks it off, he begins to try to control her, then stalks her, and eventually killds her. But Rule is so adept at fleshing out her characters' histories in minibiographies--created in this case from diaries, letters, e-mails and te confidences of friends and family--that we feel heart-rending empathy for victims like Anne Marie Fahey and an understanding of what led to her bad choices."

"...Having read many of Rule's books--including The Stranger Beside Me, her devastating book about Ted Bundy...I would say that in her selection and treatment of the Fahey murder, she might have created her masterpiece. In her introduction, Rule wrote, 'If I could only write one book, it would be this one.' Even at nearly 500 pages, readers will be grateful she did. And haunted for weeks by what they have read."

I definitely agree with the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. And Never Let Her Go IS Ann Rule's masterpiece!

Ann Rule wrote another great book telling us as much as possible about all people involved in this case. She kept my interest right until the end. Her curiosity peaks on a level with her readers and answers just about any question you have that can possibly be answered about the victim as well as the actions of the perpetrator. All of her books do not get published soon enough to suit me. I am an avid reader!

"...And Never Let Her Go" is an excellent true crime novel based on the real life murder of Anne Marie Fahey by her lover, Thomas Capano. The case drew national attention because Anne Marie was the scheduling secretary for the governor of Delaware. Although I remember reading about the crime in the newspaper and some magazines, Ann Rule's book gives additional insight into what led up to the crime, how the police tracked down the killer, and the subsequent trial. Indepth interviews with the Fahey family and Thomas Capano's other lover, Debby McIntyre, give welcome insight into Anne Marie and Thomas Capano, and allows the reader to see how vulnerable and susceptible Anne Marie was to Capano's manipulations. Rule's book can be enjoyed by those who kept up with the case through the media, and those who may not have heard anything about Anne Marie's murder.