Customer Reviews

In the Name of Love and Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is another of my favorite true crime books. Once again, Ann does an outstanding job of introducing the reader to all of the characters. I felt like I knew each person by the time everything tied together in a horrible tragedy. Ann did a wonderful job of detailing the "friendships," the murder, the investigation, and luck involved in finally learning what had happened to the victim and who was responsible. True, the book does paint the victim as somewhat of a saint, despite the evidence that he may have been "creative" in some of his business practices. However, this book to me was more about true love -- finally found, and then lost way too soon, and how this horrible experience affected the widow for the rest of her life. It was quite a tear jerker, unlike most true crime books. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read true crime as well as to those who like romance. This book has it all.

I grew up in Fremont CA and I remember when this happened and when they found Jerry Harris's body but never knew the outcome. A friend at work gave me the book and I could not put it down. It was very weird reading it and knowing a person in the book and reading about night clubs and places I have been to. It is the 1st book of Ann Rule's that I have read, and I really enjoyed the book because I finally found out what happened to Jerry Harris.

Ann Rule is by far my favorite true crime author. Her stories are gripping, and she is really good at setting the mood and locale. Her books also make me think of "America's Most Wanted" or "Unsolved Mysteries" in that they perform a public service. "America's Most Wanted" strives to capture fugitives, and "Unsolved Mysteries" tries to find a resolution to the unsolved crime. What I feel Ann Rule does for the public is use her stories to make people more aware of the dangers of the manipulators, users, and abusers in our lives. Rule's description of a pathological narcissist in one of her books put me on a path that I am convinced saved me from emotional and financial disaster, if not worse. My ex was preoccupied with insurance. I have often wondered how many other women Ann Rule has motivated to leave their abusers before it was too late. "In the Name of Love" is a collection of shorter stories by Rule. The main story offers a twist on the usual pattern of the abusive male victimizing his female partner. Jerry, a wealthy if somewhat shady businessman fell in love with Susan, who seemed to be a very passive and retiring woman. Jerry is portrayed as a very informal, easygoing guy. He had a childhood friend, Steve, who he took to be just a harmless loser, so he humored him and let him be a hanger-on. He even used him a little for a loan. In Steve's mind, this made him Jerry's business partner. If Jerry was eliminated, Steve thought he would have it all. Jerry never took Steve seriously, a very big mistake. It cost Jerry his life. Steve then made a personality misjudgement very similar to Jerry's. He thought he would be able to intimidate and decieve Susan, who he mistook for a passive victim. The story is very interesting, and might make you take a second look at the people in your own life. This is not Ann Rule's best book, but it is still a stand out in the true crime genre and worth reading.

I thought the books was very good as I love reading books by Ann Rule. However, this book was not very objective and painted Jerry Harris as such a wonderful man and Susan as such an intelligent and sweet person. This books seemed to be largely an in depth interview about Susan Harris and her wonderful life with Jerry Harris. It made these characters a little bit too perfect which took away the objectivity and made me feel the books was not real enough. It seemed the author did not delve more into the characters when researching this book.

I've read several Ann Rule true crime novels, and most have been either good or excellent. However "In the Name of Love: ..." is a comparative disappointment. All the hallmarks of Ann Rule (fine writing, excellent research, and a remarkable true story) are absent from this book. And perhaps worse, in the main story Ann Rule writes as if she has transformed herself into some trashy romance novelist ... complete with glowing comments of a handsome husband (I guess the photos in the book weren't very kind) by an adoring wife. Very saccharine, to a sickening extent.

In this book we have one main story ("In the Name of Love") followed by a few short stories. The main story is about a middle-aged entrepreneur who gets killed, and his young wife goes through hell afterwards until the killers are brought to justice. Compared to Ann Rule's wonderful works such as "Dead by Sunset" the story is relatively flat, and Ann doesn't do much justice in "getting into the heads" of the killers. It is as if this story was written in haste. Worse, the short stories are little more than collections of Seattle-area police reports from the 1960s/1970s. Yes, the stories are strange and horrific. But they all have a "Reader's Digest" feel about them.

Is the book all bad? Well, no. As with all Ann Rule books "In the Name of Love..." is very readable. Or rather, it is a fast read. It certainly makes for a harmless time-filler at the beach or on an airplane. But really, Ann Rule has done much better.

Bottom line: certainly not terrible, but a thoroughly forgettable reading experience.

Gives wonderful and meticulous detail. How does this author find all this stuff out about her subjects? Very gripping and tragic true crime story about a couple who seemingly had it all, wealth, love and the admiration of their friends. Then...everything changed in a single night with Jerry Harris' disappearnce. His beautiful, young wife Susan has to bear months of wondering and waiting for Jerry to hopefully walk in the door, but that is not to be. At first, it seems that the much younger Susan is very passive and that she is submissive to her husband. However, she becomes a dynamo and formidable woman after her husband's disappearance. She fights Jerry's best friend, Steve Bonilla tooth and nail, as Bonilla is trying to get a piece of Jerry and Susan's financial pie. This all ends with Jerry's murder in 1988 and things are never the same again. Just goes to show that you can't trust your best friend sometimes!! Beware. Great read from Ann Rule.

Even though I knew alot of the facts of this case and was very involved with the first trial of Steven Bonilla and William Nichols Ann Rule kept me glued to the book with her consise and accurate knowledge of the case. She also did a wonderful job of putting a very personal face on all the people involved, good and bad

I too have read all of Ann Rules books, and I felt this was one of her best! I could not put it down! I cannot wait for her next book! Keep up the great work Ann!

Ann Rule can certainly put together a page-turner. The problem is, her stories of true life crime lacks all objectivity. In this installment, Jerry Harris is as perfect a human being as one could imagine, and so doggone naive about his "best friend" you have to wonder if he's not just a big-hearted doofus. I love Ann's books and I read every one them, but I really wish that she would paint her characters three dimensionally--the "good guy" isn't perfect, and the "bad guy" must have some good in him/her or the "good guy" wouldn't have been so duped!

not her best and I wonder if she should not have written it at all since she obviously didn't have enough material for a real book. She just keeps harping on the good guys being so good and the bad guys being so bad without much detail to back it up. Sad. I thought I-5 Killer, Dead by Sunset, and Everything she ever Wanted were fabulous.