Customer Reviews

Small Sacrifices: A True Story of Passion and Murder

5 star:		(99)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anne Rule is a writer of uncommon intelligence and insight. In "Small Sacrifices," she tells the mesmerizing story of Diane Downs, a beautiful, brillient, sociopath, who commits the ultimate evil when she shoots her three children to gain the love of a married man. Anne Rule's insight into the personality of Downs is as horrifying as it is disturbing. I literally could not put the book down. Never have I read or heard of such a selfish, self-centered woman as Diane Downs. She never confesses to shooting her children, but her conduct at the trial is sickening. She taps her foot and smiles while listening to "Hungry Like the Wolf," the song that was playing in her car while she slaughtered her children; she laughs when she should cry, she cries when it benefits her. One daughter is dead, one has lost the use of her arm and speech, and the little boy is paralyzed. None of this horror seems to penetrate Diane. She has no feelings for her children's suffering. The detail in this book is fasinating. Anne Rule describes every bit of evidence and presents it in such a way as to keep the reader of the edge of her seat. A must read for all true crime buffs.

I am going through another one of my "true crime" phases; my last phase was in the early to mid-80's, and this one has me buying every true crime book Amazon sells! I say this as context because no matter how many true crime books I read, Ann Rule always comes up on top in terms of authors and in terms of my interest in the book. She's really an artist in this genre. When reading this book, as with all of Ms. Rule's books, I sometimes had to counsel myself to be patient and slow down. Rule has a bit of Stephen King in her, and so her writing can be dense, words and details often packed as tightly as sardines in a tin. Unlike King, however, Rule never wastes a word. I have read so many true crime books with fascinating topics and such poor writing (and editing) that dramatic crime cases become dull. Not in this case! In this book, Rule is at her best. Her eye for detail and her exceptional skill at recreating the drama of the crime and the courtroom are at full tilt in Small Sacrifices. Her background/historical detail here is exquisitely done and incredibly thorough. This is probably my favorite Ann Rule book so far. I simply could not put it down, reading it in all manner of unlikely places! I imagine it's obvious that I highly recommend this book!

This book is truly one of Ann Rule's best true crime books. The story of Diane Downs is so shocking one cannot help but think, "Who could shot their own children in cold blood?" Ann Rule looks in depth at the life of Diane Downs to unearth the hidden motives of this murderess. This book is incredibly interesting to those who like the psychology behind criminal motives. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in true crime and the mind. It was definately a page turner that left me wanting more. Ann Rule has a website that keeps her fans up to date on the subjects of her books. You to can find out where Diane Downs is today.

After reading Ann Rule's Small Sacrifices I had to re-read it again. I could not believe this story was true. Above all I congradulate Ann Rule on excellent coverage of this tragic story. By the end of the book I have adopted Danny and Christie and feel the loss of Cheryl as if it were my own. I hope Diane never sees her children again and that she is never allowed into general population again for who knows what she is fully capable of ... after all this is a mother who tried to fulfill her own twisted obsession by killing her children.

Well written and very informative about the criminal case of Diane Downs. This is truly a sad story of a lost woman who could not see the value in herself and much less in her own children. Ann Rule portrays a very detailed account of what it was like to be Diane Downs from being molested as a young girl to being a lost adult woman. Diane Downs was rejected by her then lover, a married coworker. This (in my view) was nothing personal, he just knew he needed to go back to his wife and dealing with children wasn't something he was prepared to do. Diane's inablity to handle "rejection" created an obssession with him and she believed that if she got rid of the kids then he'd come back to her. Diane Downs is a confused young woman with no direction in life who has not developed any depth to her personality. Even after she is arrested she continues her bizarre self destructive behavior and starts up a pen-pal relationship with the sick psycho-killer known as the I-5 killer (another one of Ann Rule's books).
This book is great to start with if you are not familiar with Ann Rule.

This was the first book, written by Ann Rule, that I ever read. I have since read all of Rule's books. It is the ONLY book that I have purchased, for myself, four times. (I keep "loaning" them, never to get them back). Whenever asked for a good read, this book is my first recommendation. I also suggest that after reading, put the book away, then re-read it.
All of the other reviews, pretty much tell how riveting the story is, how horrible the crime is, how selfish, the woman who had everything, was. The three beautiful children, unfortunately born to Diane Downs, were truely meant to be sacrifced so that Downs could have what she wanted. Period. What she got was prison. The most horrible thing about "Small Sacrifices" is, it's all true.
Ann Rule knows how to tell the story, makes the reader want to keep reading, and knows how to make you KEEP thinking about the innocent ones in this book.
I read this book about once a year, even if it means I have to go out and buy another one!

E. Diane Downs was truly a sociopath. Bitter over an unhappy past with a cruel and controlling father, Diane literally jumped into marriage with the unsuspecting Stephen Downs in 1972. That union produced two daughters and a son.

Daughter Cheryl Lynn, born in 1976 was Diane's scapegoat. Photographs of the girl reveal a somber, unsmiling face and quotes attributed to Cheryl Lynn point out a very sad life with the demented Diane.

Diane was truly demented. She burned down the family trailer with the idea of raising insurance money. She wanted to start a surrogate mother clinic and has a daughter for a couple. (That lucky little girl need never have to worry about having contact with Diane)! Her lack of ability to bond with the newborn and being able to just let her be taken by others underscored her lack of ability to love or feel bonded to anybody.

Her son and daughters knew that all too well. In May of 1983, Diane shot the three children in her car. Cheryl Lynn died, Christie was partially paralyzed and son Daniel remains paralyzed from the waist down. Diane played "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran, a song that appeared to describe her accurately. When Diane and her children are rushed to the hospital, she claims a shaggy haired stranger (a classic cliche) shot them all, herself included. (Diane had a superficial arm wound).

Her behavior during and after the shootings is disgusting, to say the least. She has an affair. A daugther is born of this union and fortunately, the child was raised by a family who refused to have any contact with Diane who was on trial at the time of the baby's birth. Over the years, I have prayed for all of her surviving children and hoped that they would have good lives.

Diane sang, joked and laughed during her trial. That behavior brought back tones and echoes of the infamous 1970-1971 Charlie Manson trials when Manson's co-defendants sang, danced and drew pictures of Charlie during their trial. Diane was truly evil.

It is interesting to note that Diane's song of choice was the early 1980s Duran Duran hit, "Hungry Like the Wolf." Like a lone Alpha Wolf, Diane appears to hunt her prey, always choosing prey that cannot fight her off and ends up consuming her prey. Two children are paralyzed. One is dead. Diane remains "Hungry Like the Wolf."

I was skeptical when I found a used copy pf this book, but I really enjoyed it. Diane Downs proves to be as disturbed as the most notorious serial killers in Anne Rule's account of the murderous mom. Even though this is thicker than most of Rule's books, it was hard to put down.

Diane Downs was a woman that brought many issues to her adult life. She was diagnosed as having a histrionic personality disorder, an anti-social personality disorder, as well as a narcissistic personality disorder. One of these disorders can have an averse effect of a person's life. These flaws in addition to being molested as a child caused Diane to be starved for attention as well as having problems in her relationships with men.

Diane felt trapped in her marriage and became involved in several extra-marital affairs. Her obsession with a married man named Lew caused her to committ the ultimate crime. Seeing her children as a hindrance to her relationship with Lew, she attempted to kill her own three children. Even more disturbing, she shoots her children to 80's pop band Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf". The song coincides with her motive of lust and greed perfectly. Downs was only able to kill one child, while severely injuring the other two. She had committed a less than perfect crime.

After describing the events that led up to the incident, the author documents the investigation. This includes the heartbreaking story of the eldest daughter testifying against her own murderous mother in court.

With plenty of swerves that often seem too outrageous for reality, this book is a keeper. Easily, this story is as good as any horror or mystery story.

Having seen the TV movie based on this book, and not being able to believe it, or turn it off, when I saw this book at a used book store, I bought it, thinking it would shed more light on the story. It does. It is a horribly sad, disgusting story of a woman who brutally killed one of her children while trying to kill them all. It is also a stunning story of the lengths people acheived in bringing her to justice. A story of bravery of an 8-year-old survivor who faced more horror than most adults could stand and overcame it. I don't read mysteries or horror novels - I read this because the truth is scarier than anything anyone could make up and I needed to understand how this could happen. Of course, it is incomprehensible.

Rule, now one of my favorite authors, writes this like all her books in a style that allows the action to unfold naturally as you read. I do get a little weary of complete histories of all invovled, police, DAs, etc, but appreciate some detail when it adds to the story.

I also identify with the oldest child, who is the same age that I am. When I read it, I remember myself at that age at that time, and it makes the story that much more real. God bless you, Christie, wherever you are today.

I have read this book probably 4 or 5 times, bringing it out every couple of years, to reread it and look for answers that no one but Diane Downs has. I recommend it to anyone interested in true crime not as voyeuristic entertainment, but as proof that sometimes justice wins.

This book is utterly creepy. The story will haunt you forever as it reads like an inverted, most horrific fairytale. The book cleanly paints a portrait of the potential for evil that lurks beneath our humanity. Diane's father sexually molested her. Diane's ex-husband beat her after she had affairs. The man who Diane is obssessed with engages in a prolonged sexual affair with Diane without showing a flicker of remorse for the pain he causes his wife. The wife of this man never complains about the affair. Why? It is surreal and disturbing. People are so screwed up. The most heart-wrenching moment comes when Diane's daughter, Christie, tells the court that "my mom shot me." Then she answers the question of whether she still loves her mom with a "yes." The juxtoposition of Christie's innocent, loving nature with that of a crushing environment of child abuse and molestation, spousal abuse, adultery, and sexual greed is gut wrenching. This is a book that changes your life--the story is that compelling.