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4.0 out of 5 stars
Combined Crime File Books 1, 2, & 3, December 6, 2004
This review is from: THREE CLASSIC VOLUMES FROM THE CRIME FILES OF ANNE RULE: A Rose for Her Grave/You Belong to Me/Fever in the Heart (Hardcover)
Ann Rule, a former policewoman and serial killer consultant writes about the victims of her cases with a compassion that often ventures over the border into cliché. For instance, in the title story, "A Rose for her Grave" in Crime File 1, an American Bluebeard discards his innocent, loving, beautiful wives on hikes or raft trips. Only one of them is smart enough to divorce him after an outing on the Skykomish River, punctuated (or 'punctured' one might say) by her new husband's attempts to paddle their raft over sharp boulders.
Usually the women in Ann Rule's stories are murdered before or because they try to flee an abusive relationship, but in "A Rose for her Grave" at least wife #3 is smart enough and lucky enough to survive Randy Roth, who goes on to drown wife #4.
The other stories in 'Crime Files 1' are shorts, which I think is actually the author's forté as they are not as repetitious as her novel-length cases. True-crime aficionados will appreciate Ann Rule's meticulous attention to detail, and her extensive contacts with law enforcement officials which brought these stories into print.
"Campbell's Revenge"--An indictment of the Washington state prison bureaucracy that allowed a rapist to be entered into a work release program only a few miles from a victim who testified against him. Two women and a child suffer needless, horrible deaths.
"The Hit Person: Equal Opportunity Murder"--A rarity in the Ann Rule canon. A wife separates from her husband and another woman is hired to take her out. Usually the ex- does the dirty work, but not here.
"The Runaway"--Thirteen-year-old Janna Hanson disappears the day after Christmas and authorities insist that she has run away.
"The Rehabilitation of a Monster"--Ann Rule presents a case that supports her belief in the death penalty: "When a killer's first crimes are marked by such cruelty that the mass of men must turn away from the details, I don't believe he deserves a second chance." A man kills and dismembers a woman, goes to jail for his crime, is released and kills again. "It was clear to those who questioned Marquette that sadistic and murderous sex was much more exciting to him than consensual intercourse."
"Molly's Murder"--Molly McClure is murdered by someone the police believe she knew and trusted. Forensics plays a vital role in solving this crime. This rape/murder took place in the early eighties and it makes you want to fast-forward a decade to the acceptance and use of industrial-strength DNA testing
The title story, "You Belong to Me" starts out Crime File 2. In this 192-page thriller, a wife divorces her psycho policeman-husband. She lives in fear of him, is stalked by him, has her home invaded by him, has her phone tapped by him. Then he is finally arrested--not for stalking his ex-wife--but for the murder of a woman he had stopped for a traffic violation.
I'd guess the moral of this story is that stalkers should be taken more seriously by law enforcement, even (or especially) if they happen to be policemen.
The other five cases in this crime file are told in brief, punchy detail.
"Black Christmas"--A loner commie-hater kills the wrong family, believing they're Communist (wrong) Jews (wrong). The manner of death is particularly macabre. This is going to be the worst Christmas story you've ever read.
"One Trick Pony"--A beautiful cowgirl doesn't get her tee shirt in time, and is murdered by her alcoholic husband. He almost gets away with it, but continues to have bad luck with the women in his life. One of his girlfriends is shot in the stomach and her death is ruled a suicide even though "when the police got there they found Russ standing next to the dead woman, the gun in his hand."
"The Computer Error and the Killer"--The author included this case because she thinks that "it demonstrates how charming and benign the sadistic sociopath can be when he wants to appear that way." A monster slips through the cogs of the criminal justice system and kills again and again.
"The Vanishing"--A teenager who is about to go on vacation to Hawaii vanishes under strange circumstances. As the author states, "No one of us who searched for her could ever have guessed what [the teenager's] ending would be. Of all the possibilities, the truth was one that no one ever considered."
"The Last Letter"--Mistresses are suckers for unrequited romance. According to "The Last Letter," one of the unhappiest endings to a love triangle features a husband who actually divorces his wife and marries his long-time mistress.
The title story, "A Fever in the Heart" of Crime File 3 is 245 pages long, and the author admits she had a problem writing it, possibly because she was so close to one of the victims. My impression is that she also blames one of the other victims for causing the whole affair.
Briefly, two high school coaches are in love with the same woman, who marries one then divorces him and marries the second coach, then returns to husband #1 who is promptly murdered. It seems like a fairly straightforward case, since only coach #2 had a motive to kill coach #1. Then the prime suspect is also murdered.
"A Fever in the Heart" is an interesting mystery with good police-work, and sad, intricate relationships between the victims. However, I believe it is about 220 pages too long. Possibly because the author was so involved in the story, she tells it over and over again, each time in a slightly different way, but not different enough to hold my interest.
The other five stories included in this third case file are as follows:
"The Highway Accident"--A man murders his wife and tries to make it look like an automobile accident.
"Murder without a Body"--"Oregon's last murder conviction in which the body was never found was in 1904." Then a lovely, young teacher disappears, leaving behind lots of blood but no corpse. The prosecutor decides to go ahead with the case, anyway.
"I'll Love You Forever"--Ann Rule found the murderer in this case so sinister that she changed her pen name so he wouldn't be able to find her. This is another sad story of a woman who marries a charming psychopath.
"Black Leather"--A murderer who trolls for young men, then tortures them to death gets his just reward on his own killing ground.
"Mirror Images"--Two convicts bond to the point where they take on the same alias. Both are sexual offenders who torture their victims, and both are on the loose way too long.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
More True Crime Stories, February 16, 2010
This review is from: THREE CLASSIC VOLUMES FROM THE CRIME FILES OF ANNE RULE: A Rose for Her Grave/You Belong to Me/Fever in the Heart (Hardcover)
Three Classic Volumes
This book contains the first three of Ann Rule's collection of true crime articles. Her other books exclusively deal with a single crime. Volumes 1, 2, and 3 each have an `Acknowledgments', an `Author's Note', and six true crime stories. The first story is the longest. Each of the volumes has selected photographs. There is no Index.
The `Author's Note' for Volume 1 says true crime writing should educate its readers. Human behavior is more fascinating than fiction. [But mystery novel fictions outsell true crime.] Rule's work does not stress blood and gore and grotesque details. The titles of the six stories are: "A Rose for Her Grave"; "Campbell's Revenge"; "The Hit Person"; "The Runaway"; "The Rehabilitation of a Monster"; and "Molly's Murder".
The `Author's Note' for Volume 2 says the first story brought her to the Treasure Coast of Florida, far from the Pacific northwest. It was one of the most bizarre cases she encountered. Each has a shocking revelation because an innocent person had no fear of someone they knew well. The titles of the six stories are: "You Belong to Me"; "Black Christmas"; "One Trick Pony"; "The Computer Error and the Killer"; "The Vanishing"; and "The Last Letter".
The `Author's Note' for Volume 3 states the four of these cases involve personal betrayal, and two occurred after the system assumed a criminal was rehabilitated. The first case occurred early in her writing career. Rule became friends with some of the people who were involved. The titles of the six stories are: "A Fever in the Heart"; "The Highway Accident"; "Murder Without a Body"; "I'll Love You Forever"; "Black Leather"; and "Mirror Images".
Those who like her stories will find this book a bargain even if the 1,100 pages makes this book harder to hold while reading.
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