The Want-Ad Killer [Paperback]

Ann Rule (Author), Andy Stack (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1983

After his first grisly crime, Harvey Louis Carignan beat a death sentence and continued to manipulate, rape, and bludgeon women to death--using want ads to lure his young female victims.

And time after time, justice was thwarted by a killer whose twisted legal genius was matched only by his sick savagery.

Here, complete with the testimony of women who suffered his unspeakable sexual abuses and barely escaped with their lives, and of the police who at last put him behind bars, is one of the most shattering and thought-provoking true-crime stories of our time.

* Includes 8 pages of photographs
* From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Sacrifices, Lust Killer, The Stranger Beside Me, and The I-5 Killer

* "Rule has an instinct for suspense."--Washington Post Book World

* "Rule springs surprises and revelations with a novelist's skill."--Seattle Times

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1 pages
• Publisher: Signet (September 1, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451155513
• ISBN-13: 978-0451155511
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,880,572 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Want-Ad Killer Holds Interest, December 24, 2000

By 

J. C. (Thailand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Want-Ad Killer (True Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ann Rule wrote this book in 1983. My only complaint is there is no update on the case since 1983. Otherwise, the book is excellent of course, since Ann Rule is a genius at crime writing. In 1972 Laura Leslie Brock disappeared while hitchhiking in Washington state. Her body was later found. Mary Miller read the newspaper story to her 15 year old daughter because they always talked about these kind of things so the daughter would know about the world. How horrible when in 1973 the daughter read a want ad for a job and agreed to meet someone, who turned out to be involved in the Laura Leslie Brock murder! You won't be able to put this book down. And it doesn't get too involved in the court case either. Ann Rule's later books might be more well crafted but this one has genius written all over it too.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Early Ann, February 16, 2002

By 

Mcgivern Owen L (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Want-Ad Killer (True Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Want Ad Killer" represents good early Ann Rule when, for whatever reason, she wrote as Andy Stack. It is the frightening tale of Harvey Carignan, a serial killer who terrorized young women in both the Seattle and Twin Cities during the late '70s. The all too apt title refers to a teenage girl who was abducted after answering a "planted" classified ad. "WAK" is short, concise, no nonsense true crime. It is told as a police story, with little courtroom drama or legal maneuvering. There are also none of the longer, more involved sub plots of the authoress' later stories such as "And Never Let Her Go" or "Everything She Ever Wanted", making this a good choice for readers unfamiliar with her work. For the few Ann fans that have yet to read "WAK", don't think twice. A word of warning: The Ann Rule rule is in effect. Do not look at the centerfold photos or the book's cover. Far too much is revealed therein. Keep yourself in suspense for as long as possible. Parents of teenage girls will keep their daughters locked up after reading this one.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Rule's best works, October 7, 2004

By 

JP (Cottage Grove, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Want-Ad Killer (True Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is one of Rule's best works. I have read numerous true crime books over the years and this, by far, is one of my favorites. It amazes me how such a diabolical mind was able to stay free after so many years and so many murders. I also know someone who works for the MN Dept of Corrections who speaks with Harvey on a regular basis. This cold blooded killer is alive and enjoying his regular meals and cable tv. He receives chemotherapy compliments of the taxpayers. Alaska would have saved so many so much if it had taken care of this man after his first murder.