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DEAD BY SUNSET PERFECT HUSBAND PERFECT KILLER? (First Love Series)
 
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DEAD BY SUNSET PERFECT HUSBAND PERFECT KILLER? (First Love Series) [ABRIDGED] [AUDIOBOOK] (Audio Cassette)

~ (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)


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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Another chilling and creepy book from the reigning queen of true-crime, Ann Rule, who also penned the riveting bestseller Small Sacrifices. Here, we encounter a charismatic con-artist accused of brutally bludgeoning his wife and follow his case through to its strangely redemptive end. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.


From Publishers Weekly

Brad Cunningham was handsome, brilliant, a high-school hero in his native Seattle, a football star at the University of Washington. His family background was unusual, with a Native American mother of whom he was ashamed and an Anglo father who was contemptuous of women. As an adolescent, Brad was violent with his sisters and his mother. This pattern continued in his first, second and third marriages but reached its apogee with his fourth wife, Cheryl Keeton, a highly successful lawyer by whom he fathered three sons. When their marriage collapsed and she sought custody of their children, Brad, a bank executive, threatened her; in September 1986, she was found bludgeoned to death in her car on an Oregon highway. The case remained unresolved until Cheryl Keeton's estate filed a civil suit for damages against Brad in 1991. A criminal trial followed in 1993, in which Brad was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 22 years. Rule (Small Sacrifices) provides a perceptive character analysis of a malignant, self-centered, charismatic con artist. It's a chilling, haunting portrait. Photos not seen by PW. 125,000 first printing; True Crime Book Club main selection; Doubleday Book Club, Literary Guild and Mystery Guild featured alternates; Reader's Digest Nonfiction Condensed Book Club selection; Tri-Star/NBC-TV miniseries to air in November.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Audio Cassette
  • Publisher: Audioworks; Abridged edition (October 1, 1995)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0671534084
  • ISBN-13: 978-0671534080
  • Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,386,031 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #15 in  Books > Books on Cassette > Nonfiction > True Accounts

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Ann Rule
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Customer Reviews

64 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (64 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The long beatification, June 6, 2005
Ann Rule's characters usually fall into three categories: (1) victim-saints; (2) virtuous, persevering law enforcement officials; (3) heartless, wicked sociopaths. But in "Dead by Sunset" the author fooled me. The last section of the book concerns the murderer's trial which Rule actually attended, and it's got the spit and sparkle of real life. The dialogue between the defendant, who was acting as his own lawyer (he had not gone to law school or passed the bar) and the rather acerbic judge, is priceless. The old saw about 'the lawyer who tries his own case has a fool for a defendant' is proven to be doubly true in the case of Brad Cunningham, who tended to ramble tediously on about the state of his finances even though he was on trial for murder. When Cunningham decided to take to the witness stand and cross-examine himself, he made himself fair game for the prosecution and a legal dilemma for the judge. Here is a sample of the defendant versus judge dialogue, after Judge Alexander repeatedly warns Cunningham about asking improper questions:

"'I'm walking just on the edge,' Brad countered defiantly.

"'And you're stumbling over...'

"Brad had always argued with anyone who did not agree with him. Stubbornly he was arguing now with Judge Alexander.

"'This is why we go to law school, Mr. Cunningham,' the judge said. 'It's a sophisticated concept.'"

The first 464 pages of this book are standard Ann Rule. A beautiful, brilliant attorney marries a psychopath and suffers dreadfully for her choice of mate. She bears him three beautiful, brilliant little boys while Brad runs through her money, accumulates girlfriends, and is never home when she and the boys need him (I definitely thought that was a plus, considering what he did when he was home). Finally, Cheryl can't bear his abuse any longer. She files for a divorce, and starts collecting evidence about his financial misdealing. She also wants full custody of the boys.

Oops. Cheryl is beaten to death in the first ten pages.

The next 454 pages don't dwell on the mystery of who killed her. Everyone knows who did her in, but there is very little physical evidence. Instead, the author dissects Brad's various marriages and affairs, with emphasis on his brutality toward Cheryl and his children. We learn everyone's life story. We are told over and over again how slender, frail, and beautiful Cheryl was, what a good mother she was, and how her brilliance as an attorney was beginning to be recognized by one and all. In the midst of all these repetitive eulogies, I couldn't help remembering poor Eliza's deathbed scene in "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Ann Rule spends so much time cranking Cheryl up to heaven, that I was almost glad when she died. At least she was out of her misery.

By now, you might be asking yourself why I kept slogging through this book.

In spite of her long, relentless beatification of her victim, Ann Rule writes about a riveting case. Plus, the more I read about Brad's loathsome habits and personality in "Dead by Sunset," the more I wanted to see the s.o.b. get his just reward, even if it did take 528 pages and two trials.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Local Thriller, July 5, 2000
This book was one of the first true-crime novels I ever read. I picked it up at an airport (another reviewer mentioned the same thing - must be the thing to do) because it took place in Oregon. I was fascinated (and horrified) by the fact that these crimes took place in locales I drove by every day. It was like a car accident - I couldn't look away, hideous as it was, knowing that this man lived and killed in my beloved city.

Ann Rule has a way with criminal stories - making them accessible to the average reader but including all the details fit to lure in those more familiar with the genre. She includes plenty of backstory and it's obvious she has spent countless hours interviewing and observing key players. I've added more of her books to my wish list.

[An aside: Does Ms. Rule do a lot more writing of true-crime in the Pacific Northwest than in other areas or is it just location-bias on my part? If so, why? Does she like the area or does the PNW have a lot more murders and serial killings? Just a simple observation...]

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT HAPPENS TO A DREAM DEFERRED?, September 3, 2000
By BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
Brad Cunningham was truly a killer Casanova. Married several times and the father of several children, he finally got caught when he married Cheryl Keeton.

Brilliant and a successful lawyer, Cheryl was beguiled by the intelligent man of natual charm and quick wit. Three sons were born of their union, each one described as being highly intelligent like their mother.

Cheryl adored the boys and would do anything and everything for them. She also accepted Brad's older children wholeheartedly. Unfortuately for all, Cheryl's sons never really got to know this because she was killed when they were quite small.

Cheryl's dream of a happy life as Brad's wife ended with her death. Brad's dream of continuing to maintain a certain lifestyle at the expense of others would soon become a dream deferred.

Cocky and confident that he had pulled off the untraceable murder, Brad set to work finding yet another willing wife. That cockiness was to prove his undoing when he served as his own counsel during his 1994 trial.

Brad got what he deserved which is life behind bars. As for his hapless children and former wives, one can only hope and pray that their lives have worked out despite their many hardships caused by this killer Casanova.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is THAT good...
Here is a book that takes you on a long but fascinating path through a wife killer's relationships in a way that makes you shiver in disgust and terror. Read more
Published 1 month ago by True Crime Fanatic

4.0 out of 5 stars good but ongoing
this book was a great choice ..i picked it up by accident and the guy who works at barnes and noble recomended Ann Rule. Read more
Published 2 months ago by cyn

5.0 out of 5 stars Brad Cunningham=Your worst nightmare!!!
A lady friend at work gave me the book to read. When I read the cover I was amazed at the fact that I sorta remembered this happening back in "86" I was pregers with my son at the... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Gift Card

5.0 out of 5 stars Her Best
After reading about 6 Ann Rule books so far, this is her best. This was one of those novels that I would keep picking up because I wanted to know what was going to happen next... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ron

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspensful
This book was superbly written. I've read a lot of Ann Rule, and in my opinion, this was the best. There was a sick, ominious feeling throughout, because you knew it was going to... Read more
Published on September 24, 2007 by E. Tantum

5.0 out of 5 stars "A man of monumental ego and suicidal arrogance..."
Brad Cunningham was clearly the epitome of delusional narcissism. The classic sociopath/psychotic, without conscience, he cared for no one's feelings but his own. Read more
Published on July 9, 2007 by C. Copp

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks Ann!
This is a gripping book from start to finish. It's hard to believe that there are real life 'psycho' people out there like Brad. Read more
Published on July 7, 2007 by Dawn ~

5.0 out of 5 stars I had fantasies of strangling this man!!!
This book is excellent. Ann Rule really develops these characters to the extent you can feel the fear that was instilled in them by this man. Read more
Published on April 5, 2007 by Georgia Girl

5.0 out of 5 stars Brad-the ultimate con man
I just finished reading 8 of ann rules books i dont know why I just found her - but i am so glad i have!!!! Read more
Published on February 13, 2007 by Karna

5.0 out of 5 stars What a total narcistic monster!
Brad Cunningham destroyed lives wherever he went. Every woman that ever had anything to do with the man was afraid of him. Read more
Published on October 27, 2006 by Kelleigh Nelson

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