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Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder: And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files)
 
 
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Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder: And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Ann Rule (Author)
Key Phrases: Bill Jensen, The Deputy's Wife, Mary Winkler (more...)
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)

List Price: $7.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder: And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files) + Mortal Danger (Ann Rule's Crime Files) + No Regrets (Ann Rule's Crime Files, Vol. 11)
Price For All Three: $23.97

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  • Mortal Danger (Ann Rule's Crime Files) by Ann Rule

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  • No Regrets (Ann Rule's Crime Files, Vol. 11) by Ann Rule

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Rule looks at marriages gone bad in her latest volume of true-crime case files. Stories include "The Minister's Wife," about a woman convicted of shooting her husband in 2006, and "The Painter's Wife," an amazing tale of two strangers kidnapped by a hardened criminal. The bulk of the book is taken up by "The Deputy's Wife," the sad tale of a once-promising young police officer, Bill Jensen, who eventually took out a contract on his own family. It's a good yarn, full of horrifying twists, but at 150 pages can get repetitive. For those not used to it, Rule's fondness for potboiler prose-"Their marriage had spun like a colorful top...Now as it wound down slower and slower, Sue could see the pattern of lies"-can also annoy. Many of the seven cases here are gruesome but unmemorable, perhaps the inevitable result of Rule's prodigious output.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description
Includes Ann Rule's insider commentary on the Mary Winkler murder case

REAL-LIFE MURDER. REAL-LIFE MYSTERY.

In some murder cases, the truth behind the most tragic of crimes crystallizes with relative ease. Not so with these fascinating accounts drawn from the personal files of Ann Rule, America's #1 bestselling true-crime writer. What happens when the case itself becomes an intractable puzzle, when clues are shrouded in smoke and mirrors, and when criminals skillfully evade law enforcement in a maddening cat-and-mouse chase? Even the most devoted true-crime reader won't predict the outcome of these truly baffling cases until the conclusions revealed in Ann Rule's marvelously insightful narrative: An ideal family is targeted for death by the least likely enemy, who plotted their demise from behind bars.... A sexual predator hides behind multiple fake identities, eluding police for years while his past victims live in fear that he will hunt them down.... A modest preacher's wife confesses to shooting her husband after an argument -- but there's more to her shattering story than meets the eye. These and other true cases are analyzed with stunning clarity in a page-turning collection you won't be able to put down.

See all Editorial Reviews


Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
  • Publisher: Pocket (December 26, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416541608
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416541608
  • Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,318 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #8 in  Books > Nonfiction > True Accounts > Espionage
    #11 in  Books > Nonfiction > True Accounts > Serial Killers
    #46 in  Books > Nonfiction > True Accounts > Murder & Mayhem

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Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder: And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files)
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Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder: And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files) 4.3 out of 5 stars (42)
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Mortal Danger (Ann Rule's Crime Files)
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Mortal Danger (Ann Rule's Crime Files) 4.2 out of 5 stars (45)
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Too Late to Say Goodbye: A True Story of Murder and Betrayal
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Customer Reviews

42 Reviews
5 star:
 (23)
4 star:
 (10)
3 star:
 (7)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (42 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars True Crime, New and Old!, February 13, 2008
By KDMask (Rochester, Planet Fab, NY) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
I haven't met an Ann Rule book I didn't like, but they are always too short! This one I read in two days. This book focus' on women in abusive relationships that lead to murder or almost-murder. I really liked the stories that are older cases. With so many true crime shows on TV, it's hard to find something new and fresh. Since this is a "crime file" you have the option of dipping into the book when you'd like, story by story. Ann also has many resources for women in trouble in this volume including websites to visit. Ann always makes the victims come alive in each of her books, honoring them in a way few can.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Compelling, December 31, 2007
I highly recommend Smoke, Mirrors and Murder. This book is a powerful and purposeful look at the entanglements of abusive relationships. Ann Rule is keenly attuned and deals clearly with the dauntingly difficult subject of abuse. Not only does Ann give you the red flags to ponder in a relationship she tells you where to get help in this book. The stories are riveting. The Deputy's Wife is an intimate portrait of an individual that abused his wife and family and the fear one feels in this situation. All the stories in this book are noteworthy and fascinatingly insightful. This book is a must read.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars great book, February 17, 2008
By D. Edwards "cold country" (northern,minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I love Ann Rule, and this new book is another very good one. Could not put it down. Would highly recommend.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars A Mixed Bag
Ann Rule's collection of true crime stories is uneven in quality.

The first (& longest) case, has Ann's usual unsuspecting, too good to be true heroine, at the mercy... Read more
Published 16 days ago by Bloomsbury

4.0 out of 5 stars ANOTHER GOOD ONE
Ann tackles and analyzes another seven cases, some old and newer, which she calls Crime Files - Volume 12. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Joseph H. Race

5.0 out of 5 stars ANN RULE RULE'S
WHEN IT COMES TO TRUE CRIME, THERE IS NO ONE BETTER AT TELLING THE STORY THAN ANN RULE. SHE MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE A PART OF THE STORY. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Wanda M. Keith Rn

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Ann Rule page-turner!
If you are a fan of Ann Rule, you must buy this book! As a lawyer, I have been reading her stories for years and I find her to be one of the sharpest observers of criminal... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mike Mason

5.0 out of 5 stars I've read every single one of her books
I was surprised at some of the low reviews - it's true - different opinions - I thought this one was awesome and the convicts wife terrified me SPOILER - the thought of her... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Deborah S. Eden

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good, some not so good
Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder is Ann Rule's twelfth collection of short crime stories. While most of the stories were certainly very interesting, a few were fairly dull including... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Steven Emrick

4.0 out of 5 stars Great price and excellent service
The book had a fair price, got to me immediately, and was in almost perfect condition.
Published 12 months ago by Ruth Smiley

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Love Ann Rule's books, and I like these small case file stories more and more.
Published 14 months ago by S. Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars A panoramic true crime book
This is the first Ann Rule book that I have read.
She includes 7 cases that stretch from 1960 to the most current, the Winkler murder case. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Scripture Studier

3.0 out of 5 stars Soggy
Rule's normally top-notch, formulatic TC books are always thrilling to read; this one, however, is limp and left me feeling cheated. Read more
Published 16 months ago by rockphiler

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