Although an afficianado of true crime and one who appreciates Ann Rule's many forays into the psyches of the ruthless, I was disappointed by this book. It's carelessly written; a quickie potboiler whose holes are filled in with factual errors and cliches.

The antagonist is a badly-trained, narcissistic, wantonly destructive M.D. who lived just a few miles from me and invented a hair replacement method that involved inserting screws into the head so that a toupee could be snapped into place. Great idea, NOT.

The cognitive dissonance between Dr. Pignataro's medical ability and his performance is grotesque from the onset, but Rule constantly refers to him here to as highly intelligent as if to set up a tragic conflict in what might have been a scientific star. Oh yeah? Show me the money! The guy was an obnoxious, arrogant, big mouthed idiot in grammar school, lucky to get out of high school and not a surprising medical school and then, medical residency multiple reject.

Perhaps the doctor's "intellect" is simply his ability to act without the conflict associated with considering the feelings or needs of others. In any case, his medical ineptness would have been horrifyingly comedic had it not resulted in the maiming and death of his cosmetic surgery patients. That people would submit their bodies to his paws in a basement "operating room" in WEST SENECA, of all places, that didn't have an RN, much less an anesthesiologist hanging around, is beyond me.

The doc's wife, Debbie, suffered terribly at his hands, but is also a typical enabler whose psychological health is twisted beyond description. Her devotion to her beloved "Anthony," deserves further scrutiny and an honest assessment as an serious emotional disorder. it might have given the book some depth.

Without that analysis, the poor wife is hardly an appealing figure, poisoned or not. She is thick and if not blind, nearly so, to years of behavior that is gross and horrifying. She colludes in his criminal "surgery" and does little over years and years of abusive marriage either to leave or to understand the nature of his profound and pervasive personality disorder.

This is not the behavior of a healthy woman. I also have the feeling that this wife was not the consistently saintly, pasta-boiling, shallow little sweetie Rule sketches out in this book. I've heard her scream at people.

The "Last Dance" (she really had to stretch for this title) thus reads like a Rule "quickie." Compounding the problem is her constant reference to Buffalo's endlessly frigid weather, which to anyone who lives here, is a laughable cliche; a reference to the "salt spray" of Lake Erie, which is, like the other Great Lakes, loaded with fresh-water; the notion that a straight A student from Nichols School might not get into St. Francis High School; no comment upon the fact that any doctor who is living in a townhouse in Buffalo, one of the nation's cheapest housing markets, is living not very well indeed...well, the list goes on.
Careless. A potboiler. I know some of these people and trust me, they're even less interesting than this book would lead you to believe.

I read a lot of "true crime" books. IMHO, Ann Rule is probably the best living true crime writer -Truman Capote, in just one book, established himself as The Best in the genre he created, but he's deceased, hence Rule being one of the best *living* true crime writers. As in her seven prior "Crime Files" volumes, Rule has written one "Novella" length account (317/463 pages,) and several shorter sagas. In The Big Story, Ms Rule shuffles off to Buffalo, NY to chronicle a "Medico sociopath." The shorter stories return Ms. Rule to her home Northwest territories of Washington and Oregon. These include a 54 year old file in which she makes 1948 come alive again.

Those who worried with me that Rule might have jumped her shark (see www[...]com) in last year's *Every Breath You Take,* can breathe easier. Rule is back on the track she owns.

As always, readers should adhere to "Owen's Ann Rule rule:" Don't peek at the pictures in the center until the suspect has been identified by law enforcement, unless you are one of those folks who read the last chapter of any mystery first ;-) Reviewed by TundraVision

Well, true crime readers, we're not surprised, are we? Last Dance, Last Chance is yet another great Ann Rule book. The Queen of True Crime draws a thoughtful, wonderfully researched portrait of a bizarre sociopath. The bad guy in this book is amazing, from the snaps that secure his toupee to the black hole in his chest where his heart is missing. That he's a physician, entrusted to heal his fellow man, makes it even more shocking. I'm like other Ann Rule fans, eagerly awaiting her next book!

The other rules is one of the best books I have ever read. And even though I wont pratice all the rules(but some of them) I think it is quite good book for entertainment and it gives a lot of great tips for women.

It's definitely worth the money i spend for it

After reading only a few pages of that nauseating book, The Rules, this was quite a breath of fresh air. Take it lightly, and it's quite a funny read. Some of the tips are great for single girls. This book is hard to find, but worth it if you can get your hands on it!

SEX for the sheer sake of SEX! And a book to make us girls feel GOOD about it! NO GUILT! I was never allowed to fully enjoy the experience of just 'doing it' for the sheer sake of doing it! I was always told it had to involve LOVE! Well, it DOESN'T...Just ask any guy. And it's time that WE girls start treating it that way! This book has given me a healthy respect for the power of a man's penis. It explained the unprovoked erections ruling his thoughts and actions. No wonder men are obsessed with sex practically from birth. Girls are not as blessed or fortunate with the same direction and motivation. Instead we think about love and marriage from a very early age, which sets the stage for the rest of our lives. Life would be a lot easier and much more satisfying if, from the start, we thought of only satisfying the craving between our thighs! Then we wouldn't feel guilty when we have that "one night stand" and realized that we, too, just wanted to get 'laid' and not necessarily to have a baby. Guys and girls wouldn't have to play games with one another. Men wouldn't have to pretend to love a girl that they just wanted to 'sleep' with a few times and girls could finally relax and not stress out so much over whether or not they meant it. We'd all get along and have lots of fun, free, and UNCONDITIONAL sex! I think a little bit of "sex awareness" in our gender could go a long way toward creating harmonious relationships with the guys. I concur with the Authors that the harmony of those relationships will only occur after girls begin to understand the true nature of the penis. To prove my next point, I will put forth a question to the female audience: How many of you girls buy Playgirl Magazine? The answer, of course, is not many. Sure, all of us have picked up an issue once or twice out of curiosity, but very few of us subscribe or even occasionally purchase the magazine. It often makes me wonder how in the world the damn publication doesn't go bankrupt. On the flip side of this question, how many of us girls know guys who buy Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler, or any of the hundreds of other magazines dedicated to the relentless pursuit of separating very pretty girls from their panties? That's right, every one of us knows a guy-hell that covers just about every guy I've ever known! I know this is a subject that is of considerable irritation to many girls, and that is precisely why I have chosen to mention it. Like many of my female friends, I was crushed when I first found out that one of my boyfriends was 'looking' at pictures of other girls in these magazines. I immediately felt inadequate, unattractive, and unappreciated. Not that he had ever expressed any dissatisfaction with me as a girlfriend, but still, I felt inept in almost every area. Within a matter of a week, I was secretly having sex with his best friend out of hurt and revenge. At the time, I felt justified in my actions. Now, I'm not so sure...that I had sex with his best friend for the 'right' reasons.

Some time ago, an ex-boyfriend finally sat me down and explained to me that men don't necessarily 'look' at these magazines because of feelings of inadequate girlfriends, but rather because men have realized one important truth: Variety is the spice of life! I know what most of you girls would say to that, so let me say it for you-Yes, Girls love variety too, but there is an important difference. When a girl wants to see a guy naked, she doesn't have to buy a magazine. All she has to do is simply ask. All of us girls know this to be true. How many guys would strip out of their Levi jeans in a heartbeat from nothing more than the sweet request of a pretty girl? Yep, all of them would! But how many girls would do the same for a guy? Almost none of us would. No, as girls, we want a commitment from the guys before we'll drop our panties. We want our guys to promise and profess their undying love for us, which includes their inability to ever even think about any other girl. While that's all fine and dandy, if the guy really feels that way, I have yet to meet a guy who wanted anything more than a 'sweet piece of our pie' after just a few dates. So why do we hold them accountable for "undying love" and all that jazz. As the book states, what we inevitably get 9 out of 10 times is a LIE so that they can get into our pants! Girls must understand the incredible urges that a man is subjected to from his penis. A penis loves to have sex! It wants his girlfriend! It wants his girlfriend's best friend! It wants the whole cheerleading squad! Trust me, I know. It WASN'T hard at all to convince my boyfriend's best friend to have sex with me. At the time, I did it out of revenge; he did it because he couldn't help himself. His penis made the decision for him! That, of course, brings me back to my original point, which is that I shouldn't have retaliated against my boyfriend after discovering his hidden supply of Girlie magazines. Don't misunderstand me, I'm NOT sorry I had sex with his best friend, he was after all, a 'fantastic lay,' I'm just sorry I did it out of revenge. I know I would have ENJOYED it even more, if I had relaxed and enjoyed the ride instead of simmering with feelings of betrayal as his best friend pounded me from behind. But I digress...BUY THE BOOK - JUST DON"T GET CAUGHT!

While I find in some of Ann Rule's book she tends too drag, I found this one to be too the point without going over board with gorey details. While the subject matter is disturbing, it is true life crime. Once again Rule shows great compassion for the police and the victims while accurately portraying the rapist/killer without being bias. While this book in some areas, such as a seen with two small children, is graphic, the message is still clear. The victims in this book did not plan on being victims, but were just ordinary women who ran into the wrong man. I think the book, while very chilling shows of the dangers that women face in society and that often times they become innocent victims of crimes. While this is not one of Rule's best work, it is worth reading.

This being an early Ann Rule book it lacks in some areas, including the meticulous detail that she is known for. While some did not like the event sequence of the book, I found it easy to follow. I especially liked the beginning of the book where Ms. Rule spends time getting to know Woodfield's "girlfriends". It made the murders all the more chilling.

Not one of her best works, but good nonetheless. I'd recommend this to any true crime fan.

Another book by Ann Rule that couldn't be put down until it was finished. All the victims were introduced first, so we knew who was who when they were murdered. At times I found some of the writing to be disturbing, but most of it had to be said to try and understand the problems Randy Woodfield had with his sex life.

I highly recommend this book for all adults with a strong stomach, but keep it away from the fragile ones.

I read this book in much the same way as I have read Ann Rule's other books: fast. While I enjoy her books, Ann Rule does not define the main characters here as much as she has in say, "Everything She Ever Wanted." For instances, why did Jerry Harris get his nose broken three times if he was such a saint? Why didn't Ms. Rule do more research into the character of Steve? I would have preferred to look at this story from the angle of how someone is set up to be a good guy, a scapegoat, and how they play it out over their lives. I was irritated overall by Ann Rules one-dimensional view of everyone. And I did not like being made a part of Susan and Jerry's schemes to outwit others as part of a cute joke.

I've read several Ann Rule true crime novels, and most have been either good or excellent. However "In the Name of Love: ..." is a comparative disappointment. All the hallmarks of Ann Rule (fine writing, excellent research, and a remarkable true story) are absent from this book. And perhaps worse, in the main story Ann Rule writes as if she has transformed herself into some trashy romance novelist ... complete with glowing comments of a handsome husband (I guess the photos in the book weren't very kind) by an adoring wife. Very saccharine, to a sickening extent.

In this book we have one main story ("In the Name of Love") followed by a few short stories. The main story is about a middle-aged entrepreneur who gets killed, and his young wife goes through hell afterwards until the killers are brought to justice. Compared to Ann Rule's wonderful works such as "Dead by Sunset" the story is relatively flat, and Ann doesn't do much justice in "getting into the heads" of the killers. It is as if this story was written in haste. Worse, the short stories are little more than collections of Seattle-area police reports from the 1960s/1970s. Yes, the stories are strange and horrific. But they all have a "Reader's Digest" feel about them.

Is the book all bad? Well, no. As with all Ann Rule books "In the Name of Love..." is very readable. Or rather, it is a fast read. It certainly makes for a harmless time-filler at the beach or on an airplane. But really, Ann Rule has done much better.

Bottom line: certainly not terrible, but a thoroughly forgettable reading experience.

In the name of love was the first book I read by Ann Rule and from then on I just could not stop reading. She is a master mind in true crime and this is one of her best works.

"Boundaries and Passages" is one of the better anthropological texts on Arctic peoples to be found, Fienup-Riordan's text engages Yup'ik culture through context of ritual and shared space.

Detailed and often more of a documentary than an analysis, this text arms the anthropologist and/or interested reader with the context to form their own evaluations and conclusions.

The Yup'ik world is one formed by passages between the natural, spiritual, and human worlds. These passages are bounded, transgressed, and set right by rituals and practices that unite community...in effect creating Yup'ik identity in context of the outside world.

As well, Fienup-Riordan's text is a modern one, and she is clearly capable of acknowledging the changing spheres of influence that constantly create and recreate Yup'ik culture. Nowhere is the staid analysis of the Yup'ik as a dying culture, as a dead culture, as a static culture. Fienup-Riordan's book is a window into the living culture as well as the historical perspective.

An excellent text!

'A Rage To Kill' is the sixth installment of Ann Rule's "Crime Files", and I fear the series is running out of steam. While the others in the series focus on one main story followed on by shorter stories, this book only contains short-ish (30-50 pages) stories. And so we don't have the pleasure of Ann Rule's great research and insight, as found in her single story books (eg, 'Dead By Sunset'). It is as if the author didn't want to sweat the details and simply wanted to tart up police reports, and then stuff them into a book.

Having said all this, Ann Rule does write in a very fluid style. Her books are always a fast read. And while the stories here are most definitely morbid and horrific, they are fascinating (much like viewing a road accident).

Bottom line: empty calories for the brain. But like junk food, hopelessly addictive.

I've read quite a few of Ann Rule's crime files editions, plus other stories and this one was really disappointing. Having read the back cover, it sounded really compelling. It said that Ann "uncovers the motives" of Silas Cool. I didn't think she did that at all. As a matter of fact, I turned to the last page and was highly surprised. It seemed as if she couldn't be bothered to finish the story. I felt as if none of my questions had been answered regarding this case. It certainly wasn't deserving of the title case. It should have been one of the bonus stories, in my opinion.

Having said that, the other cases in the book were classic Ann Rule. They were well written and interesting. I gave this book 4 stars because of the bonus cases. If you are going to read it, don't expect much from the first case. The rest are very good.

I was just up all night with this book, and as the sun comes up, I'm finishing. It left me speechlesss. The stories in here, albiet short, are moving and will leave you stunned that such people exist in this world, and the inhumanity that they can inflict on others. One story in particular, "Spree Killer" had me crying and left me mad that it had actually happened. Had these stories appeared in a fiction book, or on television or movies, it wouldnt hurt the heart so much. And the "Spree Killer" story should be required reading for every junior high school female, to know or try to avoid strangers.

It's lovely to see a new Ann Rule book, her writing style seems to get better and better with each new book. As always, she can describe not only crime scenes, but the mundane like a pro. She is definately the best true crime author since Capote, bar none. What got me with this book, is its just vignettes. Even though you get a feel for the characters, the victims remain teriary characters at best. Which is a shame. But then, the book would be far longer, and wouldn't keep with the idea of short pieces she wanted to write. But for me, it was like a buffett- a taste here, a taste there, but when you leave you are still hungry for more.

I hope Ann Rule is working on the next book soon.

This is a cynical story about the beautiful people -- it highlights the adventures of a group of shallow, narcissistic expatriates living in Kenya. Their trust funds allow them to lead the kind of aimless lives that are often shown in the movies.

That said, I enjoyed the book. It had great descriptions about Africa (both the beauty and the horror), it had some political undertones (colonialism, race, violence), and an interesting plot. The main character, Esme is a mixed-up young woman who makes some questionable choices. She realizes the irony of some of her observations -- though seems helpless to affect change. She also has a detached way of looking at her life and her nonchalance can be frustrating. But ultimately I do believe she was interested in a certain amount of self-discovery and introspection.

This book is not for everyone. If you are looking for a meaningful book about what it is like to be white and living in Africa, this book is NOT for you. But, if you are looking for a contemporary and light read about living abroad, I recommend this book.

Esme was eight years old when her mother died. Esme left Manhattan to live with her father, Ferdinando, an Italian poet, who resided for the most part in Naples. Esme is an adult when her father died. Grieving his death, the bored Esme flees the continent to recover on a Kenyan safari.

However, life in East Africa is nothing like Esme expected. Instead of the wild that she expected, she becomes part of the white expatriate population living in Nairobi. This group of individuals suffering from ennui openly use cocaine and nightly swap sex partners. Esme initially moves in with Adam, but quickly switches to cynical English reporter Hunter Reed.

RULES OF THE WILD appears to be an attempt to turn Dinesen and Hemingway upside down and over the author's knees for a well deserved spanking. The disillusioned but opulent white community lingering in Africa is brilliantly described by Francesca Marciano. However, the novel fails to turn satirical, leaving a maudlin taste as readers realize that the females are banal losers while the males are self-indulging mental masturbaters. Though this inability to find something positive to say about these exiles makes the novel quite melancholy, the audience should note that Ms. Marciano has written a witty, interesting book that brings to life another aspect of African society.

Harriet Klausner

Esme was eight years old when her mother died. Esme left Manhattan to live with her father, Ferdinando, an Italian poet, who resided for the most part in Naples. Esme is an adult when her father died. Grieving his death, the bored Esme flees the continent to recover on a Kenyan safari.

However, life in East Africa is nothing like Esme expected. Instead of the wild that she expected, she becomes part of the white expatriate population living in Nairobi. This group of individuals suffering from ennui openly use cocaine and nightly swap sex partners. Esme initially moves in with Adam, but quickly switches to cynical English reporter Hunter Reed.

RULES OF THE WILD appears to be an attempt to turn Dinesen and Hemingway upside down and over the author's knees for a well deserved spanking. The disillusioned but opulent white community lingering in Africa is brilliantly described by Francesca Marciano. However, the novel fails to turn satirical, leaving a maudlin taste as readers realize that the females are banal losers while the males are self-indulging mental masturbaters. Though this inability to find something positive to say about these exiles makes the novel quite melancholy, the audience should note that Ms. Marciano has written a witty, interesting book that brings to life another aspect of African society.

Harriet Klausner

I have to agree with most of what was written by others. If it were not that this book was written for charitable purposes ... I probably wouldn't have given it 3 stars. I was hard press to find three stories that were worth reading from beginning to end.

I did enjoy looking for the "thick" book, steak and fog in each story. In most of the stories it seemed that the authors stuck in the 3 elements listed as an after thought. The stories I enjoyed most were stories where there was some thought put into the plot.

Because this book was written for charity, I would encourage others to purchase it, read and review it.

With most short story collections, there's usually a common theme. In "The Plot Thickens," each author was required to incorporate the following three things into their story: a thick fog, a thick steak, and a thick book. Most are concealed cleverly and seamlessly in the story, but I still found myself looking for them like it was a Where's Waldo? game. Not surprisingly, most of the authors use a restaurant setting to integrate the steak, but at least Westlake does a little play on of words in his story.

Anyway, on to the following 11 short stories:

"How Far It Could Go" by Lawrence Block is a largely conversational story set in a restaurant, where a woman meets with a man she intends on hiring to "rough up" her ex-boyfriend over a cash settlement. I kept expecting some great twist at the end (never happened); still, not a bad story. >> "Foolproof" by Edna Buchanan -- An Egyptian mummy autopsy reveals a 1000+ year-old murder victim with the same fingerprints as a notorious gang member. Again, the ending didn't impress me, and the story seemed to jump unevenly from scene to scene. >> "The Man Next Door" by Mary Higgins Clark -- A woman's creepy next-door neighbor breaks into her house through their shared basement wall (quite ingenious, in my opinion), in order for him to abduct her and keep her a prisoner in his home. Mary, being the brains behind this whole eradicate-American-illiterarcy thing (which this book donates a percentage to), not surprisingly has the longest "short" story in here, at approximately 40 pages, but it doesn't feel that long. It has an engrossing plot, and good characterization and alternating p.o.v. One of my faves in here.

"Too Many Cooks" by Carol Higgins Clark -- An aspiring actress is called in to play the role of a chef in a commercial, but accidents start occurring on the set. A little predictable about the bad guy, but still good. >> "Revenge & Rebellion" by Nelson & Lauren DeMille -- A woman meets with an old college friend who's now a literary agent, in the hopes he'll accept her manuscript. Another restaurant setting; in fact, two restaurants in this one. Good story, but the suspense twist doesn't happen until the last page. >> "The Last Peep" by Janet Evanovich -- A bounty hunter and her partner-in-training search for the missing body of a Peeping Tom. Strong, unique characters. Quite funny. >> "Going Under" by Linda Fairstein -- A policewoman agrees to go undercover as a dental patient in order to catch a molesting dentist. Reading this one made me glad I never chose to go under while at the dentist's--just to be safe.

"Thick-Headed" by Walter Mosley -- Two men find a dead body in the trunk of a car and get involved in solving the crime. A little confusing, probably because there were so many characters--dead and alive. >> "Love's Cottage" by Nancy Pickard was told in letter form and based on an actual mass murder in 1914. Short, good ending; however, since no motive was ever given in history, it's up to the reader to speculate on it. >> "The Road Trip" by Ann Rule -- A woman is harassed and followed by two guys in a semi-truck while on a road trip. Started out slow, but got better. >> "Take It Away" by Donald E. Westlake -- A police officer and his associates are on a stakeout in order to catch an overseas art smuggler. A great finale to this anthology. I got a laugh out of the ending.

In summary: "The Plot Thickens" is a pretty good mystery anthology. There are some dull stories, some entertaining ones--which can be said for most short story collections--but the majority are very good. Definitely worth reading if you're a fan of one or more of the authors in here.

"The Plot Thickens" is an anthology containing eleven stories from eleven of today's top mystery and suspense writers. To be honest, I hunted this book down solely for Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum short story, but found I enjoyed the whole thing. "The Plot Thickens" was written for a great cause, to raise money to fight illiteracy in the U.S., so you can feel good about where your money is going. Some of the stories are better than others and individual opinions will undoubtedly vary, but each tale includes a thick fog, a thick book, and a thick steak, and it's fun seeing how each author chose to work in those three elements.

1. "How Far it Could Go" by Lawrence Block is probably my least favourite story of the anthology. A man and a woman meet in a restaurant to discuss using violence to dissuade the woman's ex-husband from suing her, but how far will it go? Thin on plot, but Block creates an interesting mood. **1/2

2. "Foolproof" by Edna Buchanan tells the tale of an ancient Egyptian mummy autopsied and fingerprinted for interests' sake. But the findings bring to light a millennia's old unsolved murder and cast doubt on the only foolproof form of crime scene evidence. An intriguing and enjoyable story. ****

3. "The Man Next Door" by Mary Higgins Clark is a great, suspenseful story. When a young woman becomes the latest unwilling houseguest of her serial killer neighbour, the race is on to find her before it's too late. A well-written and exciting tale. *****

4. "Too Many Cooks" by Carol Higgins Clark introduces a struggling young actress who gets a break when she's chosen to play a cook in a steak sauce commercial. But she soon finds herself caught up in some real life drama and betrayal. A fun and entertaining story. ****

5. "Revenge and Rebellion" by Nelson & Lauren DeMille is a deliciously twisted tale. When a woman gives her treasured autobiographical manuscript to her good friend who works as a literary agent, he gets a disturbing glimpse of the world through her eyes. But the aspiring author doesn't take criticism lightly, and lost in her own delusions, there's no telling what she'll do. A very good story. ****

6. "The Last Peep" by Janet Evanovich is a Stephanie Plum story well worth tracking down. This time, bounty hunter Stephanie is on the trail of a burg resident with a penchant for peeping in windows and showing off his personal wares. But when she discovers his dead, naked body, which subsequently disappears, she's thrust into the middle of an exciting, and very amusing, mystery. A mystery that she is bound and determined to solve, with a little help from sidekick Lula and Grandma Mazur. A hilarious, well-written, and wonderful story. *****

7. "Going Under" by Linda Fairstein is a fun and original tale. An ambitious young police officer gets her big chance to make detective, as long as she's willing to let a dentist with wandering hands have his way with her once he puts her under! I really liked this story. ****

8. "Thick-Headed" by Walter Mosley is a good story, though a bit tough to follow. When a man hired to transport a car finds a dead body in the trunk of that car, he goes to his closest friend for advice. And the two of them get themselves in deeper and deeper with angry mobsters, more bodies, and criminal schemes. ***1/2

9. "Love's Cottage" by Nancy Pickard is an original and enjoyable tale. A black servant details her arrival in a strange new household with her husband, and the events that led to a terrible tragedy. ****

10. "The Road Trip" by Ann Rule is an excellent story and one of the anthology's best. When a newly divorced woman heads on a business road trip, it provides her with the welcome opportunity to get away from her maniacal, jealous, and possessive ex-husband. But instead of getting some much-needed relaxation, she finds herself in the midst of a new and infinitely worse nightmare when she becomes the next target of an infamous serial killer. A tightly plotted and thrilling story. *****

11. "Take it Away" by Donald E. Westlake rounds out the anthology nicely. When an FBI agent on a stakeout of a notorious art thief goes to get fast food for his team, a coincidental conversation with the next man in line turns out to be much, much more than it seems. A fun and intriguing tale. ****

Overall, "The Plot Thickens" is an entertaining mystery anthology that will satisfy readers. My favourite stories were the ones by Mary Higgins Clark, Janet Evanovich, and Ann Rule, but each and every one was worth reading. So give "The Plot Thickens" a try, and do your part in the fight against illiteracy.

I gave one star just to show my appreciation for Ms. Rule for taking the the initiatives to write the story.
However if Ann Rule would like to continue writing True Crime stories, it may be helpful for her to take some classes in Psychology. I'm not a psychologist nor an expert in human's behaviors, but it's a common rule that it takes two to make any relationships work or a disaster.

Mike Farrar to me, sounds like a whiny, irresponsible, selfish husband/father. He's also a womanizer who chases women around, and somehow Ann Rule made it sound ok for him to have an extra-marital affair, because his wife was 'crazy'. Ms. Rule tried really hard to make him sound so perfect - too perfect that to me it starts to sound that he may be the guilty one.

I read Ann Rule's books before, and liked her writing styles until the two last books that I read: "Every Breath You Take" and "Bitter Harvest".
I decided not to read anymore of her books. To me, her judgement is so black and white.

I don't recommmend this book at all.

The true-life crime book Bitter Harvest, written by Ann Rule, was quite unreal. As soon as I started reading Bitter Harvest, I was constantly waiting to see what happened next. I believe that Ann Rule writes well, but that she is to repetive at times. This is a story of a woman who is so intellectually gifted and normal acting, yet she has the ability to poison her husband and kill her children. Although the conclusion claims that this woman's mental capability has not developed past the age of an infant, it seems hard to believe that she could have lived a normal life as an adult without anyone knowing she had these problems. The main reason that I was so interested in this book was the fact that I knew it was a true story, and it easily kept my attention. For the most part, the book was well written, but the last hundred of pages or so seemed to say the same thing. I think that Ann Rule dragged it out too much. I feel that she could have condensed the long upcoming conclusion some and get to the point quicker. Overall, I liked the book's story. This was my first Ann Rule book, and I would like to read another one to compare my thoughts.

This may be the last Ann Rule book I ever buy. It does not come close to the standards of writing and research I came to expect after reading Small Sacrifices and Everything She Ever Wanted. Rule did not give me any real insight into Dr. Debra Green, the deeply disturbed woman whose life disintegrates during the course of this book and who tries to kill her husband with a rare poison and ultimately sets a fire to their home that kills two of her children.

This book feels hurried, like it was written quickly, and the reasearch is only adquate. I wanted to know when Debra Green started drinking excessively, but there was no evidence of this presented. Green's first marriage was covered in about 5 pages Where is the in-depth information on her life and rearing that would help a reader understand [somewhat] how this woman ended up the wreck she did? There is also too much information about secondary figures, such as three pages about the life and career of Green's divorce attorney. Irrelevant!

Rule's obvious sympathy for Green's husband, Dr. Mike Farrar, colors much of this book. She makes him out to be an exemplary husband, one who only had an affair after he could no longer cope with his difficult wife and strained family situation and that was all right, given his situation. He seems to me to be an utterly decent man but indecisive, incapable of even broaching the topic of divorce because he is afraid of another screaming tirade from his wife, of hurting the children, and of failing at something. This is one situation where a clean, quick break seems like the best way out.

The question of Debra Green's mental illness in only tangentially addressed, like her incipient alcoholism that suddenly springs forth. This baffling, heartbreaking crime deserves a much better book than this one.

In yet another installment of Ann Rule's collection of true crime stories we see Ann Rule at her worst. Well I should say that at her best Ann Rule does a brilliant job of analyzing criminals, victims, crimes and the US justice system. She has the knack of drilling down into minute detail without being boring. However with 'Empty Promises...' the author doesn't go into any detail and, worse, the stories she relates are your basic slasher crimes; we've seen them all before (and were grossed out).

At the very least Ann Rule still writes in a very readable, personable sort of way. So the book is a painless waste of time. If Ms. Rule reads this review can I ask her, as a loyal fan, to dispense with these half-hearted stories (as an attempt to cash in on her name?) and give us more classics like 'If You Really Loved Me' or 'Dead By Sunset'.

Bottom line: Ann Rule on a very off day. Don't waste your money.

Ann Rule is a natural when it comes to writing true crime novels. Empty Promises recounts several cases where the search for love brought only lies and betrayal for those who trust too much too soon. You begin to realize that these are just ordinary people who's lives changed forever. This is just another Ann Rule book that will haunt you.

As expected from the files of true crime writer Ann Rule, EMPTY PROMISES is as frightening of an anthology a reader will find because the tales really happened. The premise behind the collection is not all relationships end in a happily ever after. Some end in violent death in which the killer betrayed the love and trust of their victim.

The ten stories, including the "novel" length title piece, of

EMPTY PROMISES all hinge on a glib predator taking advantage of love to the point that perhaps it is better to not have loved and lived than to love at all. Each tale is haunting because they can easily happen to family, friends, and readers. Although not for everyone, this book proves Ms Rule still rules the true crime genre.

Harriet Klausner