Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Pocket Books (2008), Edition: 1st Pocket Books Pbk. Ed, 480 pages
Description
Examines several cases of the spouse, lover, family member, or helpful stranger who is totally trusted but whose lethally violent nature, though masterfully disguised, can and will kill.
User reviews
LibraryThing member BellaFoxx
25 December 2008
I like Ann Rule, I have a hard time writing reviews for True Crime, there is not much you can say about the story line, they are reporting what actually happened.
That being said, the author does have to pick a case that will be interesting and then has to write it in a way that
I feel Ann Rule does both of those things and does them well. She writes in such a way you can feel her compassion for the victims. She conveys the feelings the detectives have for cases. The only ones that you end up with no sympathy for are the bad guys!
I like Ann Rule, I have a hard time writing reviews for True Crime, there is not much you can say about the story line, they are reporting what actually happened.
That being said, the author does have to pick a case that will be interesting and then has to write it in a way that
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holds your attention.I feel Ann Rule does both of those things and does them well. She writes in such a way you can feel her compassion for the victims. She conveys the feelings the detectives have for cases. The only ones that you end up with no sympathy for are the bad guys!
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LibraryThing member HollyinNNV
You will absolutely never, in your entire fantastic life of pleasure and pain, consume a work of blessed literary fervor in quite the same ordinary way after experiencing a realistically chilling yet true story from the queen of superlatives, Ann Rule.
I suppose that there are authors that use more
Mortal Danger is a collection of true crime cases. Rule attempts to humanize the people involved in the cases, including victims, perpetrators and detectives. While many of these people are probably just like you and me, not terribly dramatic or compelling, Rule manages to "interpret" these people in a way that comes off inauthentic. It is regrettable, in my opinion, because for the victims, this is their forever story.
I gave the book a few stars to reflect the fact that the stories, minus the cornball interpretation, are important. However, Rule's style is like eating beets-some of us gag no matter how they are prepared.
I suppose that there are authors that use more
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superlatives than Ann Rule. I found her style corny. The additional annoying thing about the book is that Rule inserts herself into the book in the transitions between stories. If you can get past the writing style and story transitions, the stories are pretty compelling. Mortal Danger is a collection of true crime cases. Rule attempts to humanize the people involved in the cases, including victims, perpetrators and detectives. While many of these people are probably just like you and me, not terribly dramatic or compelling, Rule manages to "interpret" these people in a way that comes off inauthentic. It is regrettable, in my opinion, because for the victims, this is their forever story.
I gave the book a few stars to reflect the fact that the stories, minus the cornball interpretation, are important. However, Rule's style is like eating beets-some of us gag no matter how they are prepared.
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LibraryThing member MerryMary
Ann Rule does her usual fine job of following the tortuous paths of true crime. The stories in this collection focus on domestic violence. All of the stories here take place in the Pacific Northwest, as her stories often do. This is home ground for Ann, and she loves and describes it so well. She
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makes sure the stories are cautionary, warning women to watch for the warning signs of developing poisonous relationships as mirrored in the victims in these cases. Show Less
LibraryThing member TamiHindes
This is the best Ann Rule book I've read. I felt that in her other true-crime books, her writing was stilted and dry. It was hard to get involved in the stories and worse yet, hard to care about the people. This one, feels more like she's telling the stories of the victims. I worry about women in
The title story - Mortal Danger, seemed to drag in places and is lengthy. I think some of the lesser details could have been omitted in order to keep the story moving. The next story was about a couple who were found murdered in their home. This story was move concise. There are several more, But I think Rule's best is one of the shorter stories - "If I can't have you" - it was particularly chilling. A woman marries a man in the Netherlands, after the wedding his domineering side comes out, she leaves and returns to America but he stalks her to her home. Eventually, he kills her.
I'm so glad that Rule has become a storyteller as well as a reporter. I'm looking forward to reading her next book.
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the first story - Mortal Danger. This may be because the first victim survived and could tell of the horror she faced. But the storytelling continued throughout the book. This book like most of her previous books is based on true crimes from the Northwest; She has selected several stories all but one are about lone women who are abused and killed. One involves a couple. Like life, sometimes the why of the crime is revealed and sometimes it's not. The title story - Mortal Danger, seemed to drag in places and is lengthy. I think some of the lesser details could have been omitted in order to keep the story moving. The next story was about a couple who were found murdered in their home. This story was move concise. There are several more, But I think Rule's best is one of the shorter stories - "If I can't have you" - it was particularly chilling. A woman marries a man in the Netherlands, after the wedding his domineering side comes out, she leaves and returns to America but he stalks her to her home. Eventually, he kills her.
I'm so glad that Rule has become a storyteller as well as a reporter. I'm looking forward to reading her next book.
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LibraryThing member Barb_H
So compelling. I could not put it down. There is just something about Ann Rule's true crime novels that just grip me and suck me right on in. They give me the creeps, and they are sad and disturbing, and yet I just can not get enough.
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
So there are a lot of stories here of life and love and death; death that comes expected and unexpected and an undertone of how sometimes women feel compelled to stay with husbands besides knowing they are bad news, sometimes because they are afraid of what will happen and while some of them escape
You know going in that there will be death, but sometimes it just feels like some men really need to escape the paternalistic urges to possess women. We really have done wrong in how we build the relationships people have in our world.
It was interesting for about 300 pages but after that I just felt like I was drowning in a tide of macho over-possessiveness and gruesome details. Like when I overindulged in True Crime TV during the Covid century.
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they can't escape their ultimate fate.You know going in that there will be death, but sometimes it just feels like some men really need to escape the paternalistic urges to possess women. We really have done wrong in how we build the relationships people have in our world.
It was interesting for about 300 pages but after that I just felt like I was drowning in a tide of macho over-possessiveness and gruesome details. Like when I overindulged in True Crime TV during the Covid century.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008-12
Physical description
480 p.; 4.19 inches
ISBN
1416542205 / 9781416542209