Audiobook version from Audible. Another solid true crime from Ann Rule,spoiled slightly by the audiobook performance. The reader only showed signs of life when reading dialogue, but the rest of the time sounded like an automaton. ( )

I really enjoyed the first story and wish Rule had stopped there. I didn't enjoy the other stories as much.

Worth More Dead (5 stars)-This was the longest story in this collection. I often wondered why Rule didn't make this a stand alone story. The other stories didn't really fit. This story was very long and very good I thought though. We follow Roland Pitrie who first came to law enforcement's attention when he claimed his ex-lover talked him into hiring someone to murder her husband. I am still of two minds about the first case. Pitrie seemed to have some weird hold on women. I wonder if he talked her into it or not. Either way, the woman and his ex friend in question are both found not guilty and Pitrie is sent to jail. When he gets out, he gets back with his ex-wife Cheryl. Of course, it's not long before Pitrie decides to be done with Cheryl as well. When Cheryl goes missing and then is found dead, even though police suspect Pitrie there is nothing they can do. I did love looking at this story since Pitrie fools a lot of people along the way. Eventually he is caught and arrested about something else, but you get to read enough to find out that he was behind his ex's murder as well.

It's Really Weird Looking at My Own Grave (5 stars)-Rule provides insight into a serial killer. One of the victims gets away and is instrumental in making sure he is eventually captured and locked away. In the end, two women ended up surviving the man's attacks, it still leaves lasting scars on both of them though.

Old Man's Darling (3 stars)-Didn't really like this one. I don't know if you would call it karma or not. An older man has an affair with a younger woman who refuses to let go. This ends up in a police shoot out.

All For Nothing (4 stars)-A really sad story about a woman who doesn't want to continue a relationship, but is murdered when the jealous man figures she has moved on. The man, Bill Pawlyk ended up going to prison, and asked for clemency cause of the "good works" he did while in jail. I don't know how long one has or should go to jail for taking a life, but I don't think that one should try to get out after 15 years (Pawlyk did) and not be held accountable for longer than than. Pawlyk ended up not just killing his ex-lover but another man who arrived at the home before he did. I think the laying in wait part is what gets me. That is premeditated to me and he definitely should not be seen any mercy.

A Desperate Housewife (4 stars)-Looks at the life of Carolyn and Robert Durall. A sad story showing that a controlling man who though he didn't particularly want to be married to his wife, wasn't about to let her go either. ( )

This was my first Ann Rule and I'm still on the fence about how I feel about it. On the one hand, the cases she presented were as interesting as they were horrible for those involved and I'll probably read another of her books sometime in the near future. On the other hand, I think the book might have been better served as a single case non-fiction rather than an anthology as the first case took up more than half the book, leaving little space for the other cases to be fleshed out. Admittedly, they might not have needed as much space but I still found myself disappointed with their abruptness. ( )

Audiobook version from Audible. Another solid true crime from Ann Rule,spoiled slightly by the audiobook performance. The reader only showed signs of life when reading dialogue, but the rest of the time sounded like an automaton. ( )