Kiss Me,Kill Me by Ann Rule:true crime book review

And while we may like to believe that crimes of the heart only victimize those who aren't careful, this page-turning collection of must-read accounts will convince you otherwise. America's #1 true-crime writer, Ann Rule reveals how lovers become predators, how sex and lust can push ordinary people to desperate acts, and how investigators and forensics experts work to unravel the most entangled crimes of passion. Extracting behind-the-scenes details, Rule makes these volatile relationships utterly real, and masterfully re-creates the ill-fated chains of events in such cases as the ex-Marine and martial arts master who seduced vulnerable women and then destroyed their lives...the killer whose calling card was a single bloodred rose...the faithless wife who manipulated and murdered without conscience...the blind date that set the stage for a killer's brutality...and more. In every case, the victim -- young and innocent or older and experienced -- unknowingly trusted a stranger with the sociopathic skill to hide their dark motives, until it was too late to escape a web of deadly lies, fatal promises, and homicidal possession.

This book has ten true crime stories included.Kiss Me,Kill Me is the longest story with 128 pages and is about a young pregnant mother who gets killed in her home.The other stories "The Postman Only Killed Once",What's Love Got To Do With It?","Old Flames Can Burn",The Lonely Hearts Killer",The Captive Bride","Bad Blind Date",The Highway Accident",You Kill Me...Or I'll Kill You" and "Where Is Julie?" are shorter stories and average about 25 pages each.The common thread in each of these stories and probably why Ann Rule used them all for this crime file is they are all crimes against women and involved a certain element of trust by the victims for the killer.

Again I do not have to tell you my feelings about Ann Rule books.Suffice to say they are all brilliant.Her ability to take you into the lives of the victim before they get murdered evokes an emotional response as you feel you already know these people by the time they get murdered.

I enjoy the true crime files but feel a little let down by the shorter stories as most of them seem to have the potential to be a full book on their own.Ann Rule has made the comment that she gets asked to write so many books about certain people and criminal acts and really does not have the time to write all of them.The true crime files is her way of writing about as many stories as she can.She mostly chooses stories which are close to her heart as in "Kiss Me,Kill Me" she is a personal friend of the victim's uncle.

I think the True Crime Files are perfect for readers who enjoy true crime stories but do not really like reading big books.In that way Ann Rule has made sure that all her types of readers are satisfied.For me any Ann Rule book is wonderful and I just wish she would write more books.I always wonder when I read a true crime story that I do not enjoy,if Ann Rule would have written it differently and made it a good book.I personally think so...

I bought this specific book at my used bookstore which is a tiny little dusty shop with old books everywhere.I like the fact that is it dusty and untidy and that it is stuck in a not very visible location.The first time I found it I felt like I had discovered a treasure chest.And on the right hand side in the back corner was ONE shelf old true crime books.I bought ALL of them because I was sure that someone else would come and buy the books before I got back again.Now I try to go there once every two months and it is the highlight of my life.

To sum up,I prefer full length stories but I still read the crime files as I will read anything from Ann Rule.



I read this book in November 2008.