Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Too Late To Say Goodbye by Ann Rule

Jenn Corbin was found dead early one morning by her young son,Dalton Corbin.She had died from a gunshot wound to the head and a gun lay next to her.It was initially presumed that she had committed suicide although the gun being partially covered under the bedcover raised some doubts with the investigating officer.To rule out a possible homicide an investigation was started.The husband Dr Bart Corbin,was obviously the first person to try and rule out.

The investigation revealed that Jenn Corbin had been intent on divorcing Bart Corbin and had also started an internet affair.Bart Corbin had been emotionally abusive all throughout the marriage and had conducted many affairs out of the marriage,including one with a married woman even from before he married Jenn.

But the plot thickens.The person Jenn had been having an affair with was not who everyone thought this person was.Dr Bart Corbin avoided speaking to the investigators at all costs and had "lawyered" up very early in the investigation.Then the investigation revealed that some years earlier a previous girlfriend of Bart's,Dolly Hearn,had also died by committing suicide.

Little Dalton's first words were,without prompting "Daddy killed my Mommy" although he had not actually seen this happen.This story is an amazing account of the brilliant investigators who refused to give up,especially when it came to tracking the origins of the gun found next to Jenn Corbin.Due to these tenacious and determined investigators,this crime case ends with the ultimate climax.

I would recommend reading this book wholeheartedly.You can feel Ann Rule's compassion throughout the book.Her relationship with the families of the victims is so very real and loving.Despite this,the story unfolds with no bias but the facts.

Usually in books where the one spouse murders the other,there are always children who for the most part,are either abandoned or put in the care of the murderer's family.In those cases I always wonder how the children are doing and it is absolutely heartbreaking.Thanks goodness I don't have to worry about these two little boys.Jenn's sister,Heather Tierney,is raising them with her own two children and doing a wonderful job.

Little Dalton,strikes me as such a clever little boy and Dillon,the younger brother,was too young at the time to remember much,and is faring better.Both boys have no wish to see their father.I cannot give the whole story away but I just want to add some interesting bits.

Dolly Hearn,the ex girlfriend who had apparently committed suicide had a cat called Tabitha.When she broke up with Bart Corbin he made her life a living hell by stalking her and even kidnapped her cat and abandoned her far away.After a month or so,Dolly convinced him to tell her where he had abandoned Tabitha which he did and luckily the cat was found,a little worse for wear after living on the streets for a month,but otherwise okay.This same Tabitha lived for 21 years,that was amazing to me.

Dolly Hearn,who had been studying to be a dentist,was murdered a year before she completed her studies.Despite her fellow students lobbying for her degree to be awarded posthumously,it was denied as the board believed she had committed suicide as she had not been doing well at her studies(this stalker Bart Corbin had destroyed a few of her important study projects causing her to nearly fail in her studies)and believed the rumors that Bart had spread about her being suicidal.Well the good news is that a few years ago they did award Dolly Hearn with her degree and she is Dr Dolly Hearn.

This book has so many twists and turns.There are even some unsolved murders of women who knew Dr Bart Corbin.Really you have to read this book to understand what I mean.If I had not known it was a true crime story I would have really believed it was fiction.But all of it is true and Ann Rule is at her best in this book.



Here are some more book details:
Too Late to Say Goodbye: A True Story of Murder and Betrayal
Author: Ann Rule
Country: United States of America
Publisher: Wheeler Publishing
ISBN: 9781597224116
Publication date: June 2007
Pages: 602
Illustrations: Illustrated


11 comments:

  1. I'm going to the library to look for some Ann Rule books I can't recall reading this book but it sounds interesting!

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  2. Great review. It always breaks my heart when I hear of woman getting murdered and they have children that they leave behind. It sickens me that people can do things like this. And for the little boy to find his mom is just heartwrenching!

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  3. I love Ann Rule! Her books are amazing - - she is one of my "must read" authors and I buy her books as soon as they come out.
    Great review!

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  4. Hey, I can't find your e-mail address. Could you e-mail me at lovestoread0708(at)yahoo.com I had a question.. Thanks. :)

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  5. Hey, I am stopping by everyones blogs who showed interest in my Show Us Your Library Meme on my blog. It can be found here:
    http://trishasbookshelf.blogspot.com/2009/07/show-us-your-library-meme.html
    I hope you decide to join us. :)

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  6. I don't think I have this one. Sounds interesting.

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  7. Ann Rule is the true crime author I have read the most of. This one sounds wonderful as always and i think it is time I find myself a day or two of solitude and get myself into this book right here. :)

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  8. Hey guys,so glad you dropped by.I have been so busy with the fixing up of the "House of Horrors" I am hardly blogging!
    @ Heidi V,good idea!
    @ Trishalynn,I know how you feel about the kids.I think of these little ones all the time.Can you imagine living with the memory of seeing your Mom like that!I have sent you an e mail!
    @ Lori,I agree.Ann Rule is the best!
    @ LuAnn,this one is one of my best Ann Rule books
    @ Sheila,I hope you enjoy the reading!

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  9. Terrific review, you are really motivating me to try more from the true crime genre!

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  10. Teddyree you have really made my day!! I wish more bloggers would read true crime so we could compare reviews and link up(lol)

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  11. This book sounds really good. There's something about your Ann Rule reviews that makes me really want to go out and get the books! Maybe it's your passion and enjoyment shining through. Superb review.

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