Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
An ideal family is targeted for death by the least likely enemy, who plotted their demise from behind bars...A sexual predator hides behind multiple fake identities, eluding police for years while his past victims live in fear that he will hunt them down...A modest preacher's wife confesses to shooting her husband after an argument -- but there's more to her shattering story than meets the eye. These and other true cases are analyzed with stunning clarity in a page-turning collection you won't be able to put down. Included in this volume are stories of a victim burned beyond recognition - spontaneous human combustion? - impossible - and yet no one else seemed to enter or exit; a man who was a woman who was a man, whose con games in a small community led to murder; a "counterfeit priest" who wasn't a priest at all; a lifetime rapist; and the strangest case ever to hit Montana.
About the Author
Ann Rule, a former Seattle police officer, has published twenty-six international bestsellers, all of them still in print. A certified instructor for police training, she has twice testified before the U.S. Senate on victims' rights and serial murder. She lives near Seattle, Washington.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Ann Rule's latest voulme focuses on crimes involving wives, both as victims and killers. There are 7 stories in this book and, as is usual with Ann Rule's Crime Files, the first is a book-length story of approx 150 pages.
The Crime Files are ideal for those readers who enjoy reading True Crime but do not have the patience to read a single book-length story: if one story does not engage you, you can move on to the next!
I feel Rule goes above and beyond that of most other true crime authors when it comes to personality analysis, questioning and obtaining first-hand interviews with the family, police and lawyers involved. Her stories are three dimensional and almost always leave you with a real sense of who the people are that are involved. She is one of the few TC authors I have read who ensures you have a very real sense of who the victims were and what they meant to those who loved them. I guess you clould say she writes with respect, with thorough investigation and like a human-being - not like a sensationalist, lazy hack.
There are several of Rule's books that I class as 5*. I have classed this as a 3* because I just disn't find it as engaging as some of her other efforts. This is no insult though as I have come to expect a lot of Rule!
Recommended.
The Crime Files are ideal for those readers who enjoy reading True Crime but do not have the patience to read a single book-length story: if one story does not engage you, you can move on to the next!
I feel Rule goes above and beyond that of most other true crime authors when it comes to personality analysis, questioning and obtaining first-hand interviews with the family, police and lawyers involved. Her stories are three dimensional and almost always leave you with a real sense of who the people are that are involved. She is one of the few TC authors I have read who ensures you have a very real sense of who the victims were and what they meant to those who loved them. I guess you clould say she writes with respect, with thorough investigation and like a human-being - not like a sensationalist, lazy hack.
There are several of Rule's books that I class as 5*. I have classed this as a 3* because I just disn't find it as engaging as some of her other efforts. This is no insult though as I have come to expect a lot of Rule!
Recommended.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
56 reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
True Crime, New and Old!
13 Feb 2008
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I haven't met an Ann Rule book I didn't like, but they are always too short! This one I read in two days. This book focus' on women in abusive relationships that lead to murder or almost-murder. I really liked the stories that are older cases. With so many true crime shows on TV, it's hard to find something new and fresh. Since this is a "crime file" you have the option of dipping into the book when you'd like, story by story. Ann also has many resources for women in trouble in this volume including websites to visit. Ann always makes the victims come alive in each of her books, honoring them in a way few can.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating and Compelling
31 Dec 2007
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I highly recommend Smoke, Mirrors and Murder. This book is a powerful and purposeful look at the entanglements of abusive relationships. Ann Rule is keenly attuned and deals clearly with the dauntingly difficult subject of abuse. Not only does Ann give you the red flags to ponder in a relationship she tells you where to get help in this book. The stories are riveting. The Deputy's Wife is an intimate portrait of an individual that abused his wife and family and the fear one feels in this situation. All the stories in this book are noteworthy and fascinatingly insightful. This book is a must read.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Sorry, but this book just wasn't good
13 Jan 2008
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I am a long-time admirer of Ann Rule's true crime genre. Usually, when I know she has a book coming out, I make sure I don't get into any other reading, book-wise, so I can totally enjoy her latest offering. What has always made her books so interesting, and impossible to put down, are her incredible descriptions of all the players. This is definitely missing this time around. The first story just seemed to go on and on and on, with a lot of it feeling repetitive. I had hoped to get more out of the following stories, but, alas, it was not to be. I didn't find even one of them that really drew me in, and actually was glad when I finished, so that I could go on to another book I've been saving. She has always been the number one true crime writer, but I sure hope the next book is more on par with the quality of her former books. Sincerely, Karol Santiago
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
