In the Still of the Night by Ann Rule

Last night I finished reading In the Still of the Night:   The Strange Death of Ronda Reynolds and Her Mother's Unceasing Quest for the Truth? This is Ann Rule's latest true-crime book and it was a little more unsettling than some of her other books. Not because of the blood and gore or graphic detail about how the person died; I found it unsettling because Ann Rule became friends with the victim's mother and her telling of the story was different because of that, I think.

Ronda Reynolds was a former Washington state trooper who was murdered in her home but the case has not been solved to date. That was another biggie. Ann Rule always writes about crimes that have been solved and details the murderer. This book was different in many ways. She and the vicitm's mother, Barbara Thompson, even began trying to solve the crime themselves. Bizarre, but interesting. At the end of the book, Ann Rule wrote that she knew things but couldn't reveal them. Hmm. It makes me wonder if when (if) this 1998 murder ever is solved, she'll write another book.

Have you read In the Still of the Night? I was wondering about this book even more and looked up some earlier reviews about it. If interested, check out this one at the True Crime Book Reviews blog.

Book Read: In the Still of the Night

Author: Ann Rule

ISBN: 978-1-4165-4460-9

GR = Gary Ridgway/Green River = Creep

Book Read:  Green River, Running Red, The Real Story of the Green River Killer--America's Deadliest Serial Murderer
Author:  Ann Rule
ISBN:  978-0-7434-6050-7

I just finished Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule. I usually read at night, in bed. Well, I was about 100 pages from the end last night and thought I'd just stay up and finish it. But this part of the book covered the interviews the detectives had with Gary Ridgway about the 48 women he admitted killing, mostly from 1982 to 1985 in Washington state. I am fascinating by these slasher books, but this one really got me. The details he gave were too much right before I was going to sleep. I had to stop reading. Then I had a fitful night's sleep any way. No nightmares but I woke up several times thinking about the jerk. Awful. Horrendous. Yuck.

So, I got up this morning and after checking email, doing a little online farming (pitiful, yes, but fun), etc., I sat down with another cup of coffee and finished reading. To get the bad taste out of my mouth from this horrible ending (actually it was a good ending to the book, just a horrible thing to have happened), I called my friend Marilyn who, like me, loves a good slasher, especially Ann Rule's. She hasn't read GR,RR, so I may send it to her. She remembered Gary Ridgway though from the news and that it seemed to drag on. It did. He was finally arrested in 2001 but wasn't sentenced for 2 more years--a life sentence for each count of murder to run consecutively. So he'll rot in prison. Good.

What book have you read that creeped you out?

Ann Rule Rules!

Let me just say it and get it outta the way. I love Ann Rule! In case you've been living under a rock or just don't read true crime books, Ann Rule is the leading true crime writer.

I haven't read one of Rule's books in several years; maybe that's why I've felt out of sorts. Hmmm. Anyway, I started reading Green River, Running Red night before last and just love it. Hear me out. I don't love serial killers, but I find it fascinating to read about why people kill. This story made national headlines, and I've seen the movie, The Capture of the Green River Killer, featuring Tom Cavanagh, so there's no surprise of who dunnit.

Oh, this picture of Ann Rule was taken when I attended one of her book readings/signings in Denver several years ago.

In case you've never read one of Ann Rule's books, like I said, the end is usually no surprise. In the GRRR, I know that Gary Ridgway was found guilty of killing all of these girls/women in the Seattle area and dumping their bodies, at least at first, in the nearby Green River. No, reading a true crime book is more about the whys. It's the journey, not the destination. 

Do you read true crime books? Do you have a favorite?