Okay, a lot of critics are already condemning this book. And putting down Ann Rule. (No pun. LOL.) They are saying this effort could have been a whole lot better. That she had no excuse. The Green River Killer was on the loose in the Seattle area (where Ann writes and lives) for a little over two decades before he was caught. And Ann was on friendly terms with many of the cops and such working on the frustrating case. So this book should have been her masterpiece. And it is not. Well, I don't know why folks are so disappointed. I mean, I am only on page 329. So I do have a hundred or so more pages to go. But I think she has done a fine job of describing the lives of many of the victims, and somehow even manages to make the killer appear almost human. She did the same thing with Ted Bundy in The Stranger Beside Me (which I consider her true masterpiece). And given the number of victims, and the two decades it took to finally capture the killer, I honestly feel that Ann has managed to write a very impressive book. And if it is not as great as her masterpiece about Bundy, should we really be attacking the author so much (as more than a few disappointed critics are)? I mean, apart from Truman Capote, I really can't think of any other author that might have been able to do a better job. And since he is no longer able to write dark and disturbing books (sorta hard to do when you are six feet under yourself), I am more than happy to have Ann Rule tell the tale of the elusive Green River Killer. Because he shall remain forever elusive. No charismatic and brilliant Ted Bundy is he. Just a very bland and dangerous sociopath that Ann Rule did her best to make as interesting as she could. And I applaud her for that effort. Peace, ~PD
I have read several of her books and also read alot of crime fiction. IMO she is the best true crime writer out there. That book really creeped me out and like I said, I read alot of crime books. Even though I've never been a hooker, she made me feel like I was really identifying with those tragic women. That I think is the mark of a good writer. Excellent book.
Yeah, I liked it a lot too. And AR did manage to place the reader smack dab in the middle of the tragic world most of these girls were living in. Not exactly a Mr. Rogers kinda neighborhood. I learned a little bit more about the case from a really good Dateline program that was on TV last night. Looks like the Green River Killer took more lives than any other serial killer in American history. A totally sick and warped dude. Yet totally bland. That's what makes the whole thing so remarkable and creepy. Peace, ~PD
