New Releases by Ann Rule

From #1 New York Times bestselling author and “undisputed master crime writer” (John Saul, New York Times bestselling author), a chilling tale of obsession, manipulation, and murder in small-town Washington. In A Fever in the Heart, lives are ended and families torn apart due to one man’s burning desire to get the woman of his dreams back. Based on twenty years of in-depth research, this is a powerful true crime story that delves into a twisted and deadly love triangle that shook Yakima, Washington, to its core.

W mrożącej krew w żyłach opowieści true crime Ann Rule zgłębia tajemnicę, która wstrząsnęła spokojną społecznością Whidbey Island w stanie Waszyngton. Rozplątując sieć kłamstw i intryg, Rule przedstawia fascynujące spojrzenie na ludzkie pragnienie miłości, pieniędzy i zemsty. Ta skrupulatna relacja skupia się na przypadku Russela Douglasa, którego życie kończy się tragicznie w śnieżną noc Bożego Narodzenia. Pełne fascynujących postaci i wciągającej fabuły Ćwiczenia z kłamstwa zachęcają do badania najmroczniejszych zakamarków ludzkiej psychiki i podają w wątpliwość założenia dotyczące zaufania oraz natury zła.

A shocking chronicle of greed, sexual obsession, manipulation, and murder--from the bestselling author of Small Sacrifices. Computer wizard David Brown convinced his own daughter to prove her love by killing his new wife. Brown then collected a large insurance policy and married his dead wife''s teenage sister, whom he had secretly taught to perform sex acts since she was eleven years old. Photographs.

Een ijzingwekkende true crime-klassieker over Ted Bundy, een van de meest angstaanjagende seriemoordenaars aller tijden In 1971 raakt Ann Rule tijdens haar werk bij een telefonische crisisdienst bevriend met een jonge, charismatische collega: Ted Bundy. Zij is niet de enige die onder de indruk is. Bundy is knap, charmant, studeert rechten en is betrokken bij de Republikeinse Partij. Kortom, een jongeman voor wie de toekomst alleen maar succes kan brengen, zo lijkt het. Drie jaar later verdwijnen in korte tijd acht jonge vrouwen en Ann Rule – die inmiddels misdaadjournalist is geworden – schrijft een boek over de moorden. Ze verdiept zich in de zaak maar heeft nog geen idee dat de ‘Ted’ die de politie zoekt, haar goede vriend is. Terwijl ze materiaal voor haar boek verzamelt en rechercheurs en andere professionals spreekt, komt ze stapje voor stapje tot het besef dat Ted Bundy niet is wie hij lijkt te zijn. In de pers ‘De meest tot de verbeelding sprekende seriemoordenaar in de moderne Amerikaanse geschiedenis. Ann Rule’s buitengewone verhaal is zowel huiveringwekkend als dramatisch, en zo angstaanjagend als een slaapkamerraam dat midden in de nacht wordt ingeslagen.’ The New York Times ‘Een verpletterend verhaal waar zorgvuldig onderzoek aan vooraf is gegaan. Rule schrijft met veel inlevingsvermogen, maar ook met professionele objectiviteit.’ The Seattle Times ‘Zo meeslepend dat ik vergat uit te stappen bij mijn treinstation.’ The New York Times Book Review

Journeys inside the twisted mind of a killer, Dr. Debora Green, after the cancer specialist was arrested for the arson murders of two of her three children and the attempted poisoning of her estranged husband.

“America’s best true-crime writer” (Kirkus Reviews) presents an all-new collection of crime stories drawn from her private files and featuring the riveting case of a fraudulent doctor whose lifelong deceptions had deadly consequences. The inspiration behind the upcoming Lifetime movie event Desperate Hours. Dr. Anthony Pignataro was a cosmetic surgeon and a famed medical researcher whose flashy red Lamborghini and flamboyant lifestyle in western New York State suggested a highly successful career. But appearances can be deceiving—and, for the doctor’s wife, very nearly deadly. Now, the motivations of the classic sociopath are plumbed with chilling accuracy by Ann Rule. Along with other shocking true cases, this worldwide headline-making case will have you turning pages in disbelief that a trusted medical professional could sink to the depths of greed, manipulation, and self-aggrandizement where even slow, deliberate murder is not seen for what it truly is: pure evil.

V tomto provokativním a překvapujícím příběhu investigativní žurnalistiky se Ann Rule, legendární spisovatelka žánru true crime ponořila do bezmála dvacetiletého honu za nejaktivnějším a nejděsivějším sériovým vrahem Ameriky, Garym Ridgwayem.V roce 1982 byla nedaleko břehu washingtonské Zelené řeky nalezena mrtvola mladé dívky. Detektivové později zjistili, že tělo patřilo Wendy Coffieldové, prostitutce, jejímž rajónem byla nedaleká dálnice. V tu chvíli ještě neměl nikdo ani tušení, že se krutou smrtí šestnáctileté dívky roztáčí nekonečná série vražd, které budou děsit okolí Seattlu téměř dvě desetiletí.Na základě důkladného výzkumu nás Ann Rule strhujícím způsobem vtahuje do pátrání po Zabijákovi od Zelené řeky, děsivém přízraku, který obsesivně zabíjel mladé ženy a dlouhá léta unikal místní policii i FBI. Od hledání pomoci u již vězněného sériového vraha Teda Bundyho až po hrozivý okamžik, kdy Ann Rule došlo, že se zdánlivě nepolapitelný škrtič účastnil jejích přednášek, je Zabiják od Zelené řeky napínavé a nezapomenutelné vyprávění o brutálních a bezcitných zločinech.Gary Ridgway vykonával svou "kariéru" stroje na zabíjení dvacet let. Jeho děsivá schopnost vylákat své oběti na smrt a ukrýt jejich těla ho činila mnohem nebezpečnějším než kteréhokoli jiného sériového vraha. Mrazivý pohled na nejtemnější stránky lidské povahy je jedna z nejdůležitějších a nejosobnějších knih dlouhé kariéry Ann Rule.„Zabil jsem tolik žen, že mám co dělat, abych si je všechny zapamatoval.“Gary Ridgway

"Saisissant... Extraordinaire... Se dévore d''une traite." New York Times " On a tué mes enfants ! " hurle Diane Downs en se précipitant aux urgences. Un homme brun aux cheveux longs l''a menacée d''une arme, a tiré sur elle, ses deux filles et son fils. Devant ce crime révoltant, la police se lance immédiatement à la poursuite du mystérieux suspect. Dans une Amérique transportée d''indignation, seul Fred Hugi, un procureur zélé, ose envisager un scénario improbable, de ceux qui soulèvent le cœur et suscitent l''incrédulité générale... La ravissante, l''adorable Diane Downs serait-elle une Médée des temps modernes, capable de reprendre la vie autant que de la donner ? Reste encore à le prouver.

Discover unforgettable cases of a spouse, lover, family member or helpful stranger who is totally trusted - until it''s too late.

In July 2011, billionaire Jonah Shacknai''s Coronado, California, mansion was the setting for two horrifying deaths only days apart--his young son''s plunge from a balcony and his girlfriend''s ghastly hanging. What really happened? Baffling questions remain unanswered. Rule looks at the closed cases through the eyes of a relentless crime reporter. The second probe began in Utah when Susan Powell vanished in a 2009 blizzard. Her controlling husband, Josh, proved capable of a blind rage that was heartbreakingly fatal to his innocent young sons almost three years later in a tragedy that shocked America as the details unfolded. If anyone had detected the depth of depravity within Josh Powell, perhaps the family that loved and trusted him would have been saved. In these and seven other riveting cases, Ann Rule exposes the twisted truth behind headlined and little-known homicides and speaks for vulnerable victims who relied on the wrong people.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author and true crime master Ann Rule presents her fifteenth volume of the acclaimed Crime Files series focusing on disturbing stories of people in danger, sometimes from strangers and sometimes from the people they know and love. Walking home on a dark night, you hear footsteps coming up behind you. As they get closer, your heart pounds harder. Is it a dangerous stranger or someone you know and trust? The answer is as simple as turning around, but don’t look behind you…run. With her signature in-depth research and compelling writing, Ann Rule chronicles fateful encounters with the secret predators hiding in plain sight. First in line is a stunning case that spanned thirty years and took one determined detective to four states—ending, finally, in Alaska—where he unraveled not one but two murders. A second case appears to begin and end with the hunt for the Green River Killer, focusing on a Washington State man who was once cleared as a suspect in that deadly chain of homicides. In another true story, a petite woman went to a tavern, looking only for conversation and fun. Instead, she met violent death in the form of a seven-foot tall man who had seemed shy and harmless. You’ll feel a chill as you uncover these and numerous other cases of unfortunate victims who made one tragic mistake: trusting the wrong person—even someone they thought they knew.

In this provocative and eye-opening classic of investigative journalism, the #1 New York Times bestselling author and “America’s best true-crime writer” (Kirkus Reviews), Ann Rule, explores the nearly twenty-year long search for America’s most prolific and horrifying serial killer. In 1982, the body of Wendy Coffield is discovered floating near the sandy shore of Washington’s Green River. Authorities have no idea that this tragic and violent death is only the beginning of a string of murders that will rock and terrify the Seattle area for two decades. With her signature riveting prose and in-depth research, Ann Rule takes us behind the scenes of the search for the Green River Killer, a terrifying specter who ritualistically killed young women and eluded authorities for years. From seeking the help of incarcerated serial killer Ted Bundy to Ann Rule’s horrifying realization that the killer she was writing about had attended her book signings, Green River, Running Red is the suspenseful and unforgettable “definitive narrative of the brutal and senseless crimes that haunted the Seattle area for decades” (Publishers Weekly).

Quando Ann Rule conheceu Ted Bundy em um centro de atendimento de prevenção ao suicídio, ela não fazia ideia de que aquele rapaz simpático e inteligente — que sentava ao lado dela e de quem até chegou a receber um cartão de Natal — se tornaria um dos serial killers mais proeminentes da história. Ted Bundy confessou ter matado ao menos 36 mulheres nos Estados Unidos durante os anos 1970. Para estudiosos do caso, a contagem final é ainda maior. Ele pode até ter salvado vidas pelo centro de prevenção, mas ceifou outras dezenas quando ninguém estava olhando. Inúmeras famílias ficaram sem respostas, e ele foi executado em 1989 na cadeira elétrica. Mas estas informações todo mundo conhece. Chegou a hora de saber mais. Ted Bundy: Um Estranho ao Meu Lado é o livro de true crime mais aguardado pelos darksiders e chega como um clássico na coleção Crime Scene®, da DarkSide® Books. Ann Rule — que teve uma extensa carreira publicando livros e reportagens sobre casos criminais —, divide uma experiência que ninguém, em sã consciência, gostaria de ter: a proximidade com um serial killer e a descoberta de sua verdadeira face. Em Ted Bundy: Um Estranho ao Meu Lado, mergulhamos nas memórias de Rule através de um viés inusitado e assustador. Após mudar de emprego e começar a cobrir casos criminais, Rule se viu diante de um mistério envolvendo mortes consecutivas de mulheres, até que, anos depois, quando estava escrevendo um livro sobre essas mesmas vítimas, a verdade veio à tona. Rule levou anos para aceitar e assimilar o fato de que o homem que havia causado tanto horror era o mesmo com quem havia passado sozinha os turnos da noite no trabalho. Em 2003, em uma entrevista ao Houston Chronicle, ela afirmou: “Por muito tempo eu nutri esperanças de que ele fosse inocente, de que, de alguma forma, isso tudo não passasse de um erro terrível”. Sua experiência alterou drasticamente seu projeto: ela não mais estava escrevendo sobre um assassino misterioso, e sim sobre alguém que havia conhecido pessoalmente. Equilibrando sua vivência pessoal cheia de descrenças, temores e conflitos e seu papel como repórter investigativa, Rule explora a dualidade de Bundy com uma intimidade ímpar. De um lado, um homem charmoso e carismático que dividia planos sobre reconquistar uma antiga namorada; de outro, um psicopata que nutria um ódio fervoroso por mulheres e vivia uma vida de mentira. O clássico best-seller de Ann Rule é o olhar mais profundo e detalhado sobre Ted Bundy que um leitor de veia investigativa irá encontrar. E em 2019 ainda estreia o filme Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, com Zac Efron e Haley Joel Osment no elenco, narrando a história de Bundy a partir da perspectiva de Elizabeth Kloepfer, namorada de longa data do psicopata; e também a série documental Conversando com um Serial Killer: Ted Bundy, com gravações de áudio do próprio Bundy feitas no corredor da morte. Ainda acha que conhece bem todas as pessoas que convivem com você? Pense de novo. Algumas verdades moram nas profundezas e, às vezes, só conseguimos ver aquilo que os outros querem nos fazer enxergar.

Fünf Frauen sahen in Brad den perfekten Mann - für eine wurde er der perfekte Killer Cheryl Keeton führt ein gutes Leben. Sie ist jung, intelligent und hat sich bereits einen Namen als Anwältin gemacht. Das Einzige, was ihr zu ihrem Glück fehlt, ist eine eigene Familie. Als sie Brad Cunningham kennenlernt, sieht sie in ihm den Mann ihrer Träume. Die beiden heiraten und bekommen gemeinsam drei Kinder. Doch die Ehe scheitert - und kurze Zeit später wird Cheryls Leiche in ihrem Wagen gefunden: grausam zu Tode geprügelt. Schnell wird ihr Mann Brad der Hauptverdächtige in dem Mordfall. Und im Verlauf der Ermittlungen kommen Abgründe zutage, die nicht mal eine kluge Frau wie Cheryl vorhersehen konnte ... True Crime bei beTHRILLED: Nichts ist so grausam wie die Realität!

Ann Rule presents a collection of fascinating and disturbing true-crime stories—drawn from her real-life personal files—in this seventeenth volume in the #1 New York Times bestselling Crime Files series. In this gripping collection of investigative accounts from her private archives, “America’s best true-crime writer” (Kirkus Reviews) exposes the most frightening aspect of the murderous mind: the waiting game. Trusted family members or strangers, these cold-blooded killers select their unsuspecting prey, wait for the perfect moment to strike, then turn normality into homicidal mayhem in a matter of moments. Ann Rule will have you seeing the people and places around you with heightened caution as you read these shattering cases, including: - New mothers murdered, their infants kidnapped, in an atrocious baby-selling scheme - The man who kept his criminal past hidden from his wife—and his wife from his mistress—until he coldly disposed of one of them - The beautiful daughter of a State Department official ran away from the privileged world she knew and hitched a ride with a man she didn’t...with fatal consequences - For months, a vicious, rage-filled serial rapist eluded police and terrorized Seattle’s women—when would he strike next, and how far would his violence escalate? - A criminal known for his Houdini-like escapes is serving time for murder in a botched robbery—now the convict is being served dinner in a civilian’s home, where he has one more trick up his sleeve - A long-lost relative who came home to visit, leaving a bloody trail through Washington and Oregon; no one realized how dangerous he and his ladylove were—until it was far too late... With her ability to translate the most complex cases into storytelling “as dramatic and chilling as a bedroom window shattering at night” (The New York Times), Rule expertly analyzes the thoughts and deeds of the sociopath, in this seventeenth essential Crime Files volume.

Hiver 2003, sur l''île de Whidbey, Russ Douglas est en visite pour les fêtes chez son ex-femme Brenna. Malgré la procédure de divorce en cours, elle l''a invité à célébrer Noël en famille. Au matin du 26 décembre, Russ sort faire quelques courses, après avoir promis à ses enfants qu''il serait de retour rapidement. Mais les heures passent et il ne revient pas. Il sera découvert le lendemain après-midi, dans sa voiture garée près d''une cabane inoccupée, tué d''une balle en plein front. La thèse du suicide est rapidement écartée, aucune arme n''ayant été retrouvée sur les lieux. Pour la police, une longue enquête débute, pleine de rebondissements, de fausses pistes et d''anciennes tragédies, qui captivera toute l''île pendant presque dix ans. Avec une liste de suspects longue comme le bras comprenant entre autres une ex-reine de beauté et son amant professeur de guitare, un hippy toxicomane et la veuve du défunt, cette affaire ressemble à un roman d''Agatha Christie. Pourtant, c''est une histoire vraie.

This New York Times bestseller—from “America’s best true-crime writer” (Kirkus Reviews) and the author of The Stranger Beside Me—is a shocking tale of greed, sex, scandal, and murder on an isolated and eerie island in the Pacific Northwest. The basis for the Lifetime movie event Circle of Deception. With more than 50 million copies of her books in print—from her chilling personal account of knowing Ted Bundy to sixteen collections in her #1 bestselling Crime Files series—Ann Rule is a legendary true crime writer. Here, in Practice to Deceive, Rule unravels a shattering case of Christmastime murder off the coast of Washington State—presented with the clarity, authority, and emotional depth that Rule’s readers expect. Nestled in Puget Sound, Whidbey Island is a gem of the Pacific Northwest. Accessible only by ferry, it is known for its artistic communities and stunning natural beauty. Life there is low-key, and the island’s year-round residents tend to know one another’s business. But when the blood-drenched body of Russel Douglas was discovered the day after Christmas in his SUV in a hidden driveway near Whidbey’s most exclusive mansion—a single bullet between his eyes—the whole island was shocked. At first, police suspected suicide, tragically common at the height of the holiday season. But when they found no gun in or near the SUV, Russel’s manner of death became homicide. Brenna Douglas, Russel’s estranged and soon-to-be-ex wife, allowed him to come home for a Christmas visit with their children. The couple owned the popular Just B’s salon. Brenna’s good friend Peggy Sue Thomas worked there, and Brenna complained often to her that Russel was physically and emotionally abusive. Peggy Sue’s own life has been one of extremes. Married three times, hers is a rags-to-riches-and-back-again tale in which she’s played many roles, from aircraft mechanic to “drop-dead gorgeous” beauty queen as a former Ms. Washington. But in 2003, her love affair with married guitarist Jim Huden led the two Whidbey Island natives to pursue their ultimate dreams of wealth and privilege—even at the expense of human life. Unravel the tangled web woven by Russel Douglas’s murder in Practice to Deceive, a heart pounding true-crime tour de force.

C''est à Zebulon, au sud d''Atlanta, en Géorgie, que Pat et Tom se sont installés en 1973. C''est aussi là qu''ils se sont mariés. Au dos de la photo de mariage, où la frêle Pat pose au côté d''un Tom imposant, la jeune femme parle de son amour pour son maréchal-ferrant de mari : Nous sommes unis pour la vie et nous ne faisons plus qu''un... Telle Scarlett, elle rêve de plantations, de jardins de roses et de réceptions chics dans les résidences huppées d''Atlanta. Deux mois plus tard, tous ses espoirs sont réduits à néant : son bel époux si romantique est accusé d''avoir sauvagement assassiné ses propres parents. Avec Une petite fille trop gâtée, Ann Rule réussit un véritable tour de force : un tourbillon d''amour insatisfait, de passions et de désirs incontrôlables, une série de crimes brillamment orchestrés, et, au centre de cette spirale mortelle, une jeune femme habituée à ce qu''on lui passe tous ses caprices.

From true crime legend Ann Rule comes this riveting story of a young woman whose life ended too soon—and a determined mother’s eleven-year crusade to clear her daughter’s name. It was nine days before Christmas 1998, and thirty-two-year-old Ronda Reynolds was getting ready to travel from Seattle to Spokane to visit her mother and brother and grandmother before the holidays. Ronda’s second marriage was dissolving after less than a year, her career as a pioneering female Washington State Trooper had ended, but she was optimistic about starting over again. "I’m actually looking forward to getting on with my life," she told her mother earlier the night before. "I just need a few days with you guys." Barb Thompson, Ronda’s mother, who had met her daughter’s second husband only once before, was just happy that Ronda was coming home. At 6:20 that morning, Ron Reynolds called 911 and told the dispatcher his wife was dead. She had committed suicide, he said, although he hadn’t heard the gunshot and he didn’t know if she had a pulse. EMTs arrived, detectives arrived, the coroner’s deputy arrived, and a postmortem was conducted. Lewis County Coroner Terry Wilson, who neither visited the death scene nor attended the autopsy, declared the manner of Ronda’s death as "undetermined." Over the next eleven years, Coroner Wilson would change that manner of death from "undetermined" to "suicide," back to "undetermined"—and then back to "suicide" again. But Barb Thompson never for one moment believed her daughter committed suicide. Neither did Detective Jerry Berry or ballistics expert Marty Hayes or attorney Royce Ferguson or dozens of Ronda’s friends. For eleven grueling years, through the ups and downs of the legal system and its endless delays, these people and others helped Barb Thompson fight to strike that painful word from her daughter’s death certificate. On November 9, 2009, a precedent-setting hearing was held to determine whether Coroner Wilson’s office had been derelict in its duty in investigating the death of Ronda Reynolds. Veteran true-crime writer Ann Rule was present at that hearing, hoping to unbraid the tangled strands of conflicting statements and mishandled evidence and present all sides of this haunting case and to determine, perhaps, what happened to Ronda Reynolds, in the chill still of that tragic December night.

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.

The thirteenth entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from the “prolific and talented” (Publishers Weekly) Ann Rule focuses on crime victims who had no idea they were in life-threatening danger, often from the very people they trusted the most. In this collection’s featured case, a family man dedicated to naturopathic healing embarks on a passionate affair with a flight attendant, but his jealous rages frighten her. When she finally leaves after a brutal attack, she has no idea that her tormentor would reappear in her life—with deadly consequences. Other cases include: a woman who masterminds her husband’s murder just to gain his inheritance; the sadistic criminal whose prison release damages a presidential campaign and ends in a bitter double tragedy; the shocking DNA link between a horrifying crime and a cold case; and finally, the man who crisscrosses the world in deadly pursuit of a beautiful woman. Once again, the country’s best true crime writer brings her “absolutely riveting…psychologically perspective” (Booklist) insight to a chilling look how sometimes those we love the most can be the most dangerous.

A compilation of real-life crime stories focuses on cases about family members, spouses, lovers, friends, and others whose trustworthy faðcades hid murderous and violent secrets.

What happens when clues in a case are shrouded in smoke and mirrors, and when criminals skillfully evade law enforcement? An ideal family is targeted for death by an unlikely 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 story than meets the eye. These and other true cases are analyzed in Ann Rule''s latest collection.

From the Crime Files of New York Times bestselling author Ann Rule, the true story of a man who killed his lover''s husband, his second wife, and kidnapped his own child. A cold case reopened—and solved—with dogged police work and new evidence. One of the shocking true crimes of passion and greed from Ann Rule''s Crime Files. Former Marine sergeant and judo instructor Roland Pitre Jr. claimed it was all an elaborate plan to win back his wife''s love—it wasn''t supposed to end with her dead body in the trunk of a car. Nearly twenty years later, he acknowledged that he had hired someone to kill his estranged wife in 1988, though his alleged excuse for why a monstrous "mistake" happened is as shocking and convoluted as the crime itself. Eventually, he was charged with first-degree murder in the long-unsolved death of Cheryl Pitre, after a mysterious witness betrayed Pitre to save his own skin. Tracing back the dark and bloody path of Pitre''s life, two generations of detectives found a chain of brutal and terrifying crimes by a man who manipulated the courts and prisons to walk free.

The dark side of love is no fairy tale.... 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.

Dr Anthony Pignataro was a cosmetic surgeon and a famed medical researcher whose flashy red Lamborghini and flamboyant lifestyle in western New York state suggested a highly successful career. But appearances, as this shocking insider account of Pignataro''s tailspin from physician to prisoner proves, can be deceiving - and, for the doctor''s wife, very nearly deadly. No one was safe if they got in his way. With scalpel, drugs and arsenic, he betrayed every oath a physician makes - until his own schemes backfired. Now the motivations of the classic sociopath are plumbed with chilling accuracy by Ann Rule, along with other shocking true cases, where even slow, deliberate murder is not seen for what it truly is: pure evil.