A Rage To Kill And Other True Cases (1999) - Plot & Excerpts
Ann Rule is at the top of her game in telling the true stories of these particular, mostly female, victims who either through no fault of their own or because of blameless naïveté ended up murdered. Unlike most of the victims in Rule's other books, the murdered had no reason to suspect they would soon end up tortured, raped or killed. They were ordinary nice people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time - most of them tricked by psychopathic psychotics who nonetheless appeared completely normal and rational until their ruses worked to lull their victims into dropping their defenses or suspicions. The dead literally had absolutely no warnings whatsoever that the man who was either asking for their help or who was approaching them as a friend or acquaintance of many months was this time going to torture, rape and kill.It's dreadful and terrible to read these stories. Random victimization drops on top of these people like a rotted building cornice falling on a pedestrian innocently passing under it on a street below, but without the benefit of being unaware that death was coming.1. A bus to nowhere2. The killer who planted his own clues3. Born to kill?4. As close as a brother5. Profile of a spree killer6. The lost lady7. To an athlete dying young8. Ruby, don't take your love to town9. That was no lady10. The killer who talked too muchThe victims in these stories could not ever have seen it coming until too late, with one exception. 'Ruby, don't take your love to town' is a story that is disgusting in that the victim knew her murder was certainly inevitable. A divorced ex-wife knows her ex-husband is going to kill her one day, but as it is today, there is nowhere she can get help.
Ann Rule lives in the Seattle area and as such, most of her stories take place here. That's a huge point in her favor because she knows Seattle and you can tell. For the most part the cases are interesting and short ones like those in this collection have the right amount of information. The problem is that they aren't very well written and a lot of liberties are taken with how people "must have" felt or thought or saw. Most people she describes as handsome or beautiful, though I frequently disagree, and she has a tendency toward exaggeration and melodrama. I'd prefer books with more factual information and evidence and less fictionalizing. But those types of books are nearly impossible to find. (Know of any? Let me know!) I apparently am a ghoul because I keep reading them anyway.
What do You think about A Rage To Kill And Other True Cases (1999)?
This is the first Ann Rule book I have read. She is very good at helping you to understand and look at each case as a whole. Some of the cases are just plain awful and I would shudder to think of the poor victims and how they died. It is intriguing to read about the killers and their backgrounds and possibly the causes that made them into killers. It was a very interesting book to read and I really like that there are pictures to go along with the cases. It helps to further know the people you are reading about.
—Tracy Walters
These cases are fascinating, but can only be absorbed in small doses. Too much murder and violence is depressing.t
—Nancy
I lived in ND when the first crime, A Bus to No Where, was committed. I remember the images of the bus that had gone over the Aurora bridge onto the apartment buildings below. Now that I live in the Seattle area, I am very familiar with the area in which this crime was committed, which, for me, makes the case a little more creepy. All the other crimes were much older, dating back to the 1970s and even earlier than that. With most of the other crimes in this novel taking place in the greater Seattle area, it brings the crimes closer to home and makes me a little more aware of the dangers that sometimes lurk in the area.
—Michelle
