True Crime Author Ann Rule Dies at 83
by Emily Blake
7/27/15


Ann Rule, a famed true-crime author most widely known for her profile of serial killer Ted Bundy, has died.

Rule died Sunday night at Highline Medical Center in Durien, Washington, said Scott Thompson, a spokesman for CHI Fransiscan Health. The cause of death is not yet known, according to Thompson. Rule was 83.



Born in Lowell, Michigan, Rule was introduced to the world of crime at a young age. While neither of her parents worked in law enforcement, many members of her direct family did, which feuled her desire to pursue a career in the field, according to her website.

She was also a dedicated advocate for victims of violent crimes.







Rule wrote 30 New York Times bestsellers, in addition to more than 1,400 articles. Her first bestseller, The Stranger Beside Me, followed her relationship with Ted Bundy, with whom she worked at Seattle’s Crisis Hotline.

She was fascinated to find out what exactly made people become criminals, and focused much of her research on delving into their upbringings and backstories.



“Sometimes people turn their noses up at true crime writing and readers wonder if there’s something wrong with them for finding this subject so interesting,” Rule said in an interview posted on her website.

“My readers tend to be very gentle people; it’s just that we are all tremendously curious about what makes some babies grow up to be savage criminals and others law-abiding citizens. If we don’t know what causes aberrant behavior, we will never be able to prevent it. I write about it because I love to, because it’s my job, and because I’m curious about psychopathology, too. But I also want to help victims, their families, and to save potential victims.”



Several of her books have been adapted into films, including:

The Hunt for the I-5 Killer (2011)
Too Late to Say Goodbye (2009)
And Never Let Her Go (2001)
Small Sacrifices (1989)

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/27/ann-rule-true-crime-author-dies-83

RIP, Ann.

Sad news. She was a brilliant and sensitive writer. Of the many things about her work I enjoy, one that stands out most was her desire to make certain victims were not forgotten. She would write about them in detail, which I find quite profound, as they should definitely be remembered for more than their deaths/attacks. Ann made certain to write about their lives, interests, and personalities.

:(

I so much enjoyed her writing. I like the quote at the end about why she wrote, and why we read, true crime--I agree most of us are sensitive people curious about what makes people tick, as it were, and I think we're interested in seeing that victims and their families aren't forgotten. I'm glad she was there to tell their stories in such a powerful way to so many people.

I'm so sad to hear this. Ann was brilliant. I once talked to a prosecutor that Ann had worked with for a graduate study class I was in, and she had nothing but great things to say about Ann. They had become friends and stayed in touch for over 25 years.

Ann will be truly missed. May she :rip:

Sad news. She was a brilliant and sensitive writer. Of the many things about her work I enjoy, one that stands out most was her desire to make certain victims were not forgotten. She would write about them in detail, which I find quite profound, as they should definitely be remembered for more than their deaths/attacks. Ann made certain to write about their lives, interests, and personalities.

I agree with this- she was amazing at telling WHO both the victims and the perpetrators were, and not just telling what they did. She was by far my favorite true crime author. Her stories never seemed sensationalist to me, and I never got the feeling she was trying to make money of the most recent crazy news headline. RIP, Ann.

RIP, Ann Rule. I never read liked any of her other books she wrote as much as I liked the first one I read, Small Sacrifices, but damn...I thought her book about the Green River Killer had flaws but you got to applaud how she went out of her way to talk about the victims, all fortysomething of them, even though most of them were prostitutes and treated like trash by society. She knew that they mattered.

Very sad. I enjoyed her work. The first book I read of hers was Small Sacrifices. I loved it. I've enjoyed her weighing in on the many true crime shows. I'll miss her.

I loved seeing Ann on different crime shows. She has a book I really want to read called If You Loved Me, about David Brown, his daughter Cinnamon, his wife and her sister (who became his second wife after his 1st wife's murder) and how Cinnamon (at 14 y/o) killed her stepmom and took the rap. If you haven't heard of the story it's a really interesting one. Cinnamon was eventually released, but when I went looking for an update I wound up on Ann Rule's website and it said she went on to marry and have kids but her husband ended up committing suicide. That poor girl has had so much tragedy in her life. I hope she has been able to have some happiness after everything that has gone on.

I loved seeing Ann on different crime shows. She has a book I really want to read called If You Loved Me, about David Brown, his daughter Cinnamon, his wife and her sister (who became his second wife after his 1st wife's murder) and how Cinnamon (at 14 y/o) killed her stepmom and took the rap. If you haven't heard of the story it's a really interesting one. Cinnamon was eventually released, but when I went looking for an update I wound up on Ann Rule's website and it said she went on to marry and have kids but her husband ended up committing suicide. That poor girl has had so much tragedy in her life. I hope she has been able to have some happiness after everything that has gone on.

It's a really good book. David Brown was one messed up guy. I won't spoil it but it's interesting to read about a guy who in all honesty was not attractive or appealing, was able to get young women under his spell and manipulate them.

Apparently Ann Rule died of a heart attack, and her two sons were accused of stealing money from her. :(

Apparently Ann Rule died of a heart attack, and her two sons were accused of stealing money from her. :(
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/crime-writer-ann-rules-2-sons-charged-with-bilking-her-of-100k/

Sickening. Glad they're being charged. Also, I hadn't realized Ann had been diagnosed with dementia :(

It's a really good book. David Brown was one messed up guy. I won't spoil it but it's interesting to read about a guy who in all honesty was not attractive or appealing, was able to get young women under his spell and manipulate them.

Apparently Ann Rule died of a heart attack, and her two sons were accused of stealing money from her. :(

Have to admit the one Ann Rule trope that always bugged me, was her insistence on talking about how attractive or glamorous the killer or victims were, even though in the photos, they tended to look quite ordinary. I'm not saying that she should describe everyone as looking like they fell off of the back end of a tractor, but the emphasis on their good looks was kind of irritating. Did she think that readers only care about the physically attractive or something?

That part about her sons...There's really nothing to say but :(

Have to admit the one Ann Rule trope that always bugged me, was her insistence on talking about how attractive or glamorous the killer or victims were, even though in the photos, they tended to look quite ordinary. I'm not saying that she should describe everyone as looking like they fell off of the back end of a tractor, but the emphasis on their good looks was kind of irritating. Did she think that readers only care about the physically attractive or something?

That part about her sons...There's really nothing to say but :(

Yeah, you read about how good-looking they were and you can't wait to see the photos and they end up looking like your high school principal or your neighbor that invites you to Tastefully Simple parties. :D

Yeah, you read about how good-looking they were and you can't wait to see the photos and they end up looking like your high school principal or your neighbor that invites you to Tastefully Simple parties. :D


LOL...and the bad guy was the short dark haired ugly guy

I agree about her talking about how attractive some of them were, but with this guy I think his unattractiveness was important. I've seen a picture of him and I don't know how he was able to get these pretty young girls. I mean I kind of do, he was a predator and they have their ways, plus he had money, but it wasn't like he was some good looking casanova getting these women to do things for him. He was really unattractive and sickly.

I can't wait to read the book though. I have seen the show about the case and read a little bit about it, enough to know there is a lot more to the story that I hope the book covers. Apparently there is another book about it that is Patti's story, and there was a movie made based on that book.

I agree it's sad that Ann's sons were both stealing from her. I guess they thought they were entitled to her money by being born to her. I'm glad they are being charged. I know she died of a heart attack but wouldn't it be something if they ended up having something to do with it, just weird based on what she wrote about for a living.

Have to admit the one Ann Rule trope that always bugged me, was her insistence on talking about how attractive or glamorous the killer or victims were, even though in the photos, they tended to look quite ordinary. I'm not saying that she should describe everyone as looking like they fell off of the back end of a tractor, but the emphasis on their good looks was kind of irritating. Did she think that readers only care about the physically attractive or something?

That part about her sons...There's really nothing to say but :(


Over the years I read quite a few Ann Rule books. But, like Tom Clancy, I think, in her later years she became a cash cow or papermill, boiler plating crimes then insering stock characters into them-- the unlucky victim, the gumshoed harried policy detective, the idealistic DA and the unsympathetic killer. She wrote a book about a crime that happened near where I lived, a woman doctor who burned down her house and killed her kids to get back at her ex that was really disappointing. BTW the convicted murderer is still fighting to get released and proclaiming innocence. I periodically see a news story about her. She's the kansas City version of MacDonald without the floppy hat.

She kind of invented the current true crime genre (along with Bugliosi who also recently died) after the demise of the pulp magazine true crime industry in the late 1980s. (I remember a news stand shop in my town used to have a whole aisle devoted to true crime magazines, most with cover pictures of a tied up pretty "victim" on them... now the aisle is full of People Magazine type publications.

She wrote a book about a crime that happened near where I lived, a woman doctor who burned down her house and killed her kids to get back at her ex that was really disappointing. BTW the convicted murderer is still fighting to get released and proclaiming innocence. I periodically see a news story about her. She's the kansas City version of MacDonald without the floppy hat.

Sounds like Debora Green. I also read that book. I originally was introduced to this case on Forensic Files and wanted to know more, so I was pretty thrilled Ann Rule had written a book about it. I liked that it certainly went into more detail than the FF episode ever could--especially regarding the marriage--but I don't know, I suppose I see your point. I'm not sure if you felt this way, but I thought Green was portrayed as a square peg from the day she was born. I'm not so sure I necessarily agree with that.

I would be concerned if she were released. From what I understand, her ex-husband still lives and practices medicine in the Kansas City area. I think his safety would be endangered, despite the passage of the years.

May she rest in peace. She was one of my favorite authors and will be greatly missed. One of the many things I liked about her books were the photos she included of the perpetrators, the victims, the crime scenes and the police/detectives.