Ann Rule Dies at 83
Known for her true crime titles beginning with The Stranger Beside Me, Ann Rule died on Sunday at age 83.
She got to know serial killer Ted Bundy on a counseling hot line. That relationship inspired her fist true crime book The Stranger Beside Me, which became a best seller in 1980.
She went on to write over 30 more books including And Never Let Her Go, Everything She Ever Wanted, Bitter Harvest, and Green River, Running Red.
CNN’s obituary includes an excerpt from their 1999 interview with the author. Discussing the dangers of becoming jaded while immersed in stories of crime and criminals, she concluded, “I am not a cynic because I find at least three dozen heroes for every bad guy or gal I have to write about … The good in humanity always comes out wayyyyy ahead!”
The remembrance in USA Today includes a statement by Carolyn Reidy, president and chief executive officer of Simon & Schuster, Rule’s longtime publisher: “By deciding to focus her books on the victim, Ann Rule reinvented the true-crime genre, and earned the trust of millions of readers who wanted a new and empathetic perspective on the tragic stories at the heart of her works … She will be remembered not only for her many books, but also for her ongoing and tireless work on behalf of victims’ rights.”
Readers’ Advisory: The Stranger Beside Me remains Rule’s best known book and is the place for new readers to begin. Her most recent book, about a 2003 mureder, is Practice to Deceive. (S&S/Gallery Books, 2013).
July 28th, 2015 at 7:25 pm
Ann Rule was an amazing crime writer and I was hooked when I read her first book about Ted Bundy, STRANGER BESIDE ME. SMALL SACRIFICES, her book about my home state’s murdering mother Diane Downs, was absolutely fascinating and is a perennial favorite of library patrons. Plus I had the occasion to meet Ann a couple of times and she was always nothing but gracious and always took time to chat with those waiting to get their books signed. She will be greatly missed by readers.