Worth More Dead: And Other True Cases Vol. 10 (10) (Ann Rule's Crime Files)

All I need to said is that Ann Rule wrote this book, She is the # 1 true crime writer. I have every book she has written & can hardly wait for the next one. When Ann writes a story she tell you everything you want to know about the crime, the killer & the victim. Nothing is left out. All Ann Rule regulers knows this about her.

Do buy this book

It's a great book. Once you start reading it you won't be able to put it down and at the same time you don't want the book to end because it's so interesting that you want to keep reading and reading. I can't seem to get enough of Ann Rule's books. I still haven't read all of them but I intend to.

Ann Rule is the reigning Ruler of True Crime - her forte being in-depth looks at a crime, victims, perps, cops, and prosecutors. Along the way to writing and releasing her Big Books, she gathers chaff which never quite made it into a book of its own - hence these "Ann Rule Crime Files" paperbacks of which this is the 10th. There is one bigger/small novella length crime coverage and then the "stocking stuffers." So, about once a year, Rule's readers get appetizers - not the "Full Meal Deals" that are Ann's forte. Still, a not-up-to-her-best Rule is better than the best of most of the rest in the genre. /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer

Ann Rule's readers will rejoice that she has presented us with another riveting book, written with her unflagging compassion and in her inimitable style. Here are five cases from her files of the past twenty years. The cast of characters come to vivid life, as once more she speaks for the victims who have been cruelly silenced. Especially good are the portrayals of prosecutors and lawmen who are haunted by these unsolved crimes, even as decades pass, and who are unflagging in their efforts to secure justice for the mourning families.

It's a bit of a jar when Rule points out that in 1988 there was no caller id, DNA testing was an emerging technology in its infancy, and home computers were not ubiquitous. I finished the book with a greater awareness of the many technical tools now available to criminal investigators, making their tasks far easier as they track down people like the twisted murderers in Rule's accounts.

For many years, Ann Rule has been the unparalleled queen of the true-crime genre. Long may she reign!

Ann Rule does her usual good job here introducing us to the people involved in several noteworthy true-crime cases. There are five cases included in this book, principally taking place in the Seattle area, Rule's home base.

1) "Worth More Dead" is the first and longest account, taking up 217 pages, giving its title to the book as a whole. It involves the series of depredations that Roland Pitre was accused of committing. Although Pitre's most recent prosecution was featured on TV's "Cold Case Files," his case didn't generally gain as much notoriety as a variety of other suspected spousal homicide cases featured in the media. However, this murder chillingly proves the adage that often, "The opposite of love isn't hate - it's indifference." This seems to have been an instance in which such indifference reigned, that a loving wife (someone who'd done everything to get her husband released from prison for a previous murder-for-hire crime for which he'd been convicted) was deemed to be casually disposable for insurance money.

This account gets particularly interesting as it proceeds into the latter part of Pitre's criminal career. Some notable forensic techniques are revealed as we follow in the footsteps of the detectives looking for the former Mrs. Pitre's body and questioning Roland Pitre and others about her murder. I also learned a lot of new things about legal procedure on these pages. For example, this was the first time I'd heard about the possibility of making the "Alford Plea" in court. Using this legal option, you technically plead innocent, but concede that since you feel so sure you would be convicted if your case should go to trial, you waive many of the privileges of a trial before sentencing.

2) "It's Really Weird Looking at My Own Grave" gives an account of a rapist/killer who might have gone on to become another Green River Killer if he hadn't been caught after committing two brutal rapes and one (known) murder.

3) "Old Man's Darling" tells about a woman who latched onto a much older married man, at first perhaps because of his wealth. But her attachment morphed into a possessive, obsessive stalking - as she became a woman who would "not be ignored!"

4) "All For Nothing" recounts the case of the presumably happily married broadcaster who yet "had something on the side." After leading his wife to believe he was going to travel on routine assignment, he instead went to pick up his mistress for a vacation getaway - with grisly consequences.

5) "A Desperate Housewife" tells the all-too-common but nevertheless always startling story of a woman with a controlling husband. Her growing disaffection with this outwardly good, church-going man and her plans to leave him - trigger him into taking drastic action.

My main criticism of this collection in paperback is the quality of the photograph section. Most of the pictures are so indistinct that they might as well not have been included at all.

Also, like Rule's other books, this series could use an index. I often find myself wanting to look up a name to remind myself about the individual's role in a crime.

Ann Rule at her best is undoubtedly one of the outstanding true crime writers of her generation. This book, by comparison, verges on the tedious.

The five stories are all written in her usual workmanlike style but somehow lack the spark of some of her earlier books. The cases she presents deal with the murderous conclusion of relationship breaddowns, and all reflect her deep empathy with victims and their families, but overall they lack those twists of circumstance, fate and analysis that we have come to expect from an Ann Rule book.

The first and longest story, 'Worth More Dead', deals with a man who slips almost inexplicably from youthful Romeo to aging wife killer, always able to keep his distance from his crimes by manipulating others to carry out his dirty work. Rule herself says about him at the beginning 'I don't even know where to start explaining this killer'; and at the end of her story we have much the same problem.

Of the remaining cases, one deals with the ability of two teenage girls to survive a murderous attack and the way police were able to use the information they provided to capture an otherwise fairly ordinary killer. The next story, 'Old Man's Darling' describes a gripping situation in which an attractive woman murders her sugar daddy, a man twice her age, when he tries to leave her, but as with most of the other stories leaves the reader feeling that the story needed fleshing out. 'All For Nothing', the story of an otherwise reputable man who viciously kills the woman he loves and her suspected lover, and the last, 'A Desperate Housewife', also address the themes of jealousy, possessiveness and revenge.

As Rule notes, the trauma that can flow from relationship breakdowns, even where they do not end in murder, is common to many lives and for that reason if for no other this book has a grim appeal.

All Ann Rule fans this is a can't miss!

No matter how many true crime books you read, you will never, ever find another true crime writer to equal Ann Rule. She is intelligent, literate, and respects the reader. Although some of her books are better than others, her worst book outclasses anything else being written in the genre. Worth More Dead is not her best book, but it is still a great read!

I am a big fan of Ann Rule. I buy every book she writes, just because her name is on it. And I've never been disappointed until now. I thought her main crime story, "Worth More Dead", was lacking in the usual excitement and juicy details she always weaves her stories with. Ms. Rule has seemed to stop writing at length about the police officers' lives, and that is a big plus. I've noticed it in her last few books. It seems like "Worth More Dead" is a long story that doesn't have enough oomph for the main case story. This might have been better off used as one of her other, shorter case files in this or another book. The other, briefer cases she writes of in this book are excellent. Good old Ann Rule tightness, page-turning excitement with incredible cases - hard to put down. Rule fans should not overlook this book.

This is one that you will go through very fast because you will not be able to put it down. I can't say enough about how wonderful she wrote this story. It was a very tragic story that I will not say a thing about because I wont stop!!So no spoilers on this post Just get the book a nd read it this is one of Ann's best!!