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, €œAmerica€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 €œas 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.