Rating: 
Summary: The Biggest Sacrifice of All
Review: This was the first book, written by Ann Rule, that I ever read. I have since read all of Rule's books. It is the ONLY book that I have purchased, for myself, four times. (I keep "loaning" them, never to get them back). Whenever asked for a good read, this book is my first recommendation. I also suggest that after reading, put the book away, then re-read it.
All of the other reviews, pretty much tell how riveting the story is, how horrible the crime is, how selfish, the woman who had everything, was. The three beautiful children, unfortunately born to Diane Downs, were truely meant to be sacrifced so that Downs could have what she wanted. Period. What she got was prison. The most horrible thing about "Small Sacrifices" is, it's all true.
Ann Rule knows how to tell the story, makes the reader want to keep reading, and knows how to make you KEEP thinking about the innocent ones in this book.
I read this book about once a year, even if it means I have to go out and buy another one!
Rating:
Summary: Small SAcrifices
Review: I Really Enjoyed The Book, I Saw The Interview On Oprah Show And It Caught My Attention. I Highly Recommend This Book, And I Will Try Some Of Ann Rice's Other Books!!
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest true crime reads of all time
Review: If you are a true crime fan, it doesn't get any better than this. A masterpiece well-deserving of the numerous five-star ratings posted here. Possibly my favorite true crime book of all time, and I've read 'em all. Definitely ranks in the top five of true-crime greats (The other four are Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood"; Vincent Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter"; Rule's other masterpiece, "The Stranger Beside Me"; and Joe McGinnis's "Fatal Vision.")You will never forget Diane Downs, her children, or prosecutor Fred Hugi.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written
Review: Ann Rule used her writing talent well in this novel. I'm really impressed with the writing. The book doesn't rely soley on the bloody events to carry it as many others would, but paints an entire picture. She lets you in on so many aspects of the case so you feel very involved in the book. She captured the feeling of the 80's with descriptions of styles and events. Ann Rule lets you into the mind of the investigators and the intriguing "trials" they had to go through to prove their case. Then, impossibly, she leads you through the rat maze of a mind in Diane Downs and the herculean hurdles her toddlers had to overcome in life pre AND post Diane Downs. The hardest part had to be piecing together fragments of Diane Downs' personality. I think she pinpointed it dead on and quite fairly. And what an ugly personality it is.Diane Downs, you've been judged in life and I hope there's a hereafter so you can be judged again. Admit your crime so you can salvage a bit of your humanity!
Rating:
Summary: So sad....
Review: After reading this book, there is no doubt in my mind that Diane Downs is a cold-blooded killer who deserves never again to set her feet outside of the prison grounds! I wonder if she ever confessed her tragic crimes - it's been a few years since this book was published and I'm really curious! Whether she did confess or did not, I hope that she'll rot in prison for all the pain that she caused her innocent children, my heart goes out to them!
Rating:
Summary: Best of true crime
Review: Ann Rule at her best, and perhaps the best true crime book ever written. This story still haunts me to this day, I cannot listen to the song "Hungry Like a Wolf" . I freak and turn off the radio. This books shows the evil that can reside in a human being enough to kill/ injure thier own children. Ann Rule delves into these lives like no one else can do. I can feel the heartbreak of the surviving children. If a true crime buff has not read this book, you must do so immediately.
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Summary: Dark picture of motherhood
Review: I read this book eleven years ago,while on maternity leave with my third child. It was so haunting. I could feel the pain of those children. This is the best true-crime story I have every read and I am quite a buff in this genre. Ann Rule is fantastic in detail and you feel like you are there. I have read every book by her and wait for the next release.
Rating:
Summary: Be prepared to stay up all night!
Review: Absolutely the most gripping book I've ever read--and reread. I watched Diane Downs on Oprah, she looked like the 'girl next door' and insisted that she was innocent over and over, as if by saying it enough times we would overlook the compelling evidence (including her daughter's tearful testimony of her mother shooting her) and believe her. I hope one day Diane will confess, for the sake of her soul and her emotionally scarred children.
Rating:
Summary: A LONE PREDATORY WOLF
Review: E. Diane Downs was truly a sociopath. Bitter over an unhappy past with a cruel and controlling father, Diane literally jumped into marriage with the unsuspecting Stephen Downs in 1972. That union produced two daughters and a son. Daughter Cheryl Lynn, born in 1976 was Diane's scapegoat. Photographs of the girl reveal a somber, unsmiling face and quotes attributed to Cheryl Lynn point out a very sad life with the demented Diane. Diane was truly demented. She burned down the family trailer with the idea of raising insurance money. She wanted to start a surrogate mother clinic and has a daughter for a couple. (That lucky little girl need never have to worry about having contact with Diane)! Her lack of ability to bond with the newborn and being able to just let her be taken by others underscored her lack of ability to love or feel bonded to anybody. Her son and daughters knew that all too well. In May of 1983, Diane shot the three children in her car. Cheryl Lynn died, Christie was partially paralyzed and son Daniel remains paralyzed from the waist down. Diane played "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran, a song that appeared to describe her accurately. When Diane and her children are rushed to the hospital, she claims a shaggy haired stranger (a classic cliche) shot them all, herself included. (Diane had a superficial arm wound). Her behavior during and after the shootings is disgusting, to say the least. She has an affair. A daugther is born of this union and fortunately, the child was raised by a family who refused to have any contact with Diane who was on trial at the time of the baby's birth. Over the years, I have prayed for all of her surviving children and hoped that they would have good lives. Diane sang, joked and laughed during her trial. That behavior brought back tones and echoes of the infamous 1970-1971 Charlie Manson trials when Manson's co-defendants sang, danced and drew pictures of Charlie during their trial. Diane was truly evil. It is interesting to note that Diane's song of choice was the early 1980s Duran Duran hit, "Hungry Like the Wolf." Like a lone Alpha Wolf, Diane appears to hunt her prey, always choosing prey that cannot fight her off and ends up consuming her prey. Two children are paralyzed. One is dead. Diane remains "Hungry Like the Wolf."
Rating:
Summary: Will Draw You In
Review: I read this book years ago and it is still the definative true crime book. One of those rare stories that has you reading it again and again, each time catching something you missed before. This is Ann Rule's very best. True Crime devotees will keep this one within easy reach!
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