Rating: 
Summary: Poor writing always indicates poor research.
Review: It is obvious from the huge amount of filler material that Ann didn't do her homework for this book. The same material she used to build the characters in the beginning chapters reappears while discussing the court case. This book drug on and on, nearly putting me to sleep several times. I decided to skip some information, hoping it would get better. It got worse. The treatment of Debbie versus Mike was a red flag that Ann had not studied her subjects very well. Either she failed to recognize Mike's role in this crime against his ex-wife and children, or she glossed over his personality flaws for some reason. (Ann has always favored good looking men.) For whatever reason, it wasn't all Debbie's fault, as it takes two to tango. I don't not recommend this book. Several books I recommend are Son, by Jack Olsen, An Hour To Kill by Dale Hudson and Billy Hills, and Careless Whispers by Carlton Stowers.
Rating: 
Summary: Impossible to put down!
Review: I am an Ann Rule fanatic, but still did not realize the scope of her writing until I read this book. I found myself hiding in the restroom at home to be able to read it without interruption. I could not wait to get home from work and prop my feet up and read on. This story of two physicians and the unbelievable life they lived is so unbelievable. If you want to read what I consider to be Ann Rule's best, you don't want to miss this story. If you have never read Ann Rule, this book will get you hooked!! I consider it one of my all-time favorites.
Rating:
Summary: DEADLY DOCTOR
Review: Debora Green Farrar was truly a doctor in need of a doctor. Brilliant and severely mentally ill, she abused drugs early in her marriage to Dr. Mike Farrar. Loving and patient, he desperately tried counseling Debora, pointing out that drug abuse would hurt her medical career and would negatively impact the lives of their three children. Debora's behavior grew even more alarming and erratic and at one point, she had to be hospitalized.Debora did not appear to have any concept of how children and adults differed. For example, she would confide in her oldest child, Tim adult concerns and issues. She would enlist Tim's support to undermine Mike's positions. Their youngest child, Kelly, appeared to have an adult savvy into Debora's problems. Bright and empathetic, Kelly would make overtures to Debora when the latter was lost in a volatile rage or off on a bizarre tangent. A poignant display of Kelly's empathy occured when Kelly, then 6, offered to brush Debora's hair "so she would look nice in the hospital." Kelly was described as bright and affectionate and seemed to be able to cope with Debora's bizarre mood swings. The one thing nobody could cope with was Debora's adultery and pyromania. In October of 1995, she set the family house on fire (by then she and Mike had parted company) and two of her children perished. Lissa, the middle child was the only survivor of the Debora - Mike union. One can only hope and pray that she is healing, along with the burn scars she suffered during the holocaust of 1995.
Rating:
Summary: Another great Ann Rule book
Review: Ann Rule presents the story of Deborah Green, who murdered her children, in such detail that the reader feels as though he or she is there. The book takes the reader back to the childhood of Deborah Green -- you grow up with her, you feel her frustration at a failed career, you feel horror as you witness Green's inappropriate treatment of her children, her husband, and others, and finally you cry as you live through the terrible fire that trapped and burned her children. I agree with other reviews that the husband was portrayed as "more of a victim" than he was, but the book is wonderful nonetheless. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but biased account
Review: I thought Ann Rule did a good job of organizing and presenting this convoluted tale. The book was somewhat repetitive, however. My one major problem with the book is that it didn't explore the husband's culpability in his children's deaths. It is inconceivable to me that any responsible father would leave his children in the care of an unstable woman (he tried to commit her only three weeks previously) who he knew tried to poison him previously. His explanation was he thought she was 'better' and she had never hurt the children before. Obviously he was wrong. It is unbelivable that not one single person connected to the case pointed out this bizarre logic. I think any details on this line of questioning were probably left out of the book to keep it going towards one angle. I am afraid for his surviving daughter.
Rating: 
Summary: Half the story is missing from this book.
Review: I do consider Ann Rule to be the master of true crime writing, even if she did graduate from the School of Redundancy School. HOWEVER, there was something missing in this book. Objectivity, maybe? An editor, perhaps? To repeatedly berate and emphasize that Deb Green used bad swear words when angry, yet a mere MENTION of the fact that violent hubby Farrar knocked that kid's head through a wall! Wait a minute, back up--that husband had some kind of major psych problems, too. How come Ann didn't look a little closer at that? It's like half the story is missing from this book. I think Ann's next book should be called "Strange Attraction: An Author's Crush on a Goofy-Looking Doctor." Soon to be a Lifetime Movie.
Rating:
Summary: Frustrating!
Review: Isn't there something called research that goes into writing a book? Rule seems to have bypassed that step. The author's writing is vehemently biased with no attempt to probe into the inner "workings."
Rating:
Summary: Frustrating!
Review: Isn't there something called research that goes into writing abook? Rule seems to have bypassed that step. The author's writing is vehemently biased with no attempt to probe into the inner"workings."
Rating:
Summary: Inadequate
Review: This books falls short of giving the reader an adequateunderstanding of the personal downfall and the 'motive.' Does a poor job of delving into the psyche of the people involved.
Rating:
Summary: Inadequate
Review: This books falls short of giving the reader an adequate understanding of the personal downfall and the 'motive'. Does a poor job of delving into the psyche of the people involved.
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