Rating: 
Summary: Ann Rule is the Master but she missed BIGTIME with this one!
Review: I love Ann Rule. I've read everything, but this was the worsttrue crime account I've seen in a long time. Divorcing couples rarely have two innocent parties, and this one was no exception. Yet, Ms Rule showed no compassion for Deborah Green, who despite mental issues, AT LEAST HAD CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN, while Mike was running around discovering himself sexually? (Somehow, Ms Rule wants us to believe he is a tragic victim, HA!!). The real victims, the children, were not given fair representation either, it was just a mess. Deborah Green was portrayed as a monster, while the husband was a "total" victim, it was obviously biased. Unbelievably so, coming from a single mother? Ann what's happening?
Rating:
Summary: Ann Rule is the Master but she missed BIGTIME with this one!
Review: I love Ann Rule. I've read everything, but this was the worst true crime account I've seen in a long time. Divorcing couples rarely have two innocent parties, and this one was no exception. Yet, Ms Rule showed no compassion for Deborah Green, who despite mental issues, AT LEAST HAD CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN, while Mike was running around discovering himself sexually? (Somehow, Ms Rule wants us to believe he is a tragic victim, HA!!). The real victims, the children, were not given fair representation either, it was just a mess. Deborah Green was portrayed as a monster, while the husband was a "total" victim, it was obviously biased. Unbelievably so, coming from a single mother? Ann what's happening?
Rating:
Summary: A disjointed and contradictory work below Rule's standards.
Review: "Bitter Harvest: is disjointed, poorly written, repetitiveand contains contradictory in formation, making it a disappointing and frustrating read. Rule is capable of much better.
Rating:
Summary: A disjointed and contradictory work below Rule's standards.
Review: "Bitter Harvest: is disjointed, poorly written, repetitive and contains contradictory information, making it a disappointing and frustrating read. Rule is capable of much better.
Rating:
Summary: Disgusting
Review: I was sickened by the bias displayed by Ms. Rule. Over and overwe are told how unattractive, shrill and fat Debora Green had become, as if to say, "Well, no *wonder* Mike Farrar had an affair and simply ignored his =wife's= deteriorating mental state!" Please. Rather than looking at her appearance as one more sign of her mental decompensation, Ms. Rule chose to portray Debora's appearance as a sign of her evilness. Green is unfavorably compared her to Celeste (who has an affair with a married man mere weekg up in the 50s after her husband commits suicide - Talk about an evil person!) many times. Mike Farrar's complicity in the death of his children is ignored completely. His neglect of both Debora and his kids caused their deaths as surely as the fire did. Instead, the book focuses on what a long suffering, nice and handsome man he is. I noticed that Ms. Rule did the same thing with Ted Bundy in _The Stranger Beside Me_. Ms. Rule had a difficult time believing that he was the Ted Killer because he was so attractive and warm, despite the fact that she knew his appearance matched the killer's description and his car was the same color and model. I guess in Ms. Rule's world, you have to be fat and ugly to commit a crime.I used to be a fan of Ms. Rule, but this book has really turned me off to her. I seriously doubt that I will buy any more of her books if they involve a female victim or criminal. BTW, I agree with the reviewer who wonders why on EARTH people like Mike and Debora Green-Farrar keep popping out kids like a Pez Dispenser when their marriages are not stable. It is absurd.
Rating:
Summary: Disgusting
Review: I was sickened by the bias displayed by Ms. Rule. Over and over we are told how unattractive, shrill and fat Debora Green had become, as if to say, "Well, no *wonder* Mike Farrar had an affair and simply ignored his =wife's= deteriorating mental state!" Please. Rather than looking at her appearance as one more sign of her mental decompensation, Ms. Rule chose to portray Debora's appearance as a sign of her evilness. Green is unfavorably compared her to Celeste (who has an affair with a married man mere weeks after her husband commits suicide - Talk about an evil person!) many times. Mike Farrar's complicity in the death of his children is ignored completely. His neglect of both Debora and his kids caused their deaths as surely as the fire did. Instead, the book focuses on what a long suffering, nice and handsome man he is. I noticed that Ms. Rule did the same thing with Ted Bundy in _The Stranger Beside Me_. Ms. Rule had a difficult time believing that he was the Ted Killer because he was so attractive and warm, despite the fact that she knew his appearance matched the killer's description and his car was the same color and model. I guess in Ms. Rule's world, you have to be fat and ugly to commit a crime. I used to be a fan of Ms. Rule, but this book has really turned me off to her. I seriously doubt that I will buy any more of her books if they involve a female victim or criminal. BTW, I agree with the reviewer who wonders why on EARTH people like Mike and Debora Green-Farrar keep popping out kids like a Pez Dispenser when their marriages are not stable. It is absurd.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating
Review: Insanity can crop up anywhere, it seems. Ann Rule has againgiven us a glimpse into "normal" America and shown the rotten underbelly sometimes lurking beneath success and "the good life." A very competent tale from Ann Rule. I have come to expect nothing less of her, and she always delivers.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: Insanity can crop up anywhere, it seems. Ann Rule has again given us a glimpse into "normal" America and shown the rotten underbelly sometimes lurking beneath success and "the good life." A very competent tale from Ann Rule. I have come to expect nothing less of her, and she always delivers.
Rating: 
Summary: I couldn't put it down!
Review: This was a deeply disturbing and at the same time a fascinatingstory. Ann Rule is an expert at building the supense without giving away the "truth" about what actually happened and who did what until late in the book. She manages to portray the characters in a way that makes you think you know them, and even as you begin to realize that the guilty party has done the unspeakable, she paints a picture of the whole person, and you find yourself feeling if not true empathy, at the least a grudging amount of sympathy for the characters involved. This was an emotional roller coaster and difficult to deal with at times, but it is well worth the read, and perhaps may at some point in time come to be a vehicle that could help prevent such a tragedy to again occur. Although I find it so hard to believe, that this particular situation could ever happen again, I just as surely thought this could never happen. I am sobered by the fact that it indeed can happen, and I will never again look at the warning signs of a dysfunctional family in quite the same way. Thanks Ann for your wonderful, insightfull book.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down!
Review: This was a deeply disturbing and at the same time a fascinating story. Ann Rule is an expert at building the supense without giving away the "truth" about what actually happened and who did what until late in the book. She manages to portray the characters in a way that makes you think you know them, and even as you begin to realize that the guilty party has done the unspeakable, she paints a picture of the whole person, and you find yourself feeling if not true empathy, at the least a grudging amount of sympathy for the characters involved. This was an emotional roller coaster and difficult to deal with at times, but it is well worth the read, and perhaps may at some point in time come to be a vehicle that could help prevent such a tragedy to again occur. Although I find it so hard to believe, that this particular situation could ever happen again, I just as surely thought this could never happen. I am sobered by the fact that it indeed can happen, and I will never again look at the warning signs of a dysfunctional family in quite the same way. Thanks Ann for your wonderful, insightfull book.
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