Rating: 
Summary: Not up to par
Review: I've read all of Ann Rule's books, including her pseudonymous ones. They are invariably compelling studies of both victims and killers. This time out, it seems as if Rule was so fearful of saying anything negative about Sheila Bellush (the victim) that the woman is scarcely more than a shadow. Her ex-husband Allen is, in true Rule fashion, defined so thoroughly that he comes across in all his horrifying reality. So do Sheila's second husband Jamie, her two daughters from Allen; even her four quads feel real. But Rule is so cautious in her descriptions of Sheila herself that the book becomes very heavy-going, very one-sided as a result. As well, because so much detail is paid to the litigious battles engaged in by Allen and Sheila in the ten years after their divorce, one has to wonder why a woman who believed her ex-husband was very capable of killing her would (despite her desire to provide for her children) constantly seek to even the score with him in a courtroom.I do not believe, ever, in blaming the victim, but I think in failing to deliver a clear picture of Sheila, we're left with the extraordinary tale of a woman in fear of her life, yet not so fearful that she'd stop poking a stick into the cage holding the lion. Given how well every other character (even the most minor ones) are defined, it's a great pity that the central character remains so shadowy and undefined. This book simply isn't on the same level as Dead By Sunset or And Never Let Her go--tales that show just what Rule can do when she pulls out all the stops.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is worth every $ you spend.
Review: Ann has done it again - "Every Breath You Take" had me holding my breath to see how they would be able to bring this ex-husband to justice. You can't help but feel for Sheila, this mother is trying desperately to hold on to her world. She and her children were used, abused and manipulated cruelly. Everyone who loved them will hurt for the rest of their lives because of that pitiable excuse for a man. A pedophile, a batterer, a sexual deviant, con artist, liar, etc. etc. To think that so many people could know that this murder was going to take place and NO ONE said anything???
Even though he was out of state, even though he did not pull the trigger, even had many alibis and more money than God, law enforcement in working together were able to nail his hide to the wall. Chalk up one for the human race. Ann doesn't have an equal when it comes to laying out the facts and putting them in an order for the reader to be able understand why some things happen the way they do. Sloppy investigating or forensic work.... and the murderer would have gone free. (OJ comes to mind) It did my heart good to see how this case went together and how egos were put aside for the good of law enforcement. For those not interested or think 'poor writing'. .. go buy a comic book. Some people can only criticize or are frustrated writers themselves. The rest of us KNOW good writing when we read it. Keep it up Miss Rule, the only complaint the rest of us have is that we just wish you would write a book EVERY month. A fan in the N. W. Territory.
Rating:
Summary: Ann Rule is absolutely the best!!
Review: I couldn't wait to get Ann's lastest book Every Breath you Take and as I imagined, it was excellent as all of her books have been. I didn't expect to finish the book in two days but I just could not put it down! I have to disagree with one reviewer's comments that Ann lost her touch and she was too "judgemental". I found neither of those statements to be true. This was a very sad book indeed and exposed the crafy Allan Van Houte Blackthourne as the monster he is. Maureen should considered herself extremely lucky to have escaped his wrath!
Rating:
Summary: ANN RULE IS AT HER BEST IN THS STORY OF UNFATHOMABLE EVIL!
Review: Whenever I sit down with an Ann Rule book, I know I am
in for a thoroughly researched tale that explores the
contributing factors of family history, peeling away
layers of relationships to unearth the underlying
elements of evil. In EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE, Rule is
at her skilful best, subtly recreating times and places,
masterfully unraveling a dizzying tangle of details and
events which culminate in a murder of such chilling
brutality as to render one speechless. This telling of
heartless revenge is made all the more poignant by the
fact that the victim not only anticipated her own murder,
but directed her sister to seek Rule out to write of it
should her worst fears materialize. EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE is the can't-put-it-down result, in which Rule has again shown us that truth will always be stranger and more gripping than fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Is it just me
Review: Or has anyone else noticed that Ann Rule is slipping? Nonetheless, this is a gripping interstate pageturner: vindictive ex-husband hires the Three Stooges to eliminate his ex-wife. In no surprise to the Rule faithful, truth, justice and the American Way prevail and the "bad guys" are put away. I was struck by Ms. Rule's judgmental attitude. (Maybe she's always been this way, & I've just never noticed before.) Briefly, here was the situation: once upon a time, Sheila Leigh Walsh married Allen Van Houte Blackthorne. Unbeknownst to her at the time, Allen was a very mean and nasty man. Allen and Sheila had two daughters together: Stevie Nicks and Daryl Hannah. Sheila divorced Allen. He was one of those "If I can't have you, no one else is going to either" guys. Sheila found true love and happiness when she remarried - Jamie Bellush - and they had quadruplets. Ms. Rule consistently vilifies Jamie (husband #2) for his post-murder reluctance to take in his stepdaughter, Daryl. Now, this man is grieving the loss of his wife and soulmate, the mother of their quadruplets. He is raising the toddler quads, along with his other stepdaughter, Stevie. On the other hand, Daryl had Mom arrested for phony "child abuse" and later, when the family was hiding for their very lives from the monstrous ex-husband, tells her Daddy where to find Mommy. I wouldn't be welcoming the little brat into my household with open arms either! I was also stuck by how frequently Ms. Rule panders in her descriptions of major players. I suspect that all these "handsome" and "beautiful" and "highly-intelligent" adjectives are not so much to tell the current tale as to entice prospective interviewees in the next book(s) to agree to participate. Rule needs a better fact checker - or, in this book centered in San Antonio, Texas, at least an editor with a passing familiarity with the Spanish language. She says "San Antonio is the seat of Bexar County, and the pronunciation of Bexar gives a newcomer away. Natives say 'Bear County,' because the X is said to have once been the center of a cattle brand and is not a letter at all. Strangers say 'Bex-ar.'" (p.78) Um, not exactly. As she later concedes in the narrative, Texas was originally part of Mexico. That means many places have Spanish names - like Mexico, Texas, Bexar - and, in the original pronunciation, x=h. Over time,with non-Spanish speakers, the puff of air required for the "h" sound has been dropped from usage - making the h silent, as in British Cockney English. Despite the distractions, Rule is still very good at what she does and it's a very good book.
Rating:
Summary: Rule's readers will delight in this book
Review: "Every Breath YouTake," a finely crafted true crime book, will delight Ann Rule's readers with a story of a controlling, violent man who paid a hit man to murder his ex-wife. This book appears to have been a little rushed into print, as there are minor errors of grammar and syntax not usually found in Rule's books---plural subjects and singular predicates, for example. Rule determindedly speaks for the victims, in all her books,and sometimes her account is so slanted that it reminds this reviewer of Patrick Dennis' "Belle Poitrine", a hilarious spoof of celebrity autobiographies, as she seems to present the victim in the very best light, and the villain in the worst. That said, she is a great storyteller and this book will keep you spellbound.
Rating:
Summary: another blockbuster
Review: Ann Rule's "Every Breath You Take" is another blockbuster in her long line of true-crime accounts. She provides us with dozens of in-depth character descriptions, written with her trademark insightful compassion. No one can weave a story like Rule does, and in this sprawling tale of obsession and revenge, she is at her best. Allen Blackthorne, like so many of Rule's villains, is a personable man, blessed with intelligence, good looks, determination, and money. He falls prey to his own dark side, and his downward spiral leads to murder. The victim herself, after watching Rule's "Dead by Sunset" as a tv miniseries, remarked to her sister, "If I am ever found dead, get Ann Rule to write my story." Her sister did, and Rule has once more spoken eloquently for the victim. Brew the coffee, turn up the lamp, and settle in. This higly recommended book will keep you up all night!
Rating:
Summary: Chilling!
Review: I live near Sarasota and remember following this grisly crime in the news. It was a very shocking crime, especially since it happened in such a nice area. The brutality made no sense until the facts started to emerge. When I discovered Ann Rule's book on this murder, my curiousity was piqued. What kind of a man was Allen Blackthorne and how could anyone hate a person so much as to have them killed? Or better yet-how could Sheila have gotten mixed up with such an evil monster? From page one, Ann Rule had me hooked. She researched her subjects-Allen and Sheila Blackthorne so thoroughly that no stone was left unturned. Once you read about his background and that of his relatives, you have a clearer picture of this horrible human. Throughout the whole book, I kept thinking to myself that I was so relieved never to have met such a manipulative man. Mr. Blackthorne just seemed to leave broken hearts and bodies in his path, usually without paying any consequences. Sheila is just a sad victim who really never stood a chance. You keep rooting for her even as you know the outcome. A terribly sad reminder that evil does exist.
Rating:
Summary: This book broke my heart...
Review: I have read all of Ann Rule's books, and I have to say that out of all of them, this is the one I found impacted me the most. I could literally feel Sheila's fear, her feelings of powerlessness against this man. How she somehow knew that someday Allan would kill her. In my opinion, this is Ann Rule's strongest work yet.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting and as good as any legal thriller can be
Review: People see a handsome and charming person, who can make anyone believe he is your best friend willing to do anything for you. However, he is actually an abusive, masochistic transvestite, who loathes all females. His two former wives remain scared to death of him and feel fortunate to have survived marriage to him and remain relatively sane. Sheila knows nothing about Allen's past and feels like the luckiest person alive when they marry. By the time they have two children, she knows she has married a monster who enjoys publicly humiliating her at any time. Gathering her courage, she tries to leave him, but he has plans to extort a cruel price by using their children as his means of control. When she remarries and has quadruplets with her new husband, Allen goes berserk and begins a harassment campaign that the military would be proud to adopt in Southern Iraq. Sheila and her husband move to another state, but Allen continues to harass her. The day comes when her throat is cut, but justice is not served time because her killer remains free and becomes the media's darling. Except for the fact that Ann Rule is the ruler of true crime, readers will find it difficult to accept that Every Breath You Take is true crime and not fiction. Ms. Rule captures the essence of evil making it available for her audience to take a deep look inside a human monster. The investigation and trial is exciting and as good as any legal thriller can be, leaving readers holding their breaths to see if justice prevails.
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