Rating: 
Summary: A Hint of A Sequel??
Review: "Everything She Ever Wanted" stands out among the 8 Ann Rule books I have read to date. It is not the most suspenseful or most interesting. It is not set in an especially attractive locale or does not introduce compelling characters.It DOES have Pat Taylor/Allanson. To me, she is the lowest of the low,including that sicko from "Lust Killer". One has to complete all 500+ pages to appreciate how bad/evil/manipulative this woman is. Husbands, children and family mean absolutely nothing to Pat as she schemes her way through life. The title is a bit of a tease, since it was not exactly clear just want Pat "wanted" so badly or if she will ever achieve it. "ESEW" is lengthy by necessity because Pat casts a wide net with her behavior. There is a plethora of children,family members,spouses, cops, defense attorneys, district attorneys and innocent bystanders drawn into the maelstrom surrounding her. This point demonstrates the tale's only weakness. It's too long! I believe the author could have drawn the reader into the plot quicker. With so many "main" characters, some of the minor ones could have been deleted entirely or had their roles abbreviated. I almost put "ESEW" away before being drawn into the same maelstrom mentioned above. Apart from this, the book is definitely recommended. Ann Rule fans need not think twice. New readers may wish to start with the briefer "Lust Killer" or perhaps "I-5 Killer" before tackling the longer fare here. On a positive note, I was inspired by the very real characters of Tom and Susan. They battled back! More power to them. Also, my compliments to two previous reviewers: "Sarbery" observed that owning a few horses doesn't make a Souhern family "refined". Good one!. Another observant reviewer noticed the photographic changes in Susan as the plot thickened. All the more reason NOT to read those pesky centerfold photos (or the back cover!) until the end.Of all A.R.s efforts, I sense a possible sequel here. Have we or haven't we heard the last of Pat?
Rating:
Summary: A Hint of A Sequel??
Review: "Everything She Ever Wanted" stands out among the 8 Ann Rule books I have read to date. It is not the most suspenseful or most interesting. It is not set in an especially attractive locale or does not introduce compelling characters.It DOES have Pat Taylor/Allanson. To me, she is the lowest of the low,including that sicko from "Lust Killer". One has to complete all 500+ pages to appreciate how bad/evil/manipulative this woman is. Husbands, children and family mean absolutely nothing to Pat as she schemes her way through life. The title is a bit of a tease, since it was not exactly clear just want Pat "wanted" so badly or if she will ever achieve it. "ESEW" is lengthy by necessity because Pat casts a wide net with her behavior. There is a plethora of children,family members,spouses, cops, defense attorneys, district attorneys and innocent bystanders drawn into the maelstrom surrounding her. This point demonstrates the tale's only weakness. It's too long! I believe the author could have drawn the reader into the plot quicker. With so many "main" characters, some of the minor ones could have been deleted entirely or had their roles abbreviated. I almost put "ESEW" away before being drawn into the same maelstrom mentioned above. Apart from this, the book is definitely recommended. Ann Rule fans need not think twice. New readers may wish to start with the briefer "Lust Killer" or perhaps "I-5 Killer" before tackling the longer fare here. On a positive note, I was inspired by the very real characters of Tom and Susan. They battled back! More power to them. Also, my compliments to two previous reviewers: "Sarbery" observed that owning a few horses doesn't make a Souhern family "refined". Good one!. Another observant reviewer noticed the photographic changes in Susan as the plot thickened. All the more reason NOT to read those pesky centerfold photos (or the back cover!) until the end.Of all A.R.s efforts, I sense a possible sequel here. Have we or haven't we heard the last of Pat?
Rating: 
Summary: You will HATE this woman after reading Ann Rule's book...
Review: ...like so many of the other reviewers have written, Pat Taylor Allanson is almost too bizarre to be a real person!!! She is the definition of selfish, evil, egocentric, spoiled, and trashy. The fact that she and her mother consider themselves to come from "good breeding" is laughable -- they are a family who, generation after generation, put on teenage shotgun weddings with what seems to be no shame at all...This is one really selfish and blinded family -- save for the one daughter who bravely reveals the evil deeds of her mother (that, surprisingly, no one else seems to see though they seem blatantly obvious!!!)... No, this is not Ann Rule's best, in my opinion (I will always be partial to "The Stranger Beside Me"), but despite other reviews, I would highly recommend it... It tells a winding and bizarre tale of a truly selfish and evil woman who will stop at nothing to get "everything she ever wanted", which appears to be the attention of everyone around her... She's pitiful.
Rating:
Summary: quicksilver in the jaws of justice
Review:
In "Everything She Ever Wanted" we are introduced to Patricia Vann Radcliffe Taylor Allanson, a woman fixated on emulating her role-model Scarlett O'Hara, a modern-day refined southern belle of infinite selfishness and a complete lack of remorse or empathy, devoid of conscience and incapable of love for anyone or anything save for herself, in search of her paradisaic "Tara".
While some have mistaken this as a story of a freak, it is quite the opposite - a tale of a clever, stubborn, adorable spoiled child whose submersion in unmitigated gratification and complete lack of disciplinary boundaries during her formative years turned the Shirley-Temple dream child into the Jekyll/Hyde adult. Do I recall that Pat Taylor Allanson served as the model for Caleb Carr's cold-blooded, manipulative, and realistic if fictional "Libby" in his chilling classic "Angel of Darkness"? If she didn't, she certainly could have.
The tale of a monster? Perhaps, but a common monster, one that breeds and multiplies and festers in the milieu of our modern society, that arises again and again, in ever more resistant strains, to test the limits of our enfeebled enforcement and justice systems.
Ms. Rule adroitly demonstrates the chameleon nature of the sociopath, the quicksilver-like ability to evade culpability and responsibility, while churning a carnage-laden path of ruined lives and festering emotional trauma through the lives of those who love them. We sense the frustration of a legal system than can never adequately resolve those crimes against the innocent which ultimately only a higher power can fully and fairly address, as is acknowledged in the novel's concluding and ironic axiom.
A fascinating read (I read it in about 3 long sittings) for those willing to wade into the restricting mire of non-idyllic reality far removed from Hollywood fantsies of quick revenge and violent retribution. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring - has done much better!
Review: After Sloughing through the most dull first chapters I have ever read in any true crime novel, I hoped it would catch on. It never did. I don't advise reading this story - you won't miss anything. 2 stars just because it is Ann Rule, who usually is very good.
Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER GREAT ANN RULE BOOK
Review: Although this is not my favorite Ann Rule book, it rates right up there. Ann Rule has the ability to take a crime against another person and turn it into a fascinating psychological study. In this case, the author studies the main character's incredible ability to manipulate other's to do her will...or die. This book is a real page turner and a more than satisfactory read for those lovers of true crime or psychological studies. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.
Rating:
Summary: Best True Crime Book Ever Written
Review: Ann Rule is my favorite author. I have to say I read this book a few years ago and none has compared. I still think about that how insane this woman was and how many lives she ruined. This was the ultimate good, sink your teeth in book. Kudos to Ann. She is the best.
Rating:
Summary: Pat was such a facinating character, as was the book.
Review: Ann Rule is one of my favourite authors and as usual, I could not put this book down. I found Pat to be such an unbelievable character, just as unbelievable as the relationship she shared with her mother. I found it frustrating how Pat's family never investigated her seemingly obvious problems. This was an excellent book (as all of Rule's are) and is perhaps not as harsh as the other crimes Anne has written.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great One by Ann Rule
Review: Ann Rule never disappoints me! This book spans some 20 years, telling the story of how two families came together in a Gone-With-The-Wind marriage that left some family members dead, and others nearly dead or with ruined lives. Usually I can get the gist of the story by reading the captions under the pictures in the middle of the book, but not this one. Pat Allanson's husband is convicted of murdering his parents, but you don't quite know until the end whether he really did it. Pat tries to kill her husband's grandparents, the book takes you through the trial and conviction, but there are still hundreds of pages left to read! Pat Allanson just doesn't know when to quit! You won't believe how she (and her family) treats her daughter, how she thought she could get away with more attempted murders, and how many lives she could ruin. I just wish Susan would have been tested for poison, and I wish her and her children all the best for having the guts it took to do what she did.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Book - Ann Rule hits another homerun!
Review: Ann Rule weaves a tale so incredible it's hard to believe this is true crime. Pat Taylor Allanson makes Hannibal Lector look like a pussycat. The woman had no remorse at all for what she did. A twisted, chilling look at a woman who wanted her own way, and wouldn't let anything or ANYONE stand in her way. The manipulation queen: she played the seductive, little girl, helpless, delicate southern bell to the hilt. Truly an amazing story. All true crime buff should add this to their library.
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