Dead by Sunset

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Summary: Dead By Susent: Perfect Husband, Perfect Killer? by Ann Rule
Review: I found the book to be quite riveting but I also found the insane review -- below -- riveting. The Neverland reader feels that the non-innocent "babe" basically got what she deserved -- well, thank god we don't all live in Neverland!

Successful losers!, January 11, 2004
Reviewer: A reader from Neverland
I'm supposed to feel real sorry for a lady that stole her sorority sisters husband before they were married one year and the wife was pregnant!! Yeah, she's a real innocent babe! Most people that get treated for snake bites in the U.S. were fooling around with the snake to begin with...what did she expect! Ann Rule even attempts to justify her possible sleeping around because her husband was gone so often and she was so lonely and longing for closeness...yes, that's how "brilliant" people deal with marriage problems! --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition

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Summary: Hard to believe how psycho this guy was . . .
Review: I have read a lot of true crime books, and I'm a big fan of Ann Rule. What sets this book apart from your run-of-the-mill true crime book is the way the author makes you feel that you really know Cheryl and Sara and even the other wives. She really did her research on these women, as well as on Mr. Cunningham, the man to whom they were both married and who killed one of them. I've read this book several times, and each time I wonder, "How did this sicko manage to attract such intelligent, successful women?" That's the real mystery . . .

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Summary: Where did Neverland say she "deserved" what she got!
Review: It is stated accurately that it is hard to feel real sorry for her, and that she(Cheryl) is not "innocent"! What she did to her sorority sister was absolutely horrid in it's own right! (not murder, but absolutely horrible!) She obviosly "new" the kind of man Brad was by this point(Brilliant lawyer remember!!) He's willing to fool around on his pregnant wife, and she's married also! So Mrs Brilliant decides she wants out of her marriage to go to Mr. Charming (Apparently $ucce$$ful Brad) This is definitly the way brilliant , successful people handle their problems...yeah right! Do you really feel sorry for the Mr Macho that get's bit by a poisons snake that he was playing around with??? No! I do feel sorry for Dr. Gordon and feel she was rather heroic, the kids as always were the real victims as usual...but Cheryl...C'mon, didn't she trap herself in her own web? Neverland, happily married with kids!

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Summary: Local Thriller
Review: This book was one of the first true-crime novels I ever read. I picked it up at an airport (another reviewer mentioned the same thing - must be the thing to do) because it took place in Oregon. I was fascinated (and horrified) by the fact that these crimes took place in locales I drove by every day. It was like a car accident - I couldn't look away, hideous as it was, knowing that this man lived and killed in my beloved city.

Ann Rule has a way with criminal stories - making them accessible to the average reader but including all the details fit to lure in those more familiar with the genre. She includes plenty of backstory and it's obvious she has spent countless hours interviewing and observing key players. I've added more of her books to my wish list.

[An aside: Does Ms. Rule do a lot more writing of true-crime in the Pacific Northwest than in other areas or is it just location-bias on my part? If so, why? Does she like the area or does the PNW have a lot more murders and serial killings? Just a simple observation...]

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Summary: What a great book
Review: This was the first book I read by Ann Rule, but as soon as I was done I went to the Library and took out two more. Alot of True crime stories go too much in to detail and the reader starts skipping though it or they lose the reader completly, But not Ann Rule. She makes you feel as though you know everyone in the book. It blows my mind that people are capable of such cruelty. This was such a sensless crime. She was telling everyone for so long that he was going to kill her. She even went as far as to tell people that he would use the children to lure her away to kill her. Although I felt terrible for Cheryl, I was a little angry with her for meeting him at the gas station by herself after she herself told everyone that she knew he was going to use the children to lure her away. I really feel bad for the children and I hope that they realize what a monster their dad is and how much their mother really loved them. I would love an update on what everyone is doing now. There was a TV move on this book, it was alright but the book (as usual) was much better