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Summary: ..and if you think your man is no good, read this!
Review: Ann Rule, the American true crime diva, has published plenty of books over the past 20+ years. Unfortunately the quality of this material has varied, largely depending on the personal (emotional) interest she has on the subject matter. Fortunately in Dead by Sunset, a story about a handsome and charming monster named Brad Cunningham, the author is clearly caught up in all aspects of a horrific crime (a wife/mother/attorney is bashed to a pulp). She in fact dedicates the book to the victim and all abused women.Dead by Sunset's strengths are not in the unravelling of the crime (..we know early on who does it) or in the analysis of the criminal trials (..actually this is the weak part of the book). It is Ann Rule's in-depth analysis of the women who completely fall for an intelligent, sex-on-legs Romeo who really seems to hate women. Brad Cunningham is truly a vile person. But upon reading the book one has to wonder how is that several wives and mistresses could be fooled into loving him? Ann Rule never attempts at answering this question. Yet we certainly see the repurcussions of loving Mr Wrong. Bottom line: while the momentum sputters slightly towards the end, one has to be impressed with Ann Rule's attention to detail and writing talents. Strongly recommended.
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Summary: Pure Evil
Review: Bradley Cunningham was pure evil! He should have gotten the death penalty!
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Summary: Oh, to be able to STRANGLE Bradley Cunningham
Review: First of all, what did women SEE in him? His last two wives, Cheryl (who he cold-bloodedly murdered) and Sara were successful career women: an attorney and a physician, respectively. My daughter refers to him as "Pumpkin Head." There is nothing even remotely handsome about him. Ecccch! That said, I would like to say he is a sexist jackass who deserves everything he gets. I really, truly hope he gets "Dahmered" in prison before his (undeserved) new trial. This is an evil, evil person.
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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: sad story
Review: I've read most of Rule's books, and plan to read them all.
What gets me is how many men there are in this country who think nothing of offing the woman who is "in his way", for one reason or another and Ann has done her share of writing about these sociopaths. This guy, this creep is just one of the many who have committed crimes like this. How he attracted these women, a doctor, a lawyer, attractive intelligent women who became his victims just proves how a not very attractive man, if he has the "silver tongue", line of bull has no limitations. Deserved the death penalty. Good book, read it. It won't disappoint you.
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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: get a life
Review: this is my first Ann Rule book that i just got done reading..I dont know if it is just me but i had a hard time keeping up with the different wives and children..trying to remember all those names really made me nuts..i got into the first 50 pages but after that it got a little boring....i think she try to put tooo much info into this book...oh well....i will try to read another book of hers and see what happens
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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
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Summary: The Best of Ann Rule
Review: Well written, well organized, well researched and the characters are well defined. This tragic story of a woman who is ridiculed, humiliated, abused, embarrased, etc. by her husband until he finally kills her. His 2nd wife doesn't believe he could be the snake he is until he turns into a snake with her. In reading this true account, I am thankful Dr. Gordon came into the picture when she did for the children. This is a worse case scenario when you allow the wrong people into your life. I was sad for Cheryl, Sarah, and the other women in Brad's life and sad for his children too. I'm glad that Brad was finally convicted and is living out the rest of his life at the OSP.
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