Excellent book from the queen of crime writing!

books:


	• Green River, Running Red: The Real Story of the Green River Killer - America's Deadliest Serial Murderer Ann Rule Thorndike Press, 2005 - 888 pages average customer review:based on 111 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

Too much info and not enough

I am definately a fan of Rules work, and recommend anyone interested start with "A Stranger Beside Me" before trying out other books. This one is a very interesting case, of course, the guy killed some fifty women, so again, anyone interested in this type of crime, criminal or police work surrounding it will find something here interesting to read about.

However, all that said, there are a few compliants; Rule tends to get too wordy in describing the victims, she doesn't get into the mind of the killer enough, and she seems reluctant to describe some of the crimes.

I understand her desire to be fair to the families of the victims and of course these women were people deserving respect and I understand not wanting to further exploit their deaths but I think she holds back a little too much.

As for overly describing the victims lives and their pasts and their families, I guess it is part of the story, however she doesn't go into great detail of all the victims, so it seems that she only covers those that have families giving up details, in any case, in this and in other books of hers I've felt that the reading starts to drag with information that is not relevant to the actual crimes and the surrounding story of the capture and arrest of the criminal.

The ultimate question is simply "why?", which is the one question that she can't, nor anyone, really answer, however I'd think with the dozens and dozens of hours of interviews and the like after the GR Killer was caught there'd be more discussion of what was going on in the head of the criminal.

In any case, for any interested in this case, this is a good treatment and gives lots of details. I do recommend Rule as a good author that does a lot of research before she writes a book about a case.

for more information click here

Solved Through Years of Dedication

Ann Rule, the Queen of true crime writing, strikes another note of dedicated research and brilliance. Makes you feel the pain of his victims and their families. So deceptively brutal, yet living and working every day amongst us. Makes you wonder about that co-worker next to you, or the neighbor on the other side of the fence. Makes one appreciate those thankless individuals in law enforcement, who truly are trying to protect us from the evils of our fellow man. Be aware of your surroundings people.

for more information click here

Excellent book from the queen of crime writing!

There is no question that Ann Rule is an excellent crime writer and this book showcases her true talent in covering one of the country's most notorious serial murderers. Gary Leon Ridgway didn't have the same impact as Ted Bundy who was also in the area and committed equally heinous crimes but Ted always went after the girls who were likely going to be missed unlike Ridgway who targeted the runaways and prostitutes. He knew that by going after them that their disappearances wouldn't cause the same reaction as Bundy victims. Rule does not go into too much detail as discussing the unspoken acts of Ridgway and his victims. You can leave it to your imagination if you dare. But this book does remember the many victims of the crimes. I disagree with Rule's mention of the death penalty even though Ridgway confessed to the crimes of so many murder victims. Why put more families through more agony? It's enough to know that he is behind bars and will be for the rest of his life at least to me. I wouldn't want a family to go through the whole death penalty process which means endless appeals. The plea bargain was worth knowing that the man who was responsible for so many victims confessed to it. Now the families can have some solace and closure and move on with their lives.

for more information click here

It is Still A.R!

"Green River Running Red" is the story of Gary Ridgway, the serial killer who murdered approximately 48 young women in the Seattle area between 1982 and 2001. GRRR is meticulously researched and documented. It maintains suspense far into the tale, at least until the eventual apprehension of the perp. As many true crime stories do, GRRR lags during the prosecution phase and epilogue. There are no courtroom theatrics here, as the killer copped a serious plea bargain to avoid the Chair. Authoress Ann Rule took some hits from previous reviewers and many were on target: GRRR is indeed too long. It also concentrates too heavily on the victims; Ridgway is almost an appendage for whole parts of the story. More significantly, the authoress is involved too deeply in GRRR. She frequently writes in the first person about events and appears emotionally involved in the case. AR was close, perhaps too close, to several investigators and her viewpoint is not dispassionate. It was also unclear if there were additional Seattle-area victims or more in other police jurisdictions, such as Oregon. The good new is that GRRR is still her-it is still an Ann Rule production and worthwhile reading for those true crime fans who can deal with its' heft. Ann fans need not worry about the foregoing carping. For them, it is a safe purchase, though the 4 stars above are a tad generous. GRRR is not however recommended for those with no other AR works under their belts: Newcomers may wish to consider vastly more compact works as "The I5 Killer" or "The Want Ad Killer" before proceeding. This reviewer followed the action with a Rand Mc Nally Atlas opened to the Seattle page. Others may find doing so helpful. Tundra would be disappointed if this review failed to mention "The Ann Rule rule." Those pesky centerfold photos do indeed reveal much. Try to skip over them until the end; the back cover however may be read in advance. Nothing is revealed thereon. (A closing jab: Surely the authoress knows that Scott Peterson cannot be incarcerated in "Alcatraz!". The fact checker missed that one!)

.

for more information click here

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

hot

not?

What's your opinion?

Write a review and share your thoughts!

search for books
green river, america, deadliest, killer, murderer, running, serial, story

Impressum / about us