Ann Rule has honed her writing style over the years

books:


	• The I-5 Killer: Revised Edition (Signet True Crime) Ann Rule Signet, 1984 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 35 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Not One of Her Best

Randall Woodfield seemed to have it all. Growing up he had a stable home life, did well in school, and was an exceptional athlete, excelling in every sport he tried. He was such a good athlete, in fact, that the Green Bay Packers drafted him. But Woodfield didn't make the team and he never finished college, instead drifting from job to job, from city to city. He also went from woman to woman, pursuing all of them intensely. Still, he seemed like a nice enough guy and people who knew him were shocked to find out that he was the I-5 killer, committing a series of robberies, terrorizing and assaulting young women, killing some of them.

"The I-5 Killer" is one of Ann Rule's early true crime books and it shows. It's not a bad book, but it's not as good as her later efforts. Rule focuses more on Woodfield than his victims, consequently, although the crimes against the victims were horrific, I felt detached since I never came to know what any of them were really like. There are eight pages of photos, but only one picture of a victim, which also adds to the feeling of detachment. Woodfield's trial had a bit more detail to it and was quite interesting.

This isn't a bad book, but someone trying Ann Rule for the first time should try reading one of her newer books.

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a narcissistic sex killer.

"The I-5 Killer" is the story of Randall Woodfield, a multi-sport high school star who was drafted into the NFL after a successful college football career as a Wide Receiver.

He had the same problem as Lance Rentzel of the Dallas Cowboys, a severe problem with exposing himself to young women. Unlike Rentzel, Randall Woodfield's behavior escalated to more serious activities like armed robbery and sexual assault. It's difficult to understand how that led ultimately to murder. The final number of murder victims may never be known.
Woodfield has suggested that steroid use was a factor in his becoming aggressive.

Ann Rule details the jurisdictional battles of law enforcement entities that were involved in the investigation. That battle may have been responsible for Woodfield's destruction of incriminating evidence in the interim.
She also explains the evidence that originally tied him to the multiple crimes around the I-5 freeway in multiple states.

The thinking behind California deciding not to prosecute the double-murder charges was explained.

Randall Woodfield is a narcissist, totally wrapped up in himself and his "image". What's so puzzling is how someone with a popular social life and apparently normal family background could become a serial killer.
Ann Rule tells the story of the I-5 killer in gripping style!

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Ann Rule has honed her writing style over the years

"The I-5 Killer" lacks the elements that make Ann Rule books so fascinating. Granted that Randy Woodfield is a complex criminal, and his story is interesting, but when Ann Rule wrote this book she had not yet started delving into the perpetrators' pasts and psychological makeup. Like her other early works, "Lust Killer" and "The Want-Ad Killer", Randy Woodfield's story is a better-than-average true crime offering when compared to books by lesser authors, but not nearly up to the level of Ann Rule's writing today.

Every Young Woman's Nightmare

The title of my review is kind of taken from the back of the book which I think is understandable. Again, Ms Rule has written with knowledge & with an edge that keeps one hooked from page to page. This book was the most terrifying I've read so far just because the killer, Randall Woodfield, spent a great amount of time in the area where I grew up (SW Portland) and at the same time when I was 16 years old (the age of girls he was attracted to). The bar where he worked is less than a mile from where I lived at the time. I probably saw him at some point but did not know it. I think that's pretty scary!

Randall Woodfield was a sick, disgusting pervert that received exactly what he deserved...LIFE in prison. Ms. Rule's research states that he is not eligible for parole until he is the age of 81 years old. God help us all if he is still alive! This book just goes to show that you cannot judge a book by its cover. Even though someone may look like an Adonis, it does not mean that they are the same way on the inside. Randall Woodfield still is every young woman's nightmare. Ann Rule writes with such detail and really brought this story to life for me.

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Better

Writing as Andy Stack, this is an Ann Rule novel. I read Stranger Beside Me from Ann as my first book from her. I didn't care for it much. This true crime story covers the life and crimes of Randall Woodfield. Ann really does a good job with this tale. Nothing is held back as she goes over Randall's very interesting life. The writing is crisp and clear making the 296 pages fly by. What makes this story of a killer so interesting is how much he had going for him. Randall was a normal kid raised in a normal home. He was good looking, popular and excelled in sports. It seems incredible that someone like that could do the horrible things he did. Very gripping story.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

As a young man, Randall Woodfield had it all--a star athlete, good looks, and an award-winning student. Working in the swinging West Coast bar scene, he had more than his share of women. But he wanted more than just sex. An appetite for unspeakable violent acts led him to cruise the I-5 highway through California to Washington, leaving a trail of victims along the way. As the list of the dead grew, the police mobilized to stop a twisted killer who had 44 known deaths to his name.

Praise for Ann Rule:

"Vivid...Extraordinary...A page-turner!"-- New York Times Book Review, for Small Sacrifices

"Rule has an instinct for suspense, knowing just what information to leak to the reader and when."-- Washington Post Book World, for Small Sacrifices

"A shattering story...carefully investigated, written with compassion but also with professional objectivity."-- Seattle Times, for The Stranger Beside Me

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