Highly absorbing psychological thriller--a definite must!

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	• The Want-Ad Killer (True Crime) Ann Rule Signet, 1983 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Highly absorbing psychological thriller--a definite must!

I've read other books by Ann Rule, especially NO REGRETS and GREEN RIVER RUNNING RED, so I was intrigued by this title. I had previously heard about scams involving "help wanted" ads, where unwitting people are lured into danger by scam artists looking to take advantage of people who genuinely need work, so this book seemed worthwhile reading.

THE WANT-AD KILLER describes the disappearance and murder of Kathy Sue Miller, the victim who finally was responsible for bringing Harvey Carignan, a longtime "career criminal" to justice. Carignan had hit upon the idea of luring women to his gas station on the pretext of applying for a job. He placed ads in the local paper. When the job applicants refused his sexual advances, he killed them, usually with blows to the head, in a homicidal rage.

Kathy Sue Miller, aged 15, was one of those girls who applied for the job she saw in the paper. Despite her mother's warning that she should not go off in a car with an unknown man for a job interview, Kathy Sue Miller got into Harvey Carignan's car, ostensibly to go to his gas station to apply for the job, and was never seen again. She had originally called the number in the paper for a job for her boyfriend, Mark, but Carignan convinced her that she could get the job herself, and she was excited at the idea of having some money of her own. Rule points out that Carignan's idea of putting a "want ad" in the paper gave him a steady supply of victims who walked right into his hands.

Rule's book is skillfully written, with good insights not only into the emotional effects of this crime on the victim's family, but also on the detectives in charge of solving the crime. It serves as a well-written cautionary tale to anyone who is looking for a job, but also wants to make sure that he or she remains safe in the process.

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Great

If you like true crime at it's best you have just met the master.

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I love Ann Rule books

I'm a big fan of Ann Rule, so I have read a lot of her books and stories. Although the Want-Ad Killer was good, I like some of her books better. I still would recommend the book if you like her work.

She did a good job illustrating this slimy, sleaze-ball, nut job, sicko from hell. No other way to describe him!

Poster Child for the Evils of the US Constitution

Harvey Carignan is a prime example of why the US Constitution so frequently works against victims while offering loopholes for perpetrators; often setting them free to repeat their crimes as is this case with Carignan. On the side of the fence, readers develop sympathy for Mary Miller, whose daughter was the first known victim of Carignan after most recent prison release.

Ann Rule, despite this being one of her early works, does an outstanding job of providing an in-depth look into the childhood, teenage years and adulthood of Carignan. Much of what we learn is based on Carignan's "accusations" and Rule does a superb job of noting that, most likely, this are just what they are...only accusations.

While the title is a bit deceptive (Carignan only murdered one young girl, that is known, from a classified ad), the overall content of the book is intense and intriguing; so much so that I completed the book within 24 hours.

This is the last of the Ann Rule books I had not read to date. This early work is proof that Rule has a natural talent for writing about America's worst citizens....rapist and/or murderers.

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Definition of a sociopathic monster.

This is an early Ann Rule true crime story about Harvey Carignan who used the want ads to lure unsuspecting, young female victims.

Ann Rule goes back to the cases in Alaska where Carignan beat a hanging sentence on a technicality.

Carignan is a sociopath,but far from insane. He is intelligent and knows criminal law and constitutional rights well enough to have written papers on the subjects during an earlier stretch in prison.

The author defines the difference between a sociopath and a psychotic.

She mentions the possibility that Carignan may have been involved in the Piper kidnapping, although the evidence is weak.

The maps with the interesting markings showing some known burial sites gives rise to the concern that he vented his hatred of women far more times than has been known. The numerous unexplained markings loosely match some unsolved murders with similar M.O. in areas that Carignan passed through. He may have been an earlier version of a roaming killer much like Tommy Lynn Sells. One difference between Carignan and other notorious serial killers is the physical nature of Carignan, he was large,muscular and didn't shy away from fights with men.

"The Want-Ad Killer" may not be Ann Rule's best book, but it is fast-paced and an interesting choice of subject in Harvey Carignan.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

After his first grisly crime, Harvey Louis Carignan beat a death sentence and continued to manipulate, rape, and bludgeon women to death--using want ads to lure his young female victims.

And time after time, justice was thwarted by a killer whose twisted legal genius was matched only by his sick savagery.

Here, complete with the testimony of women who suffered his unspeakable sexual abuses and barely escaped with their lives, and of the police who at last put him behind bars, is one of the most shattering and thought-provoking true-crime stories of our time.

* Includes 8 pages of photographs
* From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Sacrifices, Lust Killer, The Stranger Beside Me, and The I-5 Killer

* "Rule has an instinct for suspense."--Washington Post Book World

* "Rule springs surprises and revelations with a novelist's skill."--Seattle Times

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