Ann Rule is the author of 29 true crime non-fiction books and one novel. She is widely recognized as the "foremost true crime writer in America," according to the Ann Rule Web site.
Ann Rule was born Ann Stackhouse in Michigan and lived in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and California. She has five children and several grandchildren. Rule began her career as a policewoman in Seattle, Washington, and worked as a caseworker for the Washington State Department of Public Assistance and was a student intern at the Oregon State Training School for Girls.
Rule has been a full-time writer since 1969. Before she began writing full-length true crime books, she wrote articles and has written 1,400 newspaper and magazine articles under her own name and the name Andy Stack.
The Reason Ann Rule Writes True Crime Books
On her Web site, Rule states that her grandfather was a sheriff. She "spent her summer vacations with her grandparents in Stanton, Michigan, she helped her grandmother prepare meals for the prisoners in the jail. She used to wonder why such friendly, normal-appearing, men were locked behind bars, and why the sweet woman in the cell upstairs--who taught Ann to crochet--was about to go on trial for murder. That was the beginning of her lifelong curiosity about the 'Whys' behind criminal behavior. Her books all explore the reasons behind the front-page cases she covers."
Ann Rule Books
Ann Rule has written one novel, Possession, which was published in 1983. She began writing true crime books after she learned she once sat side-by-side, while volunteering at a crisis hotline, with serial killer Ted Bundy. She wrote The Stranger Beside Me under her own name, from the experience and Bundy's killing spree. Her next three books were originally published under the pen name Andy Stack.
On her Web site, Rule states that each of her books features three components: the victims' stories, the detectives and prosecutors, and the lives of the killers. Many Ann Rule books feature one longer length true crime story as well as several shorter murder stories. Ann Rule's true crime books and the year they were published follow:
- The Stranger Beside Me, 1980
- Lust Killer, 1983
- The Want-Ad Killer, 1983
- Small Sacrifices, 1987
- The I-5 Killer, 1988
- If You Realy Loved Me, 1991
- Everything She Ever Wanted, 1992
- A Rose for Her Grave, 1993
- You Belong to Me, 1994
- Dead by Sunset, 1995
- A Fever in the Heart, 1996
- In the Name of Love, 1998
- Bitter Harvest, 1998
- The End of the Dream, 1999
- A Rage to Kill, 1999
- And Never Let Her Go, 1999
- Empty Promises, 2001
- Every Breath You Take, 2001
- Last Dance, Last Chance, 2003
- Without Pity, 2003
- Heart Full of Lies, 2003
- Green River, Running Red, 2004
- Kiss Me, Kill Me, 2004
- Worth More Dead, 2005
- No Regrets, 2006
- Too Late to Say Goodbye, 2007
- Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder, 2007
- Mortal Dander, 2008
- But I Trusted You, 2009
Ann Rule Books Into Movies
Several of Ann Rule's books have been made into television movies, including the following:
- Dead by Sunset, starring Ken Olin, Lindsay Frost, and Annette O'Toole
- Everything She Ever Wanted, starring Gina Gershon and Victor Garber
- Too Late to Say Goodbye, starring Rob Lowe and Lauren Holly
- And Never Let Her Go, starring Mark Harmon and Gene Dinovi
- The Stranger Beside Me, starring Billy Campbell and Barbara Hershey
- Small Sacrifices, starring Farrah Fawcett
Ann Rule's Body of Work
In exploring one individual crime at a time, Rule is able to delve into why a killer kills and the background of the victim(s) and the killer. The relationship between the two (or more when the killer has killed more than one victim) makes for an interesting study in human nature and how these people react to circumstances in their lives.
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Peggy Hazelwood - Peggy Hazelwood+ is a word nerd who has worked as a reporter, proofreader, technical editor, freelance copy editor, and freelance writer ...
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