Ann Rule, Author

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Please click under "Ann's Books" for the titles and covers of her first 30 books. Maybe you've missed some, but they're all still in print. Order them from any bookstore or from www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com.

Green River, Running Red: The Real Story of the Green River Killer--America's Deadliest Serial Murderer From the Publisher: In the most extraordinary book Ann Rule has ever undertaken, America's master of true crime has spent more than two decades researching the story of the Green River Killer, who murdered more than forty-nine young women. The quest to discover the most prolific serial killer in American history has been an intimate part of Ann Rule's life, with some of the corpses found only a mile or so from where she lived and raised her own daughters. She did not know the killer, but he apparently knew her and attended many of her book signings. For 22 years, the killer carried out his self-described "career" as a killing machine, ridding the world of women he considered evil. His eerie ability to lure his victims to their deaths and hide their bodies made him far more dangerous than any infamous multiple murderer in the annals of crime.

A few men -- including a law student, a truck painter, and a taxi driver -- eventually emerged as the prime suspects among an unprecedented forty thousand scrutinized by the Green River Task Force. Still, there was no physical evidence linking any of them to the murders until 2001, when investigators used a new DNA process on a saliva sample they had preserved since 1987, with stunning results.

Ann Rule has followed the case since July 1982, when the first body -- that of teenager Wendy Lee Coffield -- was found in the Green River, snagged on pilings under a bridge. Rule has compiled voluminous files, working through an incredible 95,000 pages of official police records, transcripts, photographs, and maps, winnowing out the chaff and identifying what is truly important. Over the years, she gained unparalleled access to all the key players -- from King County Sheriff Dave Reichert to those close to the killer and his victims.

When finally apprehended and convicted, the killer made a detailed confession -- of his twisted sexual obsessions -- that will shock even the most jaded reader. Green River, Running Red is a harrowing account of a modern monster, a killer who walked among us undetected. It is also the story of his quarry -- of who these young girls were, and who they might have become. A chilling look at the darkest side of human nature, this is the most important and most personal book of Ann Rule's long career.

By the end of 2005, Ann Rule, a former Seattle police officer, had published twenty-six New York Times national bestsellers, all of them still in print She lives near Seattle, Washington.

Ann will be glad to sign books. Mail them  to her with  a self-addressed, stamped return mailer, AND a note on whom it is to be signed, and what you would like her to say. Her mailing address is P.O. Box 98846, Seattle, WA 98198. She doesn't sell books herself; that would be competing with her friends who own bookstores!

From The Critics

Publisher's Weekly
Following the winter 2003 sentencing of the Green River serial killer, Gary Ridgway, perennial true-crime bestseller Rule (Heart Full of Lies, etc.) has finally completed her long-awaited definitive narrative of the brutal and senseless crimes that haunted the Seattle area for decades. Rule once again validates her standing as one of the pre-eminent chroniclers of modern serial murder, calling upon her experience as a former police officer and a civilian adviser to the VICAP Task Force to present a nuanced and easily comprehensible account of the hunt for the man responsible for at least 48 killings. She succeeds on a number of levels; perhaps her greatest achievement is bringing Ridgway's victims to life as distinct individuals, most of whom led lives of quiet desperation that brought them to prostitution and, eventually, to death at his hands. Rule also captures the profound sadness pervading this grim chapter in U.S. crime history by humanizing the grieving relatives, as well as the dedicated investigators who, tragically, had interviewed Ridgway several times and then moved on to other suspects. Her eventual realization that the murderer had attended some of her lectures and book signings will give readers the creeps.. . and should expand Rule's already large readership." (Oct. 4) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal America's master of true crime on the man who claimed 48 young victims over two decades. Simultaneous with the Free Press hardcover.-Ann Kim Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

This long awaited book on the infamous Green River murders is climbing the bestseller lists faster than any of the 22 earlier books Ann has written. We hope that you will all find it worth the long wait, even though Ann says it was a very sad and shocking book for her to write.
 

What's in the Works
Ann has just signed contracts with Free Press/Simon and Schuster and Pocket Books  to write SIX more books! There will be three more True Crime Files Series books for Pocket Books, two true crime hardcover books, AND, at last, Ann's autobiography. She works on it in between books, and we think it will probably be published in about the fall of  2008--which isn't too bad when you consider we're almost next door to 2007! But it might take a little longer. She keeps remembering things to put in!

The next hardcover will not be the Laci/Scott Peterson case (already over-covered in the media), the BTK, another book on serial murder, or any "Headline" case. She avoids cases already infamous cases that are just too familiar, and writing about serial killers is very difficult for her emotionally.  One day, she is still determined to write her autobiography. AND to write the sequel to Possession (What came after. . .) Many readers have asked about what ever happened to "Sam" and "Joanne" and the red-haired baby who was born at the very end of her one and only novel.

Books Scheduled for Movies or Television
Watch this space is all we can tell you at the moment! With the plethora of true crime documentaries on television, there have been fewer and fewer miniseries from books. The moment a crime occurs, television producers rush to get it on your home set.

Books on Audio Tape
Please go to http://www.simonsays.com to see which of Ann's books are available from Simon & Schuster on audio tape. Other sources are Books on Tape (for unabridged versions) and readers with sight handicaps can check with the Library for the Blind. Ann is trying to get all of her books on tape for you.

Reporters and other media may contact Ann's publicists in New York to schedule interviews. Just call Simon & Schuster at 212-698-7000, and ask to speak to the Publicity Department either at Free Press or at Pocket Books. You may also call Ann at her office at 206-248-08ll and leave a message. She will call back ASAP.

Ann tries to answer all of her emails and letters personally. If she gets in over her head with them, a good alternative is to write to her at our Guest Book on this site. Ann reads the Guest Book entries every day, and they mean a lot to her. And she can post an answer that everyone can read. Remember that you don't have to leave all of your information. We don't want anyone calling you up or knocking on your doors! We use only your I.P. so please don't give out your personal information in your post. If you should get weird or annoying SPAM from anyone, please report it to your Internet service provider or security software, and then delete it! That's what Ann does! Occasionally, WE get weird posts on the Guest Book, and we try to remove them right away, but some get through. Remember, we will not advertise products or make political statements on the website pages, so take anything like that with a grain of salt.

Ann began her web log in January. It's been a great way for her to stay in touch with readers. Usually, she posts there every other day, answering questions that have been asked by several readers, talking about what she's working on, and giving a little bit of advice here and there. Some days, she just talks about forensic psychology, what's going on in her life, her dogs and cats, the weather, gardening, cooking and people in the news. Almost any subject will turn up there. To read it, click Ann's Web Log at the top of each page on her site.

If you are writing to Ann about personal problems, remember that everything you write on the Guest Book can be read by others, so send that kind of mail to her at Ann Rule's email where no one sees it but Ann. If it is truly urgent, mark it that way. But please remember that Ann is only a writer--and NOT a private detective, an investigator, "Jessica Fletcher," an attorney, a counselor, a writing mentor, a publisher, a literary agent, or a ghost writer, so understand that there are many problems that she just can't help you with. "And STUDENTS," she says, "I'm not fooled when you ask me to help you write your school papers. You're the one who put them off until the last minute (:*)) I used to do that myself, but I had to learn to meet deadlines or my writing career would be over!. No help on papers--and this includes Master's and Ph.D. theses. AND forget those "short" lists of questions that would take me three or four hours to answer. You can find most of the answers you need by reading this WHOLE website, and not just half the first page, not to mention by reading my books."

As the Mom of 5, Ann has some problems of her own! She writes almost every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and she has found it almost impossible to return your phone calls. That would take several hours a day, every day, and she would never have any time to write! If you have a great idea for a book, you can send a summary by email or by letter, including news clips. Probably the last ten of her books came about because of suggestions from readers. You can also refer her to coverage of new cases that appear in your regional newspapers. Right now, she is not looking really hard for new cases because she has her hands full with current books. But if you have information on a CURRENT case, not a headliner, SOLVED and headed for trial--and one that does NOT involve ORGANIZED CRIME, DRUG RINGS, MOTORCYCLE GANGS or CULTS--by all means send her an email.

If you have questions about Ann's books or characters in her books, and you can't find the answers in her Newsletter Updates section, you may get some helpful emails from other readers who post on the Guest Book. Often, they know the answers and can help you catch up. If you really need to know something, she will try to give you a quick answer by email if you write to her at Ann Rule's Email address .

Can you identify this young lady? Currently she's known only as: "1977 Snohomish County Jane Doe".

Jane Doe’s badly decomposed body was discovered in August 1977 by blackberry pickers in the south Everett area off 112th St. SW and 4th Ave. W. (which was called Emander Road at that time).

She had been strangled and shot several times in the head. Officials weren't able to identify her or give her age. At the time (and even years later) officials reported she could be anywhere from 17 to 37 years old (that has since changed to 15 to 21 years old).


In 1979 David Roth; about 20 years old at the time of the murder, was convicted of Jane Doe’s murder and sentenced to prison. He has since served his time and been released. He has been cooperative with cold case detectives, but he hasn’t been able to help them much since he did not know the victim or even her first name.

Read more about this story here: http://snohomishcountyjanedoe.homestead.com/ .

Recommended Reads!

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Contact Information

FAX 206-241-5542 Postal address P.O. Box 98846 Seattle, WA 98198 Electronic mail

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If you have questions about contents of Ann's books or case information Write to Ann Rule. If you have questions or comments about any TECHNICAL area of this website please send them to Our Web Author .
This page was last updated on 01/03/2009

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