true crime Archives

Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors and Other True Cases

A Collection of Miscellaneous Cases Author: Ann Rule Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors and Other True Cases is a very loosely themed collection composed mostly of cold cases and random rape / murder stories. The idea, ostensibly, is to focus on cases that hit close to home, but the reality is more of a hodge-podge of tales that fit more under a “miscellaneous” heading than anything else. The first two chapters are novella length, taking up most of the real estate in the book. Neither, however, are especially satisfying, leaving more unanswered and speculated upon than revealed. The first chapter concentrates on [...]

Frances Carden2025-12-12T20:58:29-07:00December 12th, 2025|Tags: ann rule, book review, nonfiction, read, reading, true crime|

Evidence of Evil: The Ed Gein Story

Another So-So Ed Gein Book Author: Adam King My friend and I have recently started watching the third season of Monster, which focuses on Ed Gein’s story. I’d previously read Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original "Psycho", which was more focused on Gein’s effect on popular culture (including movies such as Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre) than on what he actually did. I still felt, after reading it, that I didn’t really understand the true breadth of the story. Was Gein a serial killer or a grave robber or both? Who did [...]

Frances Carden2025-11-11T17:18:21-07:00November 11th, 2025|Tags: book review, Ed Gein, Monster, murder, read, reading, serial killer, true crime|

If You Really Loved Me

Like Daughter, Like Father? Author: Ann Rule California, 1985. A 17-year-old woman (Julia Brown) calls the police, weeping. She thinks her sister, Linda Brown, who is sleeping in the next room, has been shot. The police arrive and Linda’s husband, David Brown, opens the door. In the background, they see Julia in the living room cradling her sister’s baby. Neither Julia nor David had gone into the room to check and see if Linda was indeed shot. Both, however, instantly accuse David’s missing fourteen-year-old daughter, Cinnamon, of the crime. Fast forward – Cinnamon has confessed to killing her stepmother and is [...]

Frances Carden2025-11-02T16:37:12-07:00November 2nd, 2025|Tags: ann rule, book review, Cinnamon Brown, David Brown, murder, read, reading, true crime|