The Strange Death of Ronda Reynolds and Her Mother's Unceasing Quest for the Truth

As true Ann Rule fans know, Rules books are always great. If you like true crime books this one will not disappoint. The only disappointment is the fact that sometimes the victims in the books have to go through so much misery until justice is served.

Anne Rule as always a great read. Unfortunately too good as I finished the book in a day as I couldn't put it down. I am always amazed how quickly the books arrived. All the way to Sydney Australia in about 10 days and at times it has been less.

Ann does a great job presenting tons of evidence and theory in her latest. After reading, I am also of the opinion that Ronda Reynold's was murdered....but the big question is, "whodunit?"

I hope the answers come eventually and we get a sequel to this one. It seems to me that someone would speak up!!

Those unfamiliar with Ann Rule are probably best introduced to her by analogy.

She's kind of like Washington state's answer to Stephen King. But whereas Maine's King uses genuine local flavor as a backdrop for fictional horror, Rule's genuine local flavor serves as a backdrop for all too real horror.

Before reading this book I guess I'd thought that part of the reason I liked Rule was because she could be relied on the produce a story that -- no matter how horrible -- still found the guilty party being caught and punished in the end.

This schema has been on display since her maiden book, The Stranger Beside Me. In Stranger, Ann Rule the crime writer struck up a friendship with Ted Bundy just as Bundy was coming ever clearer in to police focus as a serial killer. Part of the payout of Stranger was the idea that -- no matter how horrible his deeds were -- Bundy was forced to pay for them in the end.

In her succeeding books, Rule followed this flawless formula of crime...and punishment...to delight readers.

I don't know. Maybe seeing the criminal pay in the end was a way of softening the horror. To be sure, roller coasters would be a lot less fun if sometimes we couldn't get off of them.

And I think it's this later quality, like being trapped on a roller coaster, that has given many readers pause about this book. (In this case, the feeling is all the greater because the victim was not a regular citizen but a member of law enforcement herself so if her killer could get off then what chance do the rest of us have?)

Because Ronda Reynolds' killer is never named, let alone brought to justice, there's this unfulfilled feeling I'm sure many readers have gotten.

In my opinion though, it's this quality that makes this a different but still great Ann Rule book. Though it is lost to many, Rule stresses in her closing words that investigators have pledged never to give up.

To be sure, this "never give up quality" may not be as emotionally satisfying as say the closing pages of Stranger (where Bundy is killed and thereby the streets are made more safe), it's probably more honest. And it brings to the fore the important point that the fight for justice is a continuing one.

As I write this a reward still remains for information leading to the conviction of Ronda Reynolds killer.

This book is a prayer that that reward will be paid and justice will be done.

My prayer is that this book's prayer is answered.

In this book, Ann Rule gives a detailed account of an egregious miscarriage of justice. Inherent in the tale are numerous warnings and lessons for people to take seriously.
Firstly, the backwater where the the murder took place has an insane system of voting for the local coroner, in this case an unqualified, lazy individual lacking in competence and integrity. From the outset he refused to call it a homicide stating that that would make the victim's husband a suspect! What right did he have to make that call? By doing so - protecting a prime suspect - he derailed the focus of the investigation from the outset and because of this the case will probably never be solved. I also hold the foolish townspeople who kept electing this bozo indirectly responsible for this travesty.
Secondly, we see that instead of upholding their oath to "serve and protect" [the public], most of the local police were serving and protecting their own interests: particularly their incompetence and prejudices. They made egregious blunders, the worst of which was the failure to interview the teenage stepsons of the victim who were present at the time of the killing! - again, why were they protected? We learn that these boys could very well have committed the murder.
Thirdly we are reminded that the reason conscienceless psychopaths (like the main suspect in this case) are so dangerous is that they appear so human which allows them to hide in plain sight while they prey on other's trust, needs, and insecurities. We need to be aware of the red flags these creatures send up and not befriend them, give them money, date them, and for God's sake - don't marry them! They WILL hurt you and might even kill you.
Finally, lets look at the victim herself. Ronda Reynolds had been a Washington State Trooper who served with distinction in a dangerous job. Despite that, she had to endure constant sexual harassment by fellow officers and superiors. When she complained she was virtually harassed into resigning the job she loved. I believe that the animus felt by men in law enforcement towards women colleagues is so stong that it factored into how this case was handled. I believe that most of the men responsible for solving this crime either willfully or subconsciously sabotaged the case. They just didn't care, or worse - felt that Ronda deserved it. Young women who are considering a career in law enforcement or the military need to know that they will be entering a world with a firmly entrenched culture of misogyny. The odds are great that you will be hurt, either psychologically or physically by the men you serve with - and that the system will not protect you or seek justice.

I have read several Ann Rule books and considered all good reads but this work is a major disappointment. This book could easily have been shortened by 100 pages and still told the same story without losing anything. Half the book is spent telling the reader over and over how smart, tough and good the main characters are. I recommend avoiding this Ann Rule offering

I wondered if this was still an open case because it didn't have much of an ending. The case itself was interesting. I give it 5 stars for being well written, however, I was disappointed that there was no conclusion to the case. Was the crime solved? There were no updates given.

This was a strange book, especially for Ann Rule. The entire book pushed you at one suspect, but then the ending gave you maybes and what ifs about other people and scenarios. Rule never made me like the victim of the story, something I need to do in order to care what happens. There was no satisfactory conclusion to the book. While I looked forward to reading it every day, it seemed very repetitious. Certainly not one of her better efforts.

I would agree with those reviewers thinking this is not one of Ms Rule's best works. However, it is a cautionary tale that any citizen should take seriously. The Coroner's Office as well as the local police involved in this case were beyond incompetent, they were also negligent, and completely derelict in serving and protecting those who put them in office. The lesson learned in this book is that the public needs to keep itself informed as to the operations of its governmental agencies, or suffer the consequences.

I have always been in anticipation of reading any Ann Rule book, but this book failed to deliver. She kept regurgitating the same info over and over again to the point of adnauseum, however I wanted to know who the killer was so I kept on until the very end ...... an end with no ending. I was very disappointed in this book since with all her other books she kept me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next chapter and the ending.

I have been reading true crime for years, but somehow I never got around to reading anything by Ann Rule. If this book is any indication of her talents, it will be the last book of hers I read. The first problem, as others have mentioned, is that the story is not that compelling. Ann proceeds to make the case that this woman did not commit suicide, and by the end I still felt that there was substantial probability that she did. Nothing was solved; nobody really was brought to justice. It was overall just a boring story. The second problem, also mentioned by other reviewers, was the incredible whitewash job she did with the victim and her mother. The victim was *always* the innocent, forever the victim, pure as the driven snow. Totally unbelievable, especially in light of the facts presented, and unnecessary. She's still a sympathetic character, even if she was no angel, and perhaps even more so with her flaws. The final issue was the poor construction and editing of the book. It easily could have been 1/4 to 1/3 shorter. Lots of redundancy, typos, missing words, etc. I've read some bad books, but this has to be in the top ten. Just really, really bad.

Rule's emotional attachment to the victim's mother comes through in this book. It's almost as if she's entering a different phase in her writing. While I enjoyed it, there were some typos, some awkward phrases, and some extraneous passages which I didn't feel added to the professional job she usually does. The case is fascinating - and still to be solved. The legal process is disgusting, and she fully explains how a coroner's office managed to escape doing their job for a truly unbearably long time. The victim is not particularly sympathetic; one gets the feeling she might have been quite a difficult person. But the end she meets is so unjust and horrifying. I enjoyed the book a great deal.

Except for some sloppy editing and confusing chronology, this book adds to Ann Rule's legacy as one of the best in her field. She maintains a critical eye throughout in her analysis of the initial (and ongoing) investigations, and the fact that she developed a close relationship with the victim's mother makes this one of Ms. Rule's most 'personal' works. Recommended, with only slight reservations, for Ann Rule's fans.

This was another wonderful Ann Rule performance of research and delivery of a tragic and true story of Ronda Reynolds, who was found dead in her home of a gunshot wound - one which may or may not have been self-inflicted. The difference between this book and most other Ann Rule books is that Ann was determined to write this story whether or not the case was ever solved. She mentions this fact early on, and it actually, in my opinion, made the book much more exciting and suspenseful. Normally, when reading her books, I assume that the person who appears guilty is and will eventually end up being charged. However, when I read this book, I had no idea whether or not Ronda Reynolds had indeed committed suicide or was murdered... I did not know or want to know any of the facts behind the investigation such who, if anybody, was charged. It made for much more exciting read. For this reason, if you not aware of any facts behind this case, I believe you would thoroughly enjoy this book as you read about the conditions around her death, the strange reaction of her husband, and the evidence surrounding the case. The only negative thing is I know that, as I read, there may not be an actual trial... maybe no one gets charged and the case never gets resolved. But, I keep reading to find out...

I am shocked and disappointed that "professed" Ann Rule fans would rate this book a 1 or 2. Yes, it does deviate from the norm. One reviewer stated she was disappointed because she knew in the beginning that Rhonda was murdered and that the killer was unknown. Hello! In most true crime, you know someone has been murdered and you DO know who did it. That never detracts from a good true crime book.
I was most impressed because:
This book was written in the same logical, methodical manner I have come to expect from all of Ann's books.
Ann thoroughly explores every lead and every angle of the case in an absorbing and compelling manner.
Ann's personal commitment to resolution and closure permeates this book. This is not a work of entertainment. This is the true and compassionate and compelling story of a lovely young woman who's killer has not yet been brought to justice.
Ann's meticulous revelation of the events surrounding this murder present a unique opportunity for someone who knows or who learns what occurred to come forward and write the final chapter of this book.
Ann's personal commitment extends to anteing up a sizable reward payable to anyone who reveals information that leads to the apprehension and conviction of the killer.
This book, more than any of Ann's previous, confirms in my mind what I already suspected about Ann Rule: she is compelled and committed to tell the stories of the victims. I think that Ann would write these stories even if she wasn't compensated for her work. I think this is one of the top three of all of Ann's books. Bravo, Ann.

While I realize Ann Rule is relaying information from different points of view, it seems like she could've done a better job of classifying and presenting the facts of the case. I constantly kept feeling like she contradicted herself and would go back to re-read earlier passages. I'm not talking about contradictory testimony, but contradictory narrative. If, at times, she was narrating more in the 3rd person, that wasn't made very clear. Even some of the contradictory testimony wasn't pointed out as such so I wasn't really sure if was just that or a typo in the book. For example, one of Jerry Berry's bullet points was about the 45 minute cell phone call. I had read it as 48 minutes earlier, but then toward the end of the book it morphed into the 84 minute phone call. Another odd thing was the picture of her with the mother at the courthouse and in the subtext she has to point out she was having a bad hair day. I mean, that's just weird. I love true crime and read a lot of it but this was my first Ann Rule book and I'm afraid it will be my last.

After waiting many months for my library to get this book, I was thrilled to find that it was ready for me to read. I settled in to read another of what I thought was Ann Rule's thrilling and compelling true crime books. Was I ever wrong. Less than halfway through the book, I began skipping ahead to the end of the book because I was tired of it. As other reviewers mentioned, this was not a typical 'Ann Rule book', which is a pity. I have read nearly all of her other books and this one was my least favorite. The other reviewers who said that this book disappointed them are spot-on. There were typos in it and Ms. Rule became too emotionally invested in the case. That said, however, it is a pity that this case remains unsolved.