Practice to Deceive

Many of my favorite books were written by Ann Rule, but this entire book was a let down. My overall impression is that it was thrown together and Ms. Rule did not seem too excited to tell the story. This boring story was not memorable, satisfying, or interesting.

Ann Rule takes her time and presents each character to you in crisp and clear detail. You can't help but see them in all their true colors. Too bad that these characters are so ugly. But, I have learned a lot about human nature from reading all the Ann Rule books...and I have read all of them...I just hope my family is never the subject of any of them. But, if we ever have need of someone to tell our story, I would want her to do it!

It's Ann Rule, no explanation necessary I have all of her books and find them all written well and extremely interesting.. Now that she is gone, I will have to reread them to satisfy my need to good true crime stories.

Ann Rule hits another home run with this book about the murder of Russel Douglas, father of two children, murdered suddenly and for no apparent reason.

It's a crime worthy of Rule with multiple characters, twists, turns, suspense and culprit descriptions that hit the bullseye.

Peggy Sue Stackhouse, boy what a nut case this woman is. Men adored her. Men married her, men shared their wealth with her, men murdered for her.

The reason for Douglas' death is so superficial, so totally unnecessary, as to flabberghast.

Peggy Stackhouse was a friend of Brenna Douglas, wife of Russel. Brenna was renting a house from Stackhouse. Brenna wanted to buy the house; Peggy Stackhouse wanted to sell it. But Brenna would need some money to make the sale. Russel Douglas had a big life insurance policy to guarantee his life.

So Peggy, with a little help from her boyfriend-du-jour, Jim Huden, ambushed Russel Stackhouse by leading him to an isolated locale and murdering the man in cold blood.

It's the sort of True Crime story that intrigues.

It's the sort of True Crime story that should only be written by the mistress of the genre-Ann Rule.

Get this book and settle down for a good early winter read.

This true crime was not very gripping. It seemed stretched to me; there wasn't much to say about the crime. The most interesting was the character of the central woman who did indeed "practice to deceive." It's an easy read, and I like the setting very much, but there's not enough story there.

Enjoyed this book about a greedy beautiful woman . Anne Rule is a great writer who knows how to put words together to fit a crime genre. The story itself is a little slow as it winds through 10 years but special kudos to the detective who never gave up on jailing the killer!

Unsatisfactory ending -- but that's not Ann Rule's fault! Thought she did a great job of tracking the many characters within this sad tale. Disagree with those who said there were too many people; this was about lives and they're not like a novel's characters.

Anne Rule has written about some fascinating cases in the past, but this one is a bit of a dud. she seems to kind of "pad" the story with unrelated and somewhat boring stories about family members and acquaintances of the central characters. It's just not that compelling a case, in my opinion.

Ann Rule walks you through the crime scene in such vivid detail. She introduces you to the victims, their families and the suspects as no one else can. Love her books.

I can't believe some of the negative ratings and comments this book got. It was superb as far as I was concerned.

This book, while interesting, does not come up to Ann Rule's usual riveting content and standards. It seems to me that
she failed to give enough detail regarding the 2 suspects and their motivation. The book leaves you wondering
"why?"

Very fast moving true crime story. Ann Rule gives great details, which only pertain to the story. I was intrigued as to why Russell D. was killed? To take a life without a really good reason is beyond my comprehension. I have always liked Ann's books, and this one is another good one. You won't be disappointed.

I really did not enjoy this book. There were lots of characters and lots of changes involving these characters with confusing time lines.
It is really not much of a mystery, but just a very sad story.

I enjoyed listening to this account of real crime. I have read many of Ann Rule's books and love them! She allows us to get to know both the victim and the perpetrators intimately, to the extent that we feel a real loss at the death of the victim and an understanding of why the murderers are driven to such depths. What had not occurred to me was that in purchasing the audio version, I didn't have any of the great pictures that usually accompany the stories.

I truly think I've read every book and collection of true crime stories this fine writer has written. She never disappoints me with her detailed accounts of interesting crimes she relates so well. If you like Ann Rule, this latest story will not let you down.

I truly think I've read every book and collection of true crime stories this fine writer has written. She never disappoints me with her detailed accounts of interesting crimes she relates so well. If you like Ann Rule, this latest story will not let you down.

Honestly, I enjoyed the back story of Peggy Sue's father's first wife more than I did the actual story. It took me two days to read this, probably could have finished in one night, but I was tired. I liked it. Nit amazing, but definitely readable. I remember seeing this on Dateline on NBC, not ABC like the book said. Either way, I will always read her books. Thanks Ann.

If you like reading true crime novels, I personally, think Ann Rule, RULES! She is a great storyteller all the while giving the facts of the true crime. She keeps your interest and doesn't bog you down with unnecessary details.

I found the base of the story very interesting, but the writing style wasn't Ann Rule's best. She throws in a lot of words that I had to look up the meaning that I felt did not really fit into the description/sentence well.

My favorite crime author has once again presented the complete story of a Murder in Washington state..NO ONE DOES IT BETTER THAN ANN RULE!! All the facts, all the drama, and finally the truth of the case...Read the book.

Wow! It's amazing that there are investigators out there like Mark Plumberg that just won't quit until they have solved the case. I can't believe Peggy Sue only got 4 years, that was a huge disappointment. I feel for the victims family because that could not have felt like much justice was received, she should have gotten much longer of a sentence. Brennan should have been charged too, I understand they couldn't link her but after reading this book I have no doubt of her guilt. She got away with murder, after all if it weren't for her lies about Russell abusing her and her children none of this would have ever happened. I pray that Russell Douglas's family has found the strength and closure to live happy lives and were able to move forward in a positive direction. I truly feel for his brother, sister, kids and parents. It cannot be easy to know the horror of what happened and to get so little justice in return.............TO THE PERSON DEBATING ON READING THIS BOOK-- This is a well written, well investigated book that you will not want to put down. I read it in 2 days! Definitely a great read for true crime lovers!

This book was not very well written. It was often difficult to keep track of all the players in the story. Her sentence structure at times was very clumsy at best. I have read most of her books and even though this story is intriguing, the writing left a lot to be desired.

Though a fairly interesting suspense, the story meanders slowly towards the gathering of details around a murder of a not very interesting character and a supporting cast of still live but unfortunately not awfully intriguing but mostly self interested individuals. The book holds out the hope that there will be a conclusion worth a long read, but, to my mind, it was too long a ride to the last page.

When I first started reading Ann Rule, I was riveted by her books. Even though I think I understand the need tor the (six degrees of separation) explanations between some of the main characters, in places it is boring and seems to me that Ms.Rule gets sidetracked a bit - maybe to flesh out the size of the book. This could have been much more succinct.

I bought this because it takes place where I live, and I thought it would be interesting. Boy was I wrong. THe area was presented correctly, but the story was sadly lacking! nothing drew me in, and I had to put it down and not finish it. I had not read Ann Rule before, and now I know why! I understand she has a huge following, but if this is an example of what she does, I will wait for Dateline, thank you!