Mortal Danger: And Other True Cases

Written by Ann Rule

Narrated by Laural Merlington

From trust to terror…from security to survival….

Only Ann Rule, who unknowingly worked alongside the smart and charming Ted Bundy—America's most notorious serial killer—could lend her razor-sharp insight into these cases of the spouse, lover, family member, or helpful stranger who is totally trusted but whose lethally violent nature, though masterfully disguised, can and will kill. Featured here is the case of a Southern California family man who appeared to be the picture of healthy living with his expertise in naturopathic healing. Luring a beautiful flight attendant into a passionate affair, he swept her away to a secluded home on the Oregon coast where his jealous rages escalated, ultimately leading to a brutal sex attack in which she believed she would die. How this brave victim survived, never knowing her tormentor's whereabouts, and how he resurfaced, forcing a tragic end for all involved, makes this one of Ann Rule's most compelling narratives.

Other cases include that of the woman who masterminded her husband's murder to gain his inheritance…the monstrous sadist whose prison release damaged a presidential candidate's campaign and ended in a bitter double tragedy in a quiet neighborhood three thousand miles away…the shocking DNA link between a cold-blooded crime and a cold case…and inside the horrific case of the man who crossed an ocean and several countries to stalk the Eurasian beauty who had fled from him in desperation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Oct 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9781469284989

Ann Rule

Ann Rule wrote thirty-five New York Times bestsellers, all of them still in print. Her first bestseller was The Stranger Beside Me, about her personal relationship with infamous serial killer Ted Bundy. A former Seattle police officer, she used her firsthand expertise in all her books. For more than three decades, she was a powerful advocate for victims of violent crime. She lived near Seattle and died in 2015.

Reviews for Mortal Danger

[Laurel Girard · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I got hooked on Ann Rule’s addictive form of True Crime books at an early age from an unexpected source, my Mom. Yes, my Mom, a stay at home, on and off part time florist, birdwatcher, lover of all things nature, was a secret True Crime lover. I think she enjoyed piecing the facts, fiction, and unknown rumor into a comprehensive picture of the crime. Ann Rule “Rules”! Is that too cliche! I’ll add that I wish she didn’t pass away. Ann Rule, Mary Higgins Clark, and Agatha Christie were writers of timeless classic mysteries. No one has been able to re-create their incredible story telling tales. One last comment: a man is overly suspicious of his wife or partner usually is because he knows how easy it is to cheat on said spouse. He sounds like he not only has OCD, but maybe Bipolar Depression, and of course, sociopathic, psychopathic tendencies. It’s so sad that these domestic homicide stories can be written out (except for victim details) as if Mad Libs) and just fill in the blanks!

[barb_h_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So compelling. I could not put it down. There is just something about Ann Rule's true crime novels that just grip me and suck me right on in. They give me the creeps, and they are sad and disturbing, and yet I just can not get enough.

[tamihindes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the best Ann Rule book I've read. I felt that in her other true-crime books, her writing was stilted and dry. It was hard to get involved in the stories and worse yet, hard to care about the people. This one, feels more like she's telling the stories of the victims. I worry about women in the first story - Mortal Danger. This may be because the first victim survived and could tell of the horror she faced. But the storytelling continued throughout the book. This book like most of her previous books is based on true crimes from the Northwest; She has selected several stories all but one are about lone women who are abused and killed. One involves a couple. Like life, sometimes the why of the crime is revealed and sometimes it's not. The title story - Mortal Danger, seemed to drag in places and is lengthy. I think some of the lesser details could have been omitted in order to keep the story moving. The next story was about a couple who were found murdered in their home. This story was move concise. There are several more, But I think Rule's best is one of the shorter stories - "If I can't have you" - it was particularly chilling. A woman marries a man in the Netherlands, after the wedding his domineering side comes out, she leaves and returns to America but he stalks her to her home. Eventually, he kills her. I'm so glad that Rule has become a storyteller as well as a reporter. I'm looking forward to reading her next book.

[merrymary_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ann Rule does her usual fine job of following the tortuous paths of true crime. The stories in this collection focus on domestic violence. All of the stories here take place in the Pacific Northwest, as her stories often do. This is home ground for Ann, and she loves and describes it so well. She makes sure the stories are cautionary, warning women to watch for the warning signs of developing poisonous relationships as mirrored in the victims in these cases.

[hollyinnnv · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

You will absolutely never, in your entire fantastic life of pleasure and pain, consume a work of blessed literary fervor in quite the same ordinary way after experiencing a realistically chilling yet true story from the queen of superlatives, Ann Rule.I suppose that there are authors that use more superlatives than Ann Rule. I found her style corny. The additional annoying thing about the book is that Rule inserts herself into the book in the transitions between stories. If you can get past the writing style and story transitions, the stories are pretty compelling. Mortal Danger is a collection of true crime cases. Rule attempts to humanize the people involved in the cases, including victims, perpetrators and detectives. While many of these people are probably just like you and me, not terribly dramatic or compelling, Rule manages to "interpret" these people in a way that comes off inauthentic. It is regrettable, in my opinion, because for the victims, this is their forever story. I gave the book a few stars to reflect the fact that the stories, minus the cornball interpretation, are important. However, Rule's style is like eating beets-some of us gag no matter how they are prepared.