Dead by Sunset

Perfect Husband, Perfect Killer?

By: Ann Rule

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

Length: 20 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

The shocking tale from true crime queen Ann Rule.

Who is Brad Cunningham? How could five beautiful, intelligent, and successful women believe he was their dream come true? Ask any women who ever longed for "the perfect man".

Loni Ann, Cynthia, Lauren, Cheryl, and Sara seemed to have it all - beauty, wealth, children, and a husband who they believed to be this perfect man - Brad Cunningham. He was handsome, charismatic, and mysterious. They adored him and tried to give him all he wanted. But he wanted everything: sex, money, and it seemed, their very lives. How long would it take before he finally got what he deserved?

This question haunts Dead by Sunset, Ann Rule's riveting and impeccably researched study of the destructive relationships, multiple marriages, financial manipulations, and monstrous acts of harassment and revenge that surrounded Brad Cunningham and his wives. It is also a penetrating - and ultimately shocking - recreation of Cheryl's murder and the eight years it took to bring her killer to justice.

Dead by Sunset is a chilling look at the evil that lurks behind the most charming of facades and a fascinating homage to the kind of courage and brilliance it takes to combat it.

©2008 Ann Rule (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Rule provides a perceptive character analysis of a malignant, self-centered, charismatic con artist. It's a chilling, haunting portrait." ( Publishers Weekly)

"The similarities with the O.J. case are compelling." ( The Spokesman-Review)

"Fascinating material.... Ms. Rule admirably recounts this labyrinthine tale. ( The New York Times Book Review)

GR8

Always loved Ann never fails to deliver & this is no exception ABSOLUTELY MUST READ

Entranced

I really like how Ann Rule writes her novels. For people interested in the “why” behind criminals or killers actions, I don’t think we will ever really know, but the details that Ann gives keeps a reader entranced with what is going on. It’s well connected with information, where a reader doesn’t feel lost in the story. As far as the Brad Cunningham story, I wish there was more information online to read up about him, but I’m appreciative that Ann updated her readers with how the characters are doing after brad was found guilty.

A good book

I give it 4-stars, which to me means it's a good book, just not a great one. Ann Rule's Bundy book, that one I heard after this, and I thought it was a great, this one is a small step down from that, but it's still good.

This was my first Ann Rule book, I had no idea who she is, I had no idea what this book was about other than the very generic overview. With that said, I enjoyed it. Again, it's not in my top notch category, but right under that. The book is well written, has compelling characters, everything is laid out in a very compelling format.

If the subject matter sounds interesting, then you'll likely enjoy this book.

The reader does a very good job.

So scary!!

Always love how much Ann goes in depth to find out about everyone involved. Truly special. The reader was so slow. I normally speed it up 1.2x, but I had to speed it up even more to 1.4x just to get a normal speech pattern.

Ann Rule!

Ann Rule is the best, this book is no different.
I am already loading another book from her.

As usual, another great story by Ann Rule

Another fabulous read by Ann Rule. Thoroughly researched and expertly brought to life. But then this is par for the course for her books.

The narrator though, less than stellar performance. I nearly stopped listening only 15 minutes into the book. I found his gravelly voice and odd up and down inflections extremely distracting. I did get used to his voice and strange style of speech quickly though, thankfully so it wasn't a huge distraction throughout the entire book.

I do have to wonder why he felt the need to make all the female voices whiny throughout the entire story though. Does he not like women? Does he feel all they do is whine? Not impressed at all by his performance, but at least I was able to get used to his voice and not find it so much of a distraction that I was unable to finish the book. Still, his whiny impersonation of every female voice in the book left a bad impression and I'll likely avoid any other books he narrates.

GREAT READ!!

What made the experience of listening to Dead by Sunset the most enjoyable?

the story was well researched, was interesting, and no detail of was left out.

What did you like best about this story?

the completeness fo the story.

Have you listened to any of Richard Ferrone’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

i don't know.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

many moments. sarah particularly moved me with her selflessness and kindness.

Any additional comments?

i wish

Great book, took me a while to get used to narration

Great classic Ann Rule writing, but the narrator was different from many other Rule audiobooks. He is very dramatic, a bit overwrought, but eventually I got used to it.

Nailed Narcissism Perfectly

Ann’s book was fantastic. After being married to a narcissistic man for 20 years of my life, I still find how many parallels there are between people with this diagnosable, (but incurable), disorder, eerily shocking. They say the same things, do the same things and use the exact same psychological tricks on everyone around them, to varying degrees of harm.

I was lucky to get out of my relationship with my children and my life,—I’m so sorry Cheryl didn’t. (This is not a spoiler alert as the book opens with her death.) I trust her boys have been able to live a normal and fulfilling life in spite of their father.

Highly recommend this book,—I couldn’t quit listening!

Gripping !

Hard to believe this a real life story. On the edge of my seat right to the end. For anyone who enjoys true crime this is a definite 'must read/listen'.
Narrated beautifully!