In the Still of the Night

By: Ann Rule

Narrated by: Barbara Caruso

Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

From true crime legend Ann Rules comes this riveting story of a young woman whose life ended too soon - and a determined mother’s 11-year crusade to clear her daughter’s name.

It was nine days before Christmas 1998, and 32-year-old Ronda Reynolds was getting ready to travel from Seattle to Spokane to visit her mother and brother and grandmother before the holidays. Ronda’s second marriage was dissolving after less than a year, her career as a pioneering female Washington State Trooper had ended, but she was optimistic about starting over again. "I’m actually looking forward to getting on with my life," she told her mother earlier the night before. "I just need a few days with you guys." Barb Thompson, Ronda’s mother, who had met her daughter’s second husband only once before, was just happy that Ronda was coming home.

At 6:20 that morning, Ron Reynolds called 911 and told the dispatcher his wife was dead. She had committed suicide, he said, although he hadn’t heard the gunshot and he didn’t know if she had a pulse. EMTs arrived, detectives arrived, the coroner’s deputy arrived, and a postmortem was conducted. Lewis County Coroner Terry Wilson, who neither visited the death scene nor attended the autopsy, declared the manner of Ronda’s death as "undetermined." Over the next eleven years, Coroner Wilson would change that manner of death from "undetermined" to "suicide", back to "undetermined" - and then back to "suicide" again.

But Barb Thompson never for one moment believed her daughter committed suicide.

©2011 Anne Rule (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Not as bad as people are saying...

I thought it was a really interesting look into the details of a crime, the people involved, and the ensuing investigation (or lack thereof). The ending was quite a bit more sloppy than the rest of the story though.

another Ann Rule book

I had read several of Ann Rule books a few years ago and always planned to read more by Ms Rule. but now I find that her style of writing lends itself very to listening. This book is well-written and researched. Excellent narration too

2 days !!

I completed this audio book in just two day!! It sucked me in from the start ! I can’t believe I found an Ann Rule book I had not read / heard!
This is a tragic story! Seeking justice!

good story

as always with Anne rule good story.
I do hope it gets solved someday.

Still of the Night-ok

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Worth my time as it killed time while on a long drive.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Eh.

What three words best describe Barbara Caruso’s voice?

Average, average, average.

Was In the Still of the Night worth the listening time?

To kill time.

Any additional comments?

This was not nearly as good as other Ann Rule books.

Justice Sought

As soon as I am done reviewing this book I am gonna go straight to the Internet and see if any thing has change, since its now halfway through 2018. I would like to see Justice for Ronda (I never knew her, but am a mom and grandmother).

Barbara Thompson sounds like amazing person. If I had known that somebody like Ms Thompson was driving back-and-forth across I90, several times every year, I would have opened my doors (as I live in Moses Lake) and offer some sort of support, refreshments or just a quite location with a great view. I truly hope that she found that kind of support from strangers, in her travels.


The writing of this book and the audio version are very well done. My only possible criticism might be that it did not surprise me to find out that Ann Rule and Barb had become really good friends. That is because the feeling from the very beginning was that the writer considered Barbara to be in the complete-right, the whole time, without presenting an reserved judgement until more uncertainties became evident. I am sure (now, as a peanut gallery observer) that that is and was the case. I just fear that such obvious bias at the start could taint opinions (if that matters much). Rule's books are usually pretty great and this one is no exception. Moreover, the reading performance was very well done.

The story of Ronda Reynolds is a beautiful journey, for no other reason than, my daughters, granddaughters, I and others like us, now have the pleasure of knowing these strong and positive female role models. Despite the pridefulness and selfishness of disturbed individuals, Ronda will REMAIN a powerful force for those of us gals still reaching for our dreams.


Thank you, Ladies ♡

Heartbreaking...

Ann Rule is still a great author, but there was quite a bit of redundancy in this book. Barbara Caruso is awesome! We would listen to her read anything!

Courage to find the truth…

As usual, Ann Rule guides you through of a mothers love to find out the truth.

favorites

I love Ann Rules books. I have read most and gave enjoyed reading them all

Good book

just a little too much information repeated and I was happy for the ending. That's one stronger mother.