But I Trusted You and Other True Cases

Ann Rule's Crime Files, Book 14

By: Ann Rule

Narrated by: Laural Merlington

Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

The most fatal mistake? Trust. It's the foundation of any enduring relationship between friends, lovers, spouses, and families. But when trust is placed in those who are not what they seem, the results can be deadly. Ann Rule, who famously chronicled her own shocking experience of unknowingly befriending a sociopath in The Stranger Beside Me, offers a riveting, all-new collection from her true-crime files, with the lethally shattered bonds of trust at the core of each blood-soaked account. Whether driven to extreme violence by greed or jealousy, passion or rage, these calculating sociopaths targeted those closest to them - unwitting victims whose last disbelieving words could well have been "but I trusted you...."

Headlining this anthology is the case of middle-school counselor Chuck Leonard, found shot to death outside his Washington State home on an icy February morning. A complicated mix of family man and wild man, Chuck played hard and loved many...but who crossed the line by murdering him in cold blood? And why? The revelation is as stunning as the shattering crime itself, powerfully illuminating how those we think we know can ingeniously hide their destructive and homicidal designs. Along with other shattering cases, immaculately detailed and sharply analyzed by America's number-one true-crime writer, this 14th Crime Files volume is essential listening for getting inside the mind of the hidden killers among us.

©2013 Ann Rule (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Not as good as I expected

But I trusted you is typical Ann Rule genre; however, the stories especially the main one lack the interest I've found in most of her books.

more than just a little creepy.

the most memorable story in the book described the terrifying disappearance of an entire family while they were camping deep in the woods of Oregon and the horror that surely followed in the hands of their stalker. I listen to a lot of Ann Rule and true crime, yet somehow the description of this disturbing crime chilled me deeply and kept me up all night.

I love Ann Rule, but this just didn't do it for me

I'm relatively new to audio books, and while I've found most of the books I've listened to enjoyable, this one just didn't do it for me. I'm actually a very big Ann Rule fan and have read quite a few of her books. Something about the narration just made it feel like the book drug on and on and I found my mind wandering and was really unable to focus on the book.

Awesome book#!

I her writing and I always have. I'm now since reverted to my granddaughter who loves Ann's

True Crime cases by Ann Rule in her WA Satel

Ann Rule goes into graphic details in her Washington state true murders. The narrator makes easygoing listening to these horrific crimes. The last murders in the Oregon Forrest is especially cringing.

I loved the stories. but...

I loved the stories. but the narrator was choppy at parts, and you could tell it was edited. Ann rule has yet to let me down.

Oh no, Ann!

I’m a fan of Ann Rule’s work, and just finished Green River, Running Red, which was well researched. I then looked for my next true crime fix, and found this compilation of shorter true crime stories by Ann. There were a few negative reviews, but I went for it.

The lead story, But I Trusted You, read more like a soap opera. One where there’s a conniving female narcissist sifting through men, seeking to land the wealthiest one. This first story went about four hours, and I felt rather bored during most of it. The plot was rather thin and there wasn’t much to unravel. I think Ann is at her best writing about more complex criminal stories, such as with her work with serial killer Ted Bundy.

I will continue with the other short crime stories in this audiobook, hopefully they’ll be a bit more interesting. The narration was okay.

Disappointed

I’ve always enjoyed Ann Rule’s books, but this narrator put me to sleep. She was unable to hold my attention. I would even fall asleep when I replayed chapters. I finally gave up.

Feels like it was written in the 70s

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. Ms. Rule's descriptions feel like they never escaped the 70s. All of her cases seem to hinge on the 'inexpressible barbarity' of the crimes with a complete lack of self-awareness of the fact that none of was shocking in 2014 when this was released. (Terrible crimes, yes, absolutely, but they act as if the audience had never heard of a brutal crime before.) Her character portraits are all filled with discredited psychological terms that also makes this feel very dated. Anybody looking for a psychological insight that are remotely interesting in 2016 should skip this.Many of the tales are pretty boring. There are some very interesting descriptions of investigations, but only in a few cases. Most of them seem to be of the "how could this person be such a heartless killer ???" variety, which strains credulity. Perhaps people really were that sheltered in the 70s when most of these crimes were committed, and the transcripts of what the victims and investigators said at the time make sense, but the matching narratorial tone does not.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes, which is part of the problem. It's narrated by someone who sounds like an old woman, and it makes the entire production feel like something designed to titillate a woman in her 60s whose sensibilities never caught up with the new millennium.

one of my favorite authors and a great story.

I loved this book and the narration was great. if you are a true crime fan you may like this book.