Practice to Deceive

By: Ann Rule

Narrated by: Anne Twomey

Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

From the New York Times #1 best-selling author comes a riveting true-crime mystery set on a sleepy island in the Pacific Northwest: a man is murdered and the long list of suspects includes an aging beauty queen and her boyfriend.

One wintery night on tiny, quiet Whidbey Island off the coast of Washington, Russ Douglas spent Christmas with his estranged wife, Brenna. She agreed to let him visit his children even though they were headed for divorce. He left Brenna Douglas's home in Langley on the morning of December 26, 2003 to run some errands.

But hours passed and the sun set in the late afternoon; Russ didn't return home as he'd promised his children he would. Nor did he come back during the night. On the afternoon of December 27, a couple walking down a rural road noticed a vehicle that had apparently backed into the driveway of a cabin. Since many of the places were vacant during the winter, neighbors kept an eye out for strangers.

Curious, they walked up the cabin's driveway to check inside. They saw a man in the front seat, still strapped in his seatbelt, dead from a gunshot wound to the head. They immediately put in a call to the Island County Sheriff's Office. The dead man was easily identified; it was Russell Douglas. But what came next surprised law enforcement and captured the attention of the entire town when the suspects included an aging beauty queen, her guitar-teacher lover, and Russell's widow, Brenna. With her trademark aplomb, Ann Rule unravels the fascinating story of a murder, a small town, and a number of potential killers.

©2013 Ann Rule (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

Really disappoints! What happened Ann Rule?

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Where do I begin? Let's start with the narrator. Monotone and made a poorly written book, poor story line, booring. Stick with what works. Laurel Merlington has been wonderful to listen to. I feel bad for the victim as if a book was to be written Ann Rule is definitely the cream of the crop. Ann Rule really disappoints in this book. It wonders so far away from the storyline and full of fillers. I can't believe I am actually saying something unflattering of my favorite author. Avid Ann Rule lovers will feel really let down. Narrator has dried up cigarette voice.

What could Ann Rule have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Not writing this book. Ann Rule should stick to what flows easy for her. You can almost read/feel the pain and depth she herself is having writing it.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Anne Twomey?

Laurel Merlington.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Practice to Deceive?

A good editor would of given it back and said try again. This one made it through because of Ann Rule untarnished reputation and produced masterpiece after masterpiece and has never presented such a disaster before. Bleeding from the ears.

Any additional comments?

Requesting a credit this time. So disappointed that I waited a year for this new book and it's here and awful.

DO NOT waste your time, money, or credit!!!

This book is one of her worst books to date. It is so drawn out I found myself saying "Are we there yet?!" She repeats her self over and over so many times that I don't need to see the book to recite it word from word. Ann Rule REALLY?! Tell the truth were you reaching a deadline and said, "F@&$ it! They won't know the difference." I notice the difference and I want my credit back.

I absolutely love Ann Rule

This is just another great book by Ann Rule. The narrator was great and I hated when I had to put it down. Can't wait for the next one!
Tamera from near Oak Harbor.

Perfect voice for this scary, true tale

Wish Anne Twomey had done orher audiobooks from Ann Rule. She is perfect, and makes the true story as scary as it actually is!

Performance flat

Hard to follow. I would like to try this book with other performer. I have really enjoyed the other books by Ann Rule.

Practice to confuse

What did you love best about Practice to Deceive?

Ummm, thats impossible for me to pinpoint, probably that Ann Rule had a different narrator.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

How complicated it was, compelling no I meant confusing.

If you could give Practice to Deceive a new subtitle, what would it be?

Practice to Confuse

Any additional comments?

I was thrilled that this book had a different narrator so I gave her a four on performance.

Not what i expected

Any additional comments?

This was not necessarily that interesting a case. This could of been done in 2-3 hours. Instead there was a lot of unnecessary filler. The case is technically ongoing as one of the original suspects may still be charged. Ann should of waited this case out or should of written about a more interesting case.

I love all Ann's books

Loves this book so much. this story keeps you guessing from the beginning until the end.

I’d rather listen to Siri read me a book

The book was very hard to follow and I think that was mostly due to the mechanical narrator. It was so bad. She even pronounced Geo (for a Geo Tracker) as G-E-O. Spelled out. So annoying to listen to her. I love Anne Rule books but I will avoid this narrator going forward.

boring

the narrator was very boring! I liked the story, but had trouble finishing the book due to the narrator

Bad performance

The history might even be good but the narration makes it all boring. Like a monologue. There’s no performance, just reading.