Small Sacrifices Cassette

Rule

ISBN 10: 0671890441 ISBN 13: 9780671890445

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 1994

Synopsis

Somebody just shot my kids!' Diane Downs brought her car to a halt in front of a Springfield, Oregon, hospital, her three gravely wounded children beside her. Thus begins the shocking tale of a truly unthinkable crime that shattered the tranquility of a tight-knit community. As police searched for the 'shaggy-haried stranger' Diane accused of shooting 8-year-old Christie, 7-year-old Cheryl, and 3-year-old Danny in cold blood, a suspicion grew that was even more horrifying than the crime itself: Did Diane shoot her own children? A dedicated district attorney, haunted by this question, searched for the destructive forces that seemed to possess this beautiful young mother and uncovered a chronology of incest, psychological wounding, desperate affairs and surrogate motherhood.

About this title

About the Author:

Ann Rule has drawn on her experience as a former policewoman to become one of America’s top true-crime writers. The author of over 1,000 articles and numerous books, she has lectured widely to law-enforcement schools and agencies. She has also serves as a consultant to the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VI-CAP), which is used to track and apprehend violent criminals. Her bestselling books, Lust Killer, The Want-Ad Killer, The I-5 Killer, and Small Sacrifices, are available in Signet editions.

From Publishers Weekly:

This searching analysis of the shooting of three children in Oregon by their mother devolves into a study of personality. In May of 1983, Diane Downs drove to a Williamette Valley hospital emergency room with her children, all gravely wounded; one did not survive the first hour, and the other two were disabled for life. Downs initially told of a "bushy-haired stranger" who had committed the crime, but frequently changed her story. Under police questioning she recalled her childhood with a cold, domineering father who abused her sexually, her weak mother, a rape by one of her bosses, her failed marriage and many men with whom she had sex. One of these men, whom she claimed to love, did not want children, and that may have prompted the crime, speculates the author. The greatest strength of this book is the exploration by ex-policewoman Rule (The Stranger Beside Me of the aberrant personality of Downs, who is now imprisoned and not eligible for parole until 2009.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0671890441
• ISBN 13: 9780671890445
• Binding: Audio Cassette