Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder: And Other True Cases

From #1 New York Times bestselling author and true crime icon Ann Rule, the cases in this collection grapple with murder, false identity, and much more.

In some murder cases, the truth behind the most tragic of crimes crystallizes with relative ease. Not so with these fascinating accounts drawn from the personal files of Ann Rule, America’s #1 bestselling true crime writer. What happens when the case itself becomes an intractable puzzle, when clues are shrouded in smoke and mirrors, and when criminals skillfully evade law enforcement in a maddening cat-and-mouse chase? Even the most devoted true crime fan won’t predict the outcome of these truly confounding cases until the conclusions are revealed in Rule’s marvelously insightful narrative:

- A “picture perfect” family is targeted for death by the least likely enemy, who plotted their demise from behind bars.

- A sexual predator hides behind multiple fake identities, eluding police for years while his past victims live in fear that he will hunt them down.

- A modest preacher’s wife confesses to shooting her husband after an argument—but there’s more to her shattering story than meets the eye.

These and other true cases are analyzed with stunning clarity in a page-turning collection you won't be able to put down.

Ann Rule (1931–2015) wrote thirty-five New York Times bestsellers, all of them still in print. Her first bestseller was The Stranger Beside Me, about her personal relationship with infamous serial killer Ted Bundy. A former Seattle police officer, she used her firsthand expertise in all her books. For more than three decades, she was a powerful advocate for victims of violent crime.