This was definitely not one of Ann Rule's better books, but I still did like a few of the stories. ( )

A little too dark, even for me. Time to mix it up with something more cozy.... ( )

Rule usually starts off her volumes with a longer case up front, and shorter cases towards the end. I thought that this one read as filler honestly. She just seemed to find out stories concerning wives that she could write about. There are not a lot of satisfactory stories in this one.

The Deputy's Wife (5 stars)-Sad story of a woman who finally realizes her husband is not someone she wants to be with anymore after suffering verbal and physical abuse by him. Her husband, a former deputy seems hell-bent on getting the money he thinks he is owed. He sets up a hit-man plot when he goes to jail to take out her, their two children, and her sister. Terrible man from beginning to end.

The Antique Dealer's Wife (2 stars)-I don't like stories where people get away with their crimes. And the man in question, Raoul Guy Rockwell gets away with murdering his wife and her daughter by her first marriage. Rule includes some follow-up with her alluding to the fact that Rockwell continued on and got married twice after his first marriage. I don't know if it's true or not, but in the end I was not satisfied with the fact he went on without having to pay for his crimes.

The Truck Driver's Wife (1 star)-Rule actually puts forth a hypothesis that the woman in this story who is found dead on fire spontaneously combusted. It made no sense to me. This is also the second story in this volume where you don't get a true sense of ending since you don't know who did this or why.

The Convict's Wife (2 stars)- I ended up feeling for the convict's wife in this one. She marries one man who beats and abuses her on a daily basis. He forces them to move repeatedly. When his brother (who he dimed on) gets out of jail she can tell he is attracted to her. So one wonders how truthful the brother in this case was about the wife being involved with a plan to murder his brother. I didn't buy it myself.

The Chemist's Wife (2 stars)-I don't even get why they are calling a 16 year old girl who was dating a 20 something man a wife. I felt sorry for the family in this story since due to the actions of the younger woman when she finally tires of being abused by her long timer partner, tries to leave him, and he stabs her grandparents in front of her.

The Painter's Wife (2 stars)-True story of a woman abducted from her home when a convict escapes from the nearby jail.

The Minister's Wife (2 stars)-I hated this story at the time when it occurred. We get into the story of Mary Winkler who murdered her husband while he was sleeping. I still think it was a miscarriage of justice that she got barely any time and was free to go on with her life. I never bought the battered woman story that she and her defense team put out there. ( )

I like this book because, the stories are all true. ( )

Finished the book this morning. I used to love Ann Rule's books but was never much interested in the short stories although with most of them in each book there was one long story.

Now that I have picked this book to read I can say I did enjoy some of the stories she wrote.

This book's long story was The Deputy's Wife which was really good and interesting.

The short story I liked most was the Chemist's wife.

I was stalked and pestered by one ex and back in the days there was nothing you could do.(He loved to phone me and hang up constantly but not just me also by dad who he called in the middle of the night many a times. Until my dad made it so that when he was called during the night the phone calls were directed to my ex's parents. He stopped and that was the end of it. I never gave him any attention cause that is what they want. At first he sent me lovely text messages but when I did not reply those texts got angry. I still did not reply and never have.

I am glad to see that stalking is much more known now but I imagine there is still not much cops can do if a man does not care what happens to him. He must control her no matter what.

The Chemist's Wife was a story like that. Most of the time stalkers are very cowardly men who have righteously so very low self esteem and that is why they need to control their women. I despise those men and I really hope more and more women do not accept that behaviour but alas a lot of women still think they deserved it. NO you did not deserve to be treated like crap!!

Very scary and sad story.

Another story I liked which was quite unusual was The Painter's Wife where the woman was kidnapped by an escaped convict. Because I heard this story for the first time it was exiting.

The Antiques Dealer's Wife was interesting as well. Only surprise was the outcome.

The Truck Driver's Wife disappointed me only because I was eager to know what had happened to then found out this was an unsolved case.
Would love to know what really happened.

Then the lost story.

The Preacher's Wife was good too I only wondered why Ann Rule did not add the infamous bar picture of Mary Winkler if it upset so many people. Here I thought it upset people because she was smiling but no they were upset because when you are religious you are not supposed to go to a bar. Geez louis. No Do your drinking alone when you are home and while we are at it, keep your porno pics and movies also there Hypocrites much?

All in all a good read. There was one weird thing though. Ann Rule is talking about abused women and that there are now many places they can go to but then she writes this about Mary Winkler......

"Had she found her self esteem early in their marriage he probably would have backed down on his demands about her weight and the small things she did that annoyed him"

Is it weird that to me this reads like blame the victim. Yes I know Mary might not have been a victim but Ann Rule does not know for sure she is not and this reads like if she would have just found her self esteem poor Mathew would not have to correct her?

All in all a satisfying book.
( )