Explores cases of people killed by trusted spouses, lovers, family members, or helpful strangers who turned on them, including the murder of Chuck Leonard, a middle school counselor who was an odd mix of family man and wild man.

It's a chilling reality that homicide investigators know all too well: the last face most murder victims see is not that of a stranger, but of someone familiar. These doomed relationships are the focus of Ann Rule's sixteenth all-new Crime Files collection.

A compilation of real-life crime stories includes the tales of a counterfeit priest, a serial rapist, a victim burned beyond recognition, and a con artist whose activities lead to murder.

Distinguished by the former Seattle policewoman's razor-sharp eye for telling detail and her penetrating analysis of the criminal mind, this gripping collection of accounts drawn from her personal files features the twisting case of Randy Roth, who married -- and murdered -- for profit. In her trademark narrative style, Ann Rule weaves a tale that is riveting, enraging, and heartbreaking all at once, and brilliantly chronicles the fateful confluence...

This updated edition covers Downs' escape and recapture.