Practice to Deceive

By: Ann Rule

Narrated by: Anne Twomey

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

Good book I enjoyed it.

Story was good. Maybe not as compelling as some of hers. Didn’t care for the narrator although she didn’t try to “perform” as most of them do. It’s a book, just read. It’s not a play, don’t perform. I wish Rule herself had recorded some of her books before she passed.

Not the best Ann Rule book

Thought there was a lot of the backstory just being used as filler. But just my opinion.

story told very well.

story told very well. interesting read
however there were lots of characters
love anne rule

a little scattered and hard to follow

It felt like a slow start and then with all the different interconnected family relations and love relations it was really hard to keep everyone straight. I think it was more to do with how chaotic the story was rather than bad writing but I was also disappointed that there wasn't a trial for the main suspect and there was no clear motive. all this made it tough to get interested.

I love all Ann's books

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

Another great nail bitter

A little hard to follow on the go but I loved listening to it while in traffic

Difficult to follow

This is the fourth Ann Rule book I have listened to. I found the story difficult to follow and sometimes confusing. My mind would often zone-out while listening due to the deep dives into the backgrounds and lives of the various people involved (or not). At times it seemed to me that some of this was being done to stretch out the story’s length. I didn’t enjoy this book as I have the others.

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.

THIS BOOK WAS A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

IT WAS OK. BUT IN THE END I WAS UNSATISFIED. AND THAT IS WHAT COUNTS.

Has Practice to Deceive turned you off from other books in this genre?

NO

Have you listened to any of Anne Twomey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I THINK SO. THEY ARE ALL GOOD.

Was Practice to Deceive worth the listening time?

IT WAS NOT TOO LONG A BOOK SO IT WAS NOT A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME. BUT NOT FEELING SATISFIED AT THE END IS SO IMPORTANT TO ME.

Any additional comments?

I WISH ANN RULE WOULD COME OUT WITH UNABRIDGED IF YOU REALLY LOVED ME.

Not as riveting as other books

This story was a little on the dull side with the plot and the narration. Maybe more details would have made it better.