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But I trusted you
And Other True Cases
563 pages
A chilling, methodical descent into the deadly secrets hiding behind the familiar faces of friends, lovers, and family.
What it feels like
Reading this collection feels like slowly peeling back the wallpaper of a perfectly normal suburban home to reveal the rot underneath. The experience is anchored by a steady, methodical pace that mirrors a meticulous police investigation, drawing you deep into the psychological profiles of both victims and killers. The mood is undeniably dread-soaked, steeped in the unsettling realization that the most dangerous monsters are often the people we invite into our lives. The prose is classic investigative journalism—authoritative and highly detailed, yet deeply empathetic to the victims whose trust was so violently violated. It is a gripping, sobering read designed for true crime aficionados who prefer psychological insight and procedural rigor over sensationalized gore.
- Mood
- unsettling
- grim
- suspenseful
- dread-soaked
- Tone
- authoritative
- empathetic
- analytical
- chilling
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- fatal betrayal · the mask of sanity · domestic deception · fragility of trust · hidden sociopathy
- The writing
- Meticulously detailed and journalistic, balancing clinical procedural facts with deep, empathetic human interest.
- The arc
- Begins with the comforting illusion of domestic normalcy before plunging into the shocking reality of betrayal, ending with the sobering resolution of the justice system.
- Who it's for
- True crime devotees who crave psychological depth, methodical investigations, and the chilling realization that monsters live next door.
Content notes
- murder
- domestic violence
- sociopathy
- gun violence
- betrayal
About the book
Trust. It's the foundation of any enduring relationship between friends, lovers, spouses, and families. But when trust is placed in those who are not what they seem, the results can be deadly. Ann Rule, who famously chronicled her own shocking experience of unknowingly befriending a sociopath in The Stranger Beside Me, offers a riveting, all-new collection from her true-crime files, with the lethally shattered bonds of trust at the core of each bloodsoaked account. Whether driven to extreme violence by greed or jealousy, passion or rage, these calculating sociopaths targeted those closest to them -- unwitting victims whose last disbelieving words could well have been "but I trusted you...." Headlining this page-turning anthology is the case of middle-school counselor Chuck Leonard, found shot to death outside his Washington State home on an icy February morning. A complicated mix of family man and wild man, Chuck played hard and loved many...but who crossed the line by murdering him in cold blood? And why? The revelation is as stunning as the shattering crime itself, powerfully illuminating how those we think we know can ingeniously hide their destructive and homicidal designs. Along with other shattering cases, immaculately detailed and sharply analyzed by America's #1 true-crime writer, this fourteenth Crime Files volume is essential reading for getting inside the mind of the hidden killers among us.
Description from Open Library.
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