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Cover of Small Sacrifices by Ann Rule

Small Sacrifices

  • 494 pages · about 8 hours
  • First published 1987
  • 14 editions

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1 About this book

The mesmerizing story of Diane Downs, a beautiful, brillient, sociopath, who commits the ultimate evil when she shoots her three children to gain the love of a married man. Anne Rule's insight into the personality of Downs is as horrifying as it is disturbing. She never confesses to shooting her children, but her conduct at the trial is sickening.

She taps her foot and smiles while listening to "Hungry Like the Wolf," the song that was playing in her car while she slaughtered her children; she laughs when she should cry, she cries when it benefits her. One daughter is dead, one has lost the use of her arm and speech, and the little boy is paralyzed.

None of this horror seems to penetrate Diane. She has no feelings for her children's suffering. The detail in this book is fascinating. Anne Rule describes every bit of evidence and presents it in such a way as to keep the reader of the edge of her seat. A must read for all true crime buffs.

Good for readers who want: a true life story, psychology, true crime, and a long read.

  • Murder
  • Trials (Murder)
  • Murderers
  • Biography
  • Biography & autobiography
  • Psychology
  • True Crime
  • Crime

2 About Ann Rule

1935–2015

Ann Rae Rule (née Stackhouse; October 22, 1931 – July 25, 2015) was an American author of true crime books and articles. She is best known for The Stranger Beside Me (1980), about the serial killer Ted Bundy, her co-worker and one-time friend, who was later revealed to be a murderer. Rule wrote over 30 true crime books, including Small Sacrifices, about Oregon child murderer Diane Downs.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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