Bestselling true-crime author and victim’s rights advocate Ann Rule has died of heart failure. She was eighty-four years old.
Rule was the author of thirty-five books including The Stranger Beside Me, her account of account of working at a crisis-counseling center with a charming psychology student who turned out to be serial killer Ted Bundy. Rule wrote true crime novels from the perspective of the victims, who were often women.
“By deciding to focus her books on the victim, Ann Rule reinvented the true-crime genre, and earned the trust of millions of readers who wanted a new and empathetic perspective on the tragic stories at the heart of her works,” stated Carolyn Reidy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster. “She will be remembered not only for her many books, but also for her ongoing and tireless work on behalf of victims’ rights. We are proud to have been her publisher for many years, and we will miss her.”