Author Last Name,
Author First Name,
Pages,
Binding,
Edition,
ISBN 10,
ISBN 13,
Condition,
Publisher,
Date Published,
Specifications
Author Last Name:
Rule
Author First Name:
Ann
Pages:
564
Binding:
Mass Market Paperback
Edition:
Illustrated
ISBN 10:
0671025333
ISBN 13:
9780671025335
Condition:
Used
Publisher:
Pocket Books
Date Published:
1/1/2001
Genre:
Fantastically True
Description
A beautiful wife, a rising star in a computer corporation, and a prosperous husband, the scion of a family building business, enter into a murky world of drugs, sordid sex, and con operations. Their fairy-tale romance ends in violent death... as with other cases presented here. Publishers Weekly The latest from respected true crime veteran Rule (And Never Let Her Go, etc.) walks readers through the tortured life and ugly murder of Sheila Bellush, a woman relentlessly pursued by her sexually obsessed ex-husband, Allen Van Houte. The crime scene is horrific: Bellush lies dead in the kitchen while her toddler quadruplets are left to walk naked through her blood. Bellush had long warned close friends that she feared her ex-husband's reprisals and went so far as to request "if I'm not here... find Ann Rule and have her write my story." Rule, in classic form, meticulously re-creates the prosaic lives of her characters, charting one woman's pleasantly humdrum existence undermined by a man bent on making a fortune though defaulting on bank loans and pedestrian cons, such as swindling family members. After he lured Bellush into his world of sexual play, she left him, and he hired a man to kill her. The subsequent fallout included a complex and lengthy inquiry by investigators. There are no surprises here for the reader, though some may enjoy Rule's examination of Van Houte's manipulative and predatory nature. Essentially, this account is too long for its limited subject matter. (Oct. 15) Forecast: Sixteen of Rule's 18 books have been bestsellers. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
