Sorry to bring up a depressing subject during this otherwise festive season, but I have to respond to this story in the San Diego U-T . . .
Coronado mansion death gets ‘true crime’ treatment
IMHO, Ann Rule is the last person who should be writing about this or any other criminal investigation. I have first-hand experience with true-crime writer Ann Rule, who three years ago wrote an inaccurate account of the deaths of my parents, Loren and Joanne Edwards. Based on my reading of her error-riddled story, I could only conclude that she is an opportunistic hack — her “journalism” is a joke.
She never bothered to contact anyone in our family to the get the facts right, nor did she or her publisher forewarn us about the book, which compounded the anguish. We learned about it from a family friend, right before Christmas. Yeah … merry freaking Xmas.
I tried to get Ann Rule and her publisher to do the right thing and remove the story from the book, or at the very least correct the errors. Instead, they, in essence, told me to shove it.
In my forthcoming book, Dare I Call It Murder?: A Memoir of Violent Loss [http://www.dareicallitmurder.com/] I set the record straight — using information gleaned from the FBI files as well as my first-hand participation in the investigation — rather than relying on 30-year-old, inaccurate news reports like Ann Rule did.
Ann Rule also came under fire for her coverage of an Oregon case last year. Ann Rule’s Sloppy Storytelling [http://www.seattleweekly.com/2011-07-20/news/ann-rule-s-sloppy-storytelling/]
Polishing Your Prose 
Good for you! There are a few of us who recognize Ann Rule for the puss-oozing predator that she is. She goes beyond being opportunistic and crosses the line into malicious, fabrication– she is consciously evil for profit. It is unconscionable that she preys on tragedy, like a vulture, and profits from deliberately hurting many victims. Thanks for calling her on her crap!