Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Obituary Notes: Ann Rule; Tom Moore

True-crime author Ann Rule, who wrote 35 books, "including a profile of her former co-worker, serial killer Ted Bundy," died Sunday, the Associated Press reported. She was 83. In addition to The Stranger Beside Me, Rule's books included Small Sacrifices: A True Story of Passion and Murder and Too Late to Say Goodbye: A True Story of Murder and Betrayal. Her latest book, Practice to Deceive, was about a murder on Whidbey Island in Washington State. Her books have 50 million copies in print in 16 languages.


Noting that the FBI and the Justice Department eventually "started turning to Rule for her expertise on serial murders," the AP wrote that "she aided the Green River Task Force as that group sought another Seattle-area serial killer, passing along tips that her readers shared. She wrote a book about the case, Green River, Running Red."

The Los Angeles Times noted that Rule "was truly the 'Queen of True Crime,' humanizing the victims as she told their tales."

"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," Carolyn Reidy, president and CEO of Simon & Schuster, commented. "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."

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Artist and Archie cartoonist illustrator Tom Moore, who "brought to life the adventures of the beloved red-haired, freckled-faced Archie Andrews and his friends on and off from 1953 until his retirement in the late 1980s," died June 20, the El Paso Times reported. He was 86.

"He's a legend, in El Paso and, really, around the United States," said All Star Comics & Games owner Brad Wilson. "A lot of people don't realize how much he influenced comic book art.... He was still buying comics and a really nice guy, a fun guy."

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