Lesson from this book: Men have a blind spot for attractive women who play the sweet, helpless act.
I’d never heard of this case before, which is surprising because it’s one of the craziest true crime stories I’ve ever read. How one women of below average intelligence managed to wreak havoc in so many lives, for so long, without detection is mystifying, to put it mildly.
Ann Rule writes an engaging narrative that gives us an intimate view of this sociopathic soap opera. The case is complex, and Rule does an excellent job of aligning all the pieces in a concise and easy to follow timeline.
I felt that Rule’s personal biases were sometimes a little heavy-handed, especially in the way she seemed protective of Dave, constantly reminding us of how innocent he was. Granted, he was a victim of Shanna’s insanity, but he was far from innocent. (If someone is truly innocent, we don’t have to be reminded at every turn.) I’m sorry, but the man was all too happy to continue the sexual relationship while coming up with endless excuses for his complicity.
An interesting aspect throughout the years this case spanned is that the women always seemed to know things weren’t as presented, while the men all too easily overlooked or explained away Shanna’s behavior. Because she was petite, pretty, and highly sexual, men treated her as a fragile doll. If she’d been fifty pounds overweight and/or didn’t use sex so efficiently, this case never would have gone as far or continued as long as it did.
I’d never heard of this case before, which is surprising because it’s one of the craziest true crime stories I’ve ever read. How one women of below average intelligence managed to wreak havoc in so many lives, for so long, without detection is mystifying, to put it mildly.
Ann Rule writes an engaging narrative that gives us an intimate view of this sociopathic soap opera. The case is complex, and Rule does an excellent job of aligning all the pieces in a concise and easy to follow timeline.
I felt that Rule’s personal biases were sometimes a little heavy-handed, especially in the way she seemed protective of Dave, constantly reminding us of how innocent he was. Granted, he was a victim of Shanna’s insanity, but he was far from innocent. (If someone is truly innocent, we don’t have to be reminded at every turn.) I’m sorry, but the man was all too happy to continue the sexual relationship while coming up with endless excuses for his complicity.
An interesting aspect throughout the years this case spanned is that the women always seemed to know things weren’t as presented, while the men all too easily overlooked or explained away Shanna’s behavior. Because she was petite, pretty, and highly sexual, men treated her as a fragile doll. If she’d been fifty pounds overweight and/or didn’t use sex so efficiently, this case never would have gone as far or continued as long as it did.