🕸️BOOK REVIEW🕸️

A Tangled Web by Leslie Rule
Pub Date- April 28, 2020
304 pages

-DESCRIPTION-
A true crime drama about murderer and cyber toturerer, Shanna (Liz) Goylar. Dave meets Liz. Liz becomes obsessed with Dave. Dave meets Cari. Cari goes missing.

-THOUGHTS-
On the cusp of catfishing, this murder takes place. What Shanna put these people through with her emails and text messages is mind boggling. The writing was a little detached. It was hard really understanding what Cari's family was going through. Overall, it's an ok true crime book. There were really not big revaluations. It was all pretty predictable.

-RATING-
⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 stars
Not for me, but I can understand why others enjoy it.

-SIMILAR RECOMMENDED READS-
If You Tell (true crime)
The Sound of Gravel (memoir)
Sadie (young adult)

4 STARS

In the tradition of her acclaimed mother, Ann Rule, author of The Stranger Beside Me, bestselling author Leslie Rule delivers a riveting true story for our time--as she exposes the years-long trail of a sadistic sociopath, identity thief, and killer at the dark heart of a real-life fatal attraction . . .

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NOTE: My rating is based on both the mind blowing aspects of the case (5 STARS!) as well as my enjoyment of Rule's writing style (3.5 stars).

It's stories like A TANGLED WEB that convince me that life truly IS stranger than fiction! This book is a wild ride and I kept on having to put it down and come to terms with the fact that I was reading TRUE crime. Seriously, the story is that bizarre.

Rule eloquently lays out the events of this incredible case, detailing the background and history of all those involved. Although this was necessary for the reader to completely understand the story, it did get to the point where the information was a bit overwhelming! There were also several times I needed to go back and re-read paragraphs because the narrative jumped around quite a bit and left me confused. However, I could tell that Rule was deeply dedicated to the case and it was obvious she left no stone unturned in the writing of this book.

Highly recommended for fans of true crime, jaw dropping stories and anyone who enjoyed her mother's books.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for my ARC - you can read this one for yourself on April 28th!

Apparently, if the reader gets far enough, the reader will find this to be a story of misunderstanding, danger and murder. I didn't get that far though, because after quite a few pages I lost interest. What we learn in those pages is that the protagonist is a guy who has two kids but never married the mother. Now he's out running around because he's tired of the mother of his kids. But wait. He's not looking for a more suitable woman. He isn't interested in a commitment.
He expects the females he encounters to understand this, yet not be the type who invite him in and jump his bones. I'm not interested in this man's mental confusion. So predictably, he does meet a woman who gets more attached to him that he desires.
. At this point I checked out. I am very bored with this premise and I can't make myself care about what happens next. The protagonist is not admirable, mature or lovable and the woman is crazy.
I really appreciate the opportunity to read this book for Citadel Press and I'm sorry I can't give a better review. My opinion is only worth something, though, if it's honest.
I wish Leslie Rule had chosen another case to write about.

3 stars
This is a fascinating story. Leslie Rule has managed to write a spellbinding account of the horrors these victims went through from murder, stalking, vandalism, fire, and more and it lasted for years. Rule has a knack for true crime just as her mother Ann Rule did.
My only negative about this book is the improper naming of some of the locales where this all played out. I am from this area. The county is Pottawattamie County not Pott County. The school is Westside (one word) not two. If these minor details are wrong, what else did Rule get wrong?
True crime enthusiasts will appreciate this story even if some of the details are incorrect.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. The views given are my own.