I was excited to read this book by Leslie Rule. It was her first true crime book. I know she has had several other books that I have heard are very good. This book was excellent! Her writing is very good  I really liked the way she told the story and the facts of the case. She was so empathetic to the victim and all of her family and loved ones. I hope she writes more  true crime books. I recommend this book highly!!!

It must be a difficult task to follow in a famous mother's footsteps but Ann Rule's daughter does a credible job as an author of a true-crime book. This kept my interest.

I have always loved her mother’s books, Leslie Rule didn’t disappoint me either! This was the first book I read of hers. I will be reading more. 

I loved this book and all the details that went with it. I would definitely recommend this book.

This is a true story written by Leslie Rule ... daughter of Ann Rule.  My mom was a big fan of true crime and Ann Rule was her favorite author. And because my mom read it, so did I .. under her very close attention.  

An everyday man who wants just a casual relationship falls prey to a woman who wants way more than he is prepared to give.   When he finally tires of her efforts to rope him in, he decides to date someone else.

And this is where her obsession was born. She's eaten up with jealousy ... and a stalker was born.  He and his new girlfriend receive death threats, vandalism, but no one was charged.  How does she get his phone number even moments after he has it changed?  

The threats were vicious, vile and often obscene, sent mostly via text and always in the old girlfriend's name.  There was some truth in the messages, but all of them contained one big lie.  This stalker had already killed once and was prepared to do so again.  He has received 12,000 emails and texts during a 3-year period.

It's a breath-taking journey through a sociopath's twisted mind to the deadly deception and the high-tech forensics that condemned the killer to prison.

Very well written showing this author's meticulous research into this case.  Hard to put down for any reason, it was riveting from start to finish.  

In this day and age of internet and social media and even cell phones, this could possibly happen to anyone.  Some things will never change.  The better our technology becomes, the more some people will go to any length to cause havoc and chaos.

Many thanks to the author / Kensington Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this true crime.  Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

FASCINATING true crime story! Crazy women are always interesting and this girl takes the cake. Some parts of the book seemed irrelevant to the story but overall this was so interesting. The author clearly cares very much about this case and does a great job showing how twisted and evil this villain is. True crime is not a genre I typically read but I can't turn down a scorned woman story!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of A Tangled Web by Leslie Rule.

Usually when I read my ARC, I don't look the book up or read a synapses like I usually do.  It is fun to go into it a bit unawares, and I am often surprised by the outcome.

This looked to me like a typical thriller, the kind of book I read a lot, which is great!  I love a fast paced suspense novel.  But instead I got a true crime tale that, if written as a fictional thriller would be too outrageous to even be believed.

When Liz meets Dave on a widely used dating app, Dave makes it very clear that he's not looking for anything serious.  He doesn't want commitment, he doesn't want monogamy, a fact that is very difficult for Liz to accept.  But Dave is good with his word when he starts dating Cari, a busy single mother who is also in the market to casually date.  But one day Cari disappears completely, leaving a strange text to Dave, demanding that he stay out of her life forever.

Dave is sad, but not necessarily broken about it.  He still has Liz, he still has his dating apps.  But Cari isn't done with the texting, she is just getting started.  For years Cari sends thousands of threatening and upsetting texts to Dave, Liz, and so many people that come into either of their lives.  How could Dave have ever known how unhinged Cari was?  And how far will she go?

I was instantly pulled into this story, it was absolutely bananas.  While I'm pretty sure I've seen a documentary about it already, the author does a great job really breaking down the characters, certain phenomenons that allowed for the stalking and bullying to happen for so long, as well as backgrounds to each person.  Usually I turn to podcasts and 20/20 to quench my true crime thirst, but Leslie Rule knocked this one out of the park.  I hope she writes more in kind.

Truth is stranger than fiction. Though it is very detailed on the cyber / digital / phone stalking, as well as the various romantic / obsessive entanglements, and the conjectures and assumptions as to how the murder took place, the book makes zero mention of any education Shanna 'Liz' Golyar may have had and I was left mystified as to her knowledge of apps and IPSs and VPNs and cat-phishing! - which is central to the entire craziness - where did she find out how to do all of it, did she google search this stuff or did her IT technician 'boyfriend' of 5 years answered some of her 'innocent' questions! The book also does not mention what if any education her kids were getting and what kind of parent she was. It is also obvious that Golyar and her kin did not grant any interview to the author and the book suffers because of it. 

I also thought Ms. Rule's emphasis on nature versus nurture theory in trying to understand her crimes / actions was a bit OTP ridiculous (pgs. 182-191) and her 'biological family' who did not even see her for 40 years had more to say on their past than the foster family who raised / fed her. Golyar's mother had 2 sons from her first relationship and another son with Golyar's father and yet no mention is made of any of these brothers and whether Golyar remained in touch with any of them.

The given facts were all extremely crazy to digest and hard to believe. Two weeks of casual dating with a man got a woman killed and nobody knows how but the trail of stalking is horrifying and clinically deduced!

The book has no pictures or maps.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

A Tangled Web
A Cyberstalker, a Deadly Obsession, and the Twisting Path to Justice.
by Leslie Rule


 Kensington Books 
Citadel
 Nonfiction (Adult)  |  True Crime 
Pub Date 28 Apr 2020


Leslie Rule is the daughter of “America’s Best Crime Writer.” Ann Rule, and now we are going to get to meet her daughter, and the heiress of her legacy. 




Cari Lea Farver vanished from Omaha, Nebraska, on a bleak day in November of 2012.  She was a thirty seven year old woman, who was a Mother devoted to her children,  a reliable employee and a loyal friend.  She was not one to shirk her responsibilities,  abandon her son, and run off on an adventure while her dying father took his last breaths.Yet, the many texts from her phone indicated she had done just that.






From appearances, it seemed that Cari, had decided to dump her boyfriend and quit her new job as well as to give custody of her son to her Mom, and all by text, but from the start something felt off.   Cari’s boyfriend, Dave Kroupa as well as her boss took the texts as legit, despite the fact they felt a little odd about them.  And they were bewildered about her sudden disappearance.  Nancy Raney (Cari’s Mother) however was alarmed and was the one who reported her missing.  Police were however skeptical of Nancy’s claims that a cyber impostor had commandeered her daughter’s phone and online identity.





Nancy was afraid for Cari, but Dave Kroupa was becoming afraid of Cari, because he believed she was stalking him.  The stalker was never seen or heard but had become aware of every move, and seemed obsessed over Shanna “Liz” Golyar, often calling her “a fat whore” in the twelve thousand emails and texts he received in a disturbing three-year deluge.






It was hard to figure out how the Stalker could know Dave’s phone numbers, right after they were changed, or how he knew the names of his female friends, even the shows he watched on television.  Dave and Liz reported death threats, vandalism, and burglaries, but the stalker remained at large.  The threats they received were vicious, vile and far to often obscene sent mostly via text and always in Cari’s name. There was some truth in the messages, but all of them contained one big lie. The culprit was not Cari, but had killed and planned to kill again.






Leslie Rule has written a powerful True Crime book, one that I am sure her Mother Ann Rule would have been proud of.




I am reviewing a copy of A Tangled Web five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

Thank you, Netgalley and Kensington Books for allowing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I love true crime books,, Leslie Rule's A Tangled Web is one of the most fascinating true-crime I have read A true story of the 2012 missing person case of Cari Farver,  This book is fast-paced read that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. A Cyberstalker, a Deadly Obsession, and the Twisting Path to Justice. 
Dave recently divorced decides to join an online dating service. He makes it well known that he is not looking for a serious or committed relationship. He mets several women some he is attracted to other just doesn't have the spark. Dave wants to live the single life after being married for many years. He soon meets Cari and he is attracted to her and they have some fun dates,  When Cari Farver is reported missing after spending time with Dave, he and another lady Liz he is dating start to receive thousands of harassing emails and texts. This case happened in a small town with the stalker playing ghost until getting caught  by the same trap the murder set up to bring in victims. It's a crazy story and the entire case feels like it's not something real, something that only happens in fiction. I would highly recommend this book to those that love true crime stories.

As a huge true crime lover I am surprised that I actually hadn’t heard of this case before. It was well written but with some grammatical errors, but that doesn’t really bother me at all. It was a fascinating story told well for a first time true crime author, even if it is in her blood. I will definitely recommend this to true crime fans!

I was very excited to hear of this book written by one of my favourite true crime authors. She kept me engaged and turning the pages. This book was compelling and I cant wait till she writes some more books.

Leslies style is similar to her mothers. However she has her own distinctive fare in her writing. Great book. People forget how quickly social sites could turn deadly.

I've never read Leslie Rule before but I was a big fan of her mother Ann's so I thought I would check her out. She clearly learned a lot from her mom and it shows in this book. Well-written, taut, and suspenseful, I was unable to put it down. Newer technology like cell phones and the internet have added a new element to stalking and crime in general.  To know that people will go to such lengths to destroy other people's lives, well, it's frightening. This book lays out the whole case in intricate and chilling detail. I'm looking forward to reading whatever cases Leslie Rule covers in the future.

This is a true story written by the daughter of the famous author of True Crime books, Ann Rule.  Leslie is truly following in her mother’s footsteps.  This is the story of a cyberstalker, a love triangle and a murder.  It takes place in Omaha NE and surrounds around 2012.  It is a true story that was all over the newspapers and has been dramatized by several true crime programs on TV.  

The author gives great details of all the happenings and subsequent investigations.  She did her research well and that makes this a very intriguing story and will be a must read for all True Crime readers.  

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley.  All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. 

Leslie Rule is def her mother's daughter.  She writes with the same passion and intensity as her mother.   This wasn't a story I was familiar with but you better believe that I went and researched this case.  
Rule puts in the same effort that her mother did and pay attention to every little detail.  She puts the readers in the middle of the story.  THis was an intense read and I hope its not her last true crime story!

Relentless Terror In A True Crime Story!

Dave Kroupa is a mechanic and a recently divorced father of two who wants to wade his feet in the single life and decides to join a few of the online dating sites.   Dave first meets Liz and they enjoy each others company but Dave does not want to get serious and wants to date other women but Liz wants a commitment plus she has a jealous streak and Dave doesn't want all the drama.   Along comes very pretty Cari Lea Farber and they seem to hit it off right away even though Liz is still trying to hold onto Dave.   Cari and Dave are seeing quite a bit of one another until Cari just up and leaves town without telling Dave or her friends and family.   She quits her job and leaves her son without a goodbye.  Soon after, Dave starts receiving horrible text messages from Cari blaming him for ruining her life and calling him vicious names and then at the same time she tells him how much she loves him.   Dave doesn't know what to make of this or how Cari continues to have access to his personal information after he gets new phone numbers and blocks her online but she continues to access all his online information and sends hundreds of harrassing texts daily so he continues to date other people including Liz and then the women he is seeing start getting text threats and they are reaching a violent level, so Dave goes to the police and the police are baffled since they can't track Cari down while months and months go by and every woman that Dave dates is a potential stalking victim of Cari and as the threats become more violent and sinister the detectives are frustrated and have tried everything to find Cari and put an end to this cyberstalking nightmare before Cari can carry out any of her murderous threats.

This book was wonderful in every way.   Mesmerizing with great writing and terrific storytelling that had me on the edge of my seat and biting my fingernails at the same time.   This story was so crazy that I had to remember it wasn't fiction but a true crime novel.   That was the most frightening thing of all that this was a true story about a sociopath who was able to use the internet as a vicious weapon and as a result many, many victims were terrorized by an unseen monster who created paralyzing fear in almost every person who had the unfortunate timing of crossing Dave Kroupa's path.

I have always been a big fan of Ann Rule who was my favorite true crime author and I couldn't wait wait to see how her daughter's writing would compare.   Leslie Rule has definitely made her mother proud with "A Tangled Web" and I am looking forward to many more true crime stories to be written by her.   I enjoyed the forward that gave a lovely dedication to her mother and I truly appreciated now she included many pictures at the end of the book starring the key players who were so I intricately involved within this absolutely crazy nightmare of a true story.

I want to thank the publisher "Kensington Booms" and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity of reading this marvelous book and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I highly recommend to any true crime reader or crime story reader or anyone who just wants to read an incredible and incredulous story and have given this book 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Cyberstalking Nightmare Stars!!

Very well written account of a most intriguing, sinister, and twisted cyber stalker. The narrative is chronological and details many events that transpired to end up in a conviction for murder. 

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to reading this book when I saw it was by Leslie Rule, Ann Rule's daughter. I wasn't disappointed it was a decent novel. I liked her writing style but at times I found parts dragged on.
This book has it all, murder, mystery, stalking, identity theft, cat-phishing and more! The story itself is absolutely terrifying as it can honestly happen to anyone. We are all constantly on social media, on the internet it is one of our main staples in our lives. 
As the reader you do get very frustrated sometimes as to how the men in the book are literally so naïve but as the author notes they were masterfully manipulated by a pretty face and it was easy to see from the outside looking in, but not so much when you're neck deep in it. Shanna "Liz" Golyar is a very sick woman and the horrors she inflicted on the people she encountered is truly tragic.
I found the book to be descriptive and as previously mentioned, dragged on in spots but then the book ended so abruptly I felt as the reader we missed out at the end. 
For her first true crime novel I think Ms. Rule did a good job and I look forward to reading more of this genre from her.

A Tangled Web: A Cyberstalker, a Deadly Obsession, and the Twisting Path to Justice by Leslie Rule  is an exciting, fast-paced read that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. I could not put this book down. I love true crime stories and this is one is excellent. Leslie Rule has written several books so she is not a new author and her writing shows her skills.  This is her first true crime book and she rocked this one.  Leslie's mom is Ann Rule the queen of true crime writing and I think she would be very proud of this book. I highly recommend this book too all, but especially fans of true crime, Ann Rule and Leslie Rule will all find this well written book worth reading. Thank you NetGalley, Citadel Press, and Leslie Rule for providing me with an advanced reader copy.

I think the main reason people requested this book is because of Ann Rule. I see the similarities but it has a modern edge that separates Leslie Rule from Ann Rule. Worth checking out.