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In the Still of the Night

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In the Still of the Night

By: Ann Rule
Narrated by: Barbara Caruso
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About this listen

 From true crime legend Ann Rule comes this riveting story of a young woman whose life ended too soon—and a determined mother’s eleven-year crusade to clear her daughter’s name.

It was nine days before Christmas 1998, and thirty-two-year-old Ronda Reynolds was getting ready to travel from Seattle to Spokane to visit her mother and brother and grandmother before the holidays. Ronda’s second marriage was dissolving after less than a year, her career as a pioneering female Washington State Trooper had ended, but she was optimistic about starting over again. "I’m actually looking forward to getting on with my life," she told her mother earlier the night before. "I just need a few days with you guys." Barb Thompson, Ronda’s mother, who had met her daughter’s second husband only once before, was just happy that Ronda was coming home.

At 6:20 that morning, Ron Reynolds called 911 and told the dispatcher his wife was dead. She had committed suicide, he said, although he hadn’t heard the gunshot and he didn’t know if she had a pulse. EMTs arrived, detectives arrived, the coroner’s deputy arrived, and a postmortem was conducted. Lewis County Coroner Terry Wilson, who neither visited the death scene nor attended the autopsy, declared the manner of Ronda’s death as "undetermined." Over the next eleven years, Coroner Wilson would change that manner of death from "undetermined" to "suicide," back to "undetermined"—and then back to "suicide" again.

But Barb Thompson never for one moment believed her daughter committed suicide. Neither did Detective Jerry Berry or ballistics expert Marty Hayes or attorney Royce Ferguson or dozens of Ronda’s friends. For eleven grueling years, through the ups and downs of the legal system and its endless delays, these people and others helped Barb Thompson fight to strike that painful word from her daughter’s death certificate.

On November 9, 2009, a precedent-setting hearing was held to determine whether Coroner Wilson’s office had been derelict in its duty in investigating the death of Ronda Reynolds. Veteran true-crime writer Ann Rule was present at that hearing, hoping to unbraid the tangled strands of conflicting statements and mishandled evidence and present all sides of this haunting case and to determine, perhaps, what happened to Ronda Reynolds, in the chill still of that tragic December night. Murder True Crime Marriage Crime Exciting
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the combination of Rule and Caruso is just perfect. I love Ann Rule's work and I'm glad to see she's still popular.

still the best true crime writer (imol

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Love Ann Rule. Brilliant book. Wonderful narration by the amazing Barbara Caruso.
Boy did I get mad and cry then smile and laugh through this.

Best True Crime Author

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I've always enjoyed Ann Rule's work and In the Still of the Night is another solid example of her ability to dig deep into real crime and emotion. The case itself is fascinating, and her attention to detail really pulls you in at the start.

However, about two thirds of the way through, I found my attention slipping. It started to feel like some of the information and reflections were repeating themselves, which slowed the pace and made it drag a little.

Still, it's an interesting read with Rule's signature compassion and insight into human behaviour. Worth reading if you enjoy true crime, just be prepared for a few slower sections.

Suicide or murder? You decide.

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Brilliant Performance and exciting storey ! 👍👍👍narrator was excellent and held one’s concentration ! Could not stop listening

Overall /Performance / Storey excellent storey well narrated well narrated

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Again this book is audible and lets me get to do my running around and listening to my IPOD and even can put them on my Windows Nokia Lumia. I am thankful somebody invented Audiobooks as my diabetes has started affecting my eyesight and was hindered to reading the so now as I say I am thankful for the invention of Audiobooks, I would wait as long as necessary to wait for Ann Rule's books. P.s a little note nobody else captures my attention at all times, edge of your seat stuff .......thank you

What was one of the most memorable moments of In the Still of the Night?

I Haven't started this yet but will write a comment here when finished

What about Barbara Caruso’s performance did you like?

again not read yet

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

again TBA

Any additional comments?

TBA

This is as per usual her very best work

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