First Lady Of Murder - by Cathy Scott (Hardcover)

About the Book

The shocking, intimate story behind Ann Rule, the woman who transformed true crime forever. Before she became a true crime legend, Ann Rule was hiding secrets of her own.

Book Synopsis

The real Ann Rule biography written by a friend: Brilliant, driven, and deeply complicated. Untold Story of America's Queen of True Crime.

Ann Rule became America's queen of true crime by doing what few writers could: stepping past headlines, police reports, and courtroom drama to ask the deeper question. Why?

In FIRST LADY OF MURDER, acclaimed true crime author Cathy Scott turns that same investigative eye on Rule herself, revealing the complicated, driven, fiercely human woman behind THE STRANGER BESIDE ME, SMALL SACRIFICES, and a body of work that changed crime writing forever. Drawing on years of research, interviews, and Scott's own friendship with Rule, this deeply reported biography traces Ann's journey from a sheriff's granddaughter and would-be police officer to one of the most influential crime writers of her time.

But this is more than the story of a literary career. It is the story of ambition, loyalty, rivalry, heartbreak, reinvention, and the personal cost of building a public identity around the darkest acts human beings can commit. Rich with new detail and hard-won insight, FIRST LADY OF MURDER offers the most intimate portrait yet of a woman millions of readers thought they knew. They did not know the whole story. Until now.

Review Quotes

Gregg Olsen, New York Times bestselling author of A Twisted Faith (St. Martin's Press, 2010): "In First Lady of Murder, bestselling author Cathy Scott takes a searing look at the life and techniques of Ann Rule, a woman who single-handedly reinvented a maligned literary genre by putting the focus on the impact of violent crime on the people she wrote about, rather than the perpetrators."

Suzy Spencer, New York Times bestselling author of The Fortune Hunter (Diversion Books, 2015): "Ann Rule called Cathy Scott a 'star in the crowded field of true crime.' With First Lady of Murder, Scott proves Rule was right."

Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of New York Times bestseller, The Poisoner's Handbook (Penguin Books, 2011): "First Lady of Murder, Cathy Scott investigates the story of one of our most mysterious American authors, the true-crime writer Ann Rule. It's an astonishingly addictive tale of public fame and homicidal secrecy, generosity and betrayal, all the complexities that make our very best books. In other words, don't miss it."

Dennis McDougal (died in March 2025), New York Times bestselling author, with his latest Citizen Wynn (Rare Bird Books, May 2025): "Cathy Scott's First Lady of Murder is a must-read deep dive into Ann Rule's life experiences, motivations, and impact, and the complexities are revealed in this thought-provoking biography."

Kathryn Casey, award-winning author of In Plain Sight (William Morrow, 2018): "A seasoned journalist, Cathy Scott has done the hard work to paint a complete picture of the queen of true crime. Ann would have wanted nothing less."

Burl Barer, Edgar Award-winning author and New York Times bestselling author of Murder in the Family (Pinnacle Books, 2000): "Cathy Scott's comprehensive biography of Ann Rule's life and career is a master class in journalistic ethics-an unwavering dedication to integrity tempered with empathy. Unraveling the dichotomy of Ann Rule, a trailblazer, is handled with insight and compassion by perhaps the one woman equal to the task. Ann would praise this fair, accurate, and insightful book as a compelling read as any of Rule's best books."

John L. Smith, Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame author of Running Scared (Da Capo Press, 2001): "In a wicked smart matching of writer and subject, author Cathy Scott takes on the life and legend of the queen of true crime. In The Stranger Beside Her, Scott uses hundreds of interviews and sources to tell Ann Rule's undeniably colorful and somewhat shocking story. Rule's rise from tabloid police writer to bestselling author with a cult following of superfans is filled with plot twists worthy of one of her true-crime thrillers. This latest addition to Scott's growing bookshelf promises to be a big hit."