Small Sacrifices by Ann Rule

Small Sacrifices (Signet True Crime Paperback, First Signet Printing)

Ann Rule's Gripping True Account of the Diane Downs Case, the Oregon Murder Story Later Filmed for Television

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Small Sacrifices: A True Story of Passion and Murder
• Author: Ann Rule
• Publisher: Signet (New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.), New York
• Publication Date: 1988
• ISBN-10: 0451166604
• Edition Details: First Signet Printing, July 1988, mass-market paperback edition of the 1987 Dutton hardcover. Signet True Crime series.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated paper wrappers, perfect bound.
• Physical Format: Mass market paperback, approximately 180 x 110 mm. Includes 8 pages of photographs.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Good (G)
• Exterior / Wraps: The glossy illustrated front cover is clean and bright with no obvious wear. The spine shows a vertical crease running the length near the top and a white break line across the lower spine through the title, with some whitening at the edges. The spine wear is honestly visible and consistent with a read copy.
• Interior: The text block is intact and tight with no loose pages. The paper is evenly toned cream to yellowish, as expected of an older mass market paperback. No markings are present in the pages examined.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Small Sacrifices: A True Story of Passion and Murder recounts the case of Diane Downs, an Oregon mother who drove her three wounded children to hospital in Springfield, Oregon, and blamed a stranger for the shooting. Police and a district attorney came to suspect that she was responsible.

Ann Rule traces the family history behind the case, including abuse, affairs and a desperate wish for motherhood, building a detailed portrait of how the tragedy came about. Drawing on her background as a former police officer, she brings an investigator's eye to the evidence and the people involved.

The book was a major success in the true-crime genre and was adapted as a 1989 American television film. Rule received a Peabody Award for the television adaptation. This is the Signet paperback of the 1987 Dutton hardcover, a solid collectible copy of one of the best-known titles in her catalogue.

Author Profile: Ann Rule

Ann Rule (1931-2015) was an American true-crime writer, often called the Queen of True Crime. A former Seattle police officer, she drew on that firsthand experience in her books. She became a full-time writer in 1969 after working as a stringer under the name Andy Stack.

Her debut true-crime book, The Stranger Beside Me (1980), concerns her relationship with Ted Bundy. By her death she had written more than 30 books and an estimated 1,400 newspaper and magazine articles. Other notable works include Green River, Running Red and Practice to Deceive.