DEAD BY SUNSET

With the savvy of a law enforcement insider and a fiction writer’s perception, Ann Rule calls upon court documents and witness testimony to weave a nightmarish story that begins with the brutal murder of Cheryl Keeton in 1986. Charismatic con-artist Bradley Cunningham, Keeton’s ex-husband, is the prime suspect. Through Rule’s exhaustive psychological retrospective, Cunningham emerges as a sadistic, maladaptive depressive, whose dark side is eventually exposed. Narrator Richard Ferrone’s sexy, intimate reading style is hypnotic as Cunningham seduces, then marries each of five women. Metamorphosing from a charming, courtly lover, Cunningham becomes a different man, and Ferrone’s performance mesmerizes. Cunningham berates and brutalizes his wives and daughters and imposes cruel, militaristic discipline upon his sons. Yet Ferrone’s nuanced reconstruction of events makes understandable why even smart women would fall for this monster. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 04]