Publication Date: June 9, 2026
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.
Armed with a heightened sense of curiosity about criminals, Ann Rule built a legacy around humanizing the victims through immersion journalism.
Author Cathy Scott draws upon interviews and extensive research to craft First Lady of Murder. The end result is a biography that celebrates the famed writer’s successes while delving into her relationships with others, including with her biographer.
Tracing the family’s history with law enforcement offers key insight behind Ann’s motivation. However, the juicy details center around a co-worker at the suicide hotline where she volunteered—with none other than Ted Bundy.
Rather than a typical “feel good” story, though, the author digs beneath the surface to illustrate the private person underneath the public persona. It also analyzes the bestselling book Ann wrote featuring Bundy and the lingering questions about his double life.
Through a career marked by giving a voice to victims, being publicly called a liar by a prominent newspaper signaled a troubling footnote in Ann’s legacy.
First Lady of Murder sheds light on the woman who tiptoed along the line between friendship and exploitation in order to focus on the victim.
Cathy Scott is a veteran American crime writer, investigative journalist, and bestselling author known for her in-depth reporting on high-profile criminal cases. Born in San Diego, she developed a passion for storytelling early, working on her high school yearbook. After working for San Diego newspapers, she moved to the Las Vegas Sun in 1993, where she established herself as a true crime writer. Her first book, The Killing of Tupac Shakur, was published in 1997 and became a bestseller. She then investigated the murder of Biggie Smalls, gaining recognition in the crowded true crime field. Scott has authored or co-authored 12 books on murder cases, forensics, and legal stories, including Murder of a Mafia Daughter and The Millionaire’s Wife. For four months, she covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which led to her book Pawprints of Katrina. Her early military reporting took her to Saudi Arabia, Panama, and war-torn Somalia. Scott taught journalism at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for five years and writes about crime and forensics for Psychology Today. She frequently appears as a TV expert on national TV news shows. Based in Southern California, she continues to write, investigate, and speak at events, living in the mountains with her three rescue dogs in a historic mining town.
