Reviews
                     From Kirkus Reviews , November 1, 1992
                     Here, as in Small Sacrifices (1987), Rule (If You Really Loved Me,
                     1991, etc.) re-creates the compelling story of a woman hellbent on
                     gratification and devoid of conscience. No one is allowed to hinder
                     Patricia Allanson's determination to become a mid-20th- century Scarlett
                     O'Hara, complete with a heavily mortgaged Tara and an adoring Rhett.
                     Raised by her socially ambitious mother and spit-and-polish Army colonel
                     stepfather, ``Pat'' demands constant attention and unqualified love.
                     Married early to an Army sergeant by whom she has three children, she
                     eventually tires of her GI existence and sets off to find wealth and
                     excitement. Pat soon gets engaged to Tom Allanson, a gentle giant six
                     years her junior; at their wedding, the couple are dressed as Margaret
                     Mitchell's hero and heroine. Tom's family disapproves of his new wife's
                     flamboyant ways, and the situation between his family and
                     hers--exacerbated by Pat's unsubstantiated complaints of sexual
                     harassment by her father-in- law--becomes increasingly violent until the
                     elder Allansons are murdered and Tom is accused of the killings. Pat
                     insists on directing the defense; Tom is convicted and sentenced to life.
                     Pat then turns her attention to Tom's remaining family, ingratiating herself
                     with his invalid grandparents. When she's certain that their wills name her
                     as a major beneficiary, she begins lacing their food with arsenic. But
                     before she can kill them, she's caught--and does eight years for attempted
                     murder. Released and apparently reformed, she's hired as a practical
                     nurse by a rich Atlanta couple. The aged pair soon sickens; the husband
                     dies, and Pat is convicted of attempted murder and theft. Today, she's
                     serving time. Rule climaxes her narrative with a moving interview with the
                     now-released Tom, and with stunning suggestions of how Pat engineered
                     the killing of her husband's parents. A headlong plunge into the depths of
                     a sociopathic mind, told with a master's hand. (Photographs--24 pp.
                     b&w--not seen.) -- Copyright (C)1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All
                     rights reserved. --This text refers to the paperback edition of this
                     title

                     Synopsis
                     From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ann Rule, a true story of
                     obsessive love, murder, and betrayal. A series of brilliantly manipulated
                     crimes brings two families to ruin, and at the center of it all is a sociopath
                     whose evil hides behind her soft words and gentle manners. To be the
                     subject of a two-hour ABC-TV miniseries. 32-page insert.

                     Synopsis
                     This portrait of Pat Allanson, a seemingly proper Southern belle, reveals a
                     sociopath with a history of misguided love, denial, and guilt who
                     destroyed those closest to her. By the author of Small Sacrifices.
                     Reprint. K. PW. NYT.

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                     Customer Comments
                     Average Customer Review:  Number of Reviews: 5

                     [email protected] from Atlanta, Georgia , May 18, 1998

                     Hardly a "Nice Southern Family"
                     I have just finished the book, and although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I have
                     to disagree with Ann Rule's description of the characters as people from
                     fine, southern families. These are and were common, low class, trashy
                     people. They would be less than "nobodys" in any town, much less an old
                     southern town. The story was intriguing, but misleading. These people
                     would be the equivolent of "Jerry Springer" guests. Since when does a
                     military background characterize one as "fine?" If you readers could see
                     the actual locations in which these events took place, now AND then, it
                     would not be hard to understand my point. And what "refined, Southern
                     family" has multiple women bearing children out of wedlock before the
                     age of 15? Puuuullleaze! The people depicted in this book are common
                     trash, which is fine. But let's not mistake people who own a few horses
                     and who purchase some land in an undesirable location as lovely.

                     A reader from Denver , April 17, 1998
                     Captivating Ann Rule story of the ultimate sociopath
                     The most horrific, conniving, controlling, murderous, childish, sick person
                     I have ever read about. Ann Rule is excellent in plotting the story of a truly
                     heinous pathetic soul as Pat. Her enabling, sad parents and family
                     members are to also be responsible for allowing such appalling behavior
                     to continue. Pat would destroy anyone who was in her way, including her
                     own children and grandchildren. There was absolutely no one who was
                     exempt. The pain caused to her own parents was another devious act.
                     She would keep her imprisoned husband from his only family; she would
                     keep a small son from his sick mother (Pat's daughter); she would keep a
                     dying old man from his beloved wife. etc. After serving prison time, and
                     released, it was shocking to learn that she would include one of her
                     daughters into her life of crime and deceit AGAIN. But fortunately, one
                     daughter had the tenacity and courage to report her back to authorities.
                     Family members become enablers and someone should have stopped her
                     long ago, before innocent people are hurt.

                     A reader from Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii , April 2, 1998
                     I was stunned by the shocking end to a fairy tale life.
                     This story revolves around Pat, the beloved daughter of well-to-do
                     Colonel and Mrs. Radcliffe and the cherished wife of handsome, devoted,
                     hard working Tom Allanson. Pat lives the fairy tale life of Scarlet O'hara
                     near Atlanta, Georgia complete with plantation estate, horses and her
                     caring family near-by. However, all this was not enough for Pat. She
                     feigned fainting spells to get attention, used her charms to manipulate Tom
                     and others to do her bidding and pretended to be a lady when in fact she
                     was a cold-hearted, coniving demon. It all reads like a Harlequin novel,
                     until the reader comes to the centerfold and views the photographs of Pat
                     and Tom's real-life families, and the prison photos of Pat and Tom taken
                     at the Fulton County jail and Jackson Prison, respectively. The richly
                     detailed account of what brought Tom to commit murder, and Pat to
                     commit aggravated assault with intent to murder gives this novel a high
                     rating. Talented Anne Rule deftly describes the true life drama of Pat and
                     Tom, their deceptive and nerotic co-dependancy, and desperation for
                     approval and control. This is a story of how a potentially good life went
                     terribly wrong. The full explanation of Pat and Tom's behaviors are not
                     revealed until the final pages of the book. In the "Afterward" Pat's
                     psychological condition of "Munchausen Syndrome" is explained. In the
                     "Update" an episode of Tom's boyhood relationship with his dominating
                     and demeaning father is revealed. It is not until all the pieces of this
                     tragedy are told, that the full story of damaged lives caused by Pat's
                     psychological illness is understood. Learning about this form of destructive
                     psychological behavior makes "Everything She Ever Wanted" an
                     important read.
 


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