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Saving Annie #1
The Fall
Book One In A New True Crime Series From The New York Times Bestselling Author Of Monster And No Stone Unturned
In March 2009, pretty, vivacious Rhonda Casto plunged to her death from a 300-foot cliff in the Oregon woods. The only witness, Stephen Nichols, the father of her nine-month-old baby, Annie, told police investigators she slipped and fell.
Yet, Nichols’ story didn’t quite mesh with the facts. And some of his other actions raised suspicions as well, including just days after her death trying to collect on a million-dollar life insurance policy he’d taken out on his unemployed, 23-year-old girlfriend four months earlier. What had begun with a 911 call to report an accident, quickly turned into a homicide investigation.
However, in part due to lackluster police work, the case grew cold. Then in 2011, Dardie Robinson, a tenacious investigator with a Portland law firm began digging into the circumstances surrounding Rhonda's death. The law firm represented Rhonda’s mother, who believed that Nichols, 34 at the time, had murdered her daughter. She wanted to prevent him from gaining custody of Annie and the life insurance money.
What Robinson discovered, including an attempt by Nichols to throw his first wife off a high-rise balcony in China, as well as sexual abuse allegations with Rhonda's underaged sister, convinced her that Rhonda’s death was no accident. So began her six-year battle to ‘save Annie’ from her own father and find justice for Rhonda.
In the meantime, a parallel investigation into the case by co-authors Steve Jackson, an award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author, and private investigator Tom McCallum, posed the same questions. What really happened to Rhonda Casto on that cold, rainy afternoon on the Eagle Creek trail? And what would become of her child?
Book One--The Fallcovers the death of Rhonda Casto and the initial investigation up through Nichols' arrest for sexual assault on a minor nine months later.
In March 2009, pretty, vivacious Rhonda Casto plunged to her death from a 300-foot cliff in the Oregon woods. The only witness, Stephen Nichols, the father of her nine-month-old baby, Annie, told police investigators she slipped and fell.
Yet, Nichols’ story didn’t quite mesh with the facts. And some of his other actions raised suspicions as well, including just days after her death trying to collect on a million-dollar life insurance policy he’d taken out on his unemployed, 23-year-old girlfriend four months earlier. What had begun with a 911 call to report an accident, quickly turned into a homicide investigation.
However, in part due to lackluster police work, the case grew cold. Then in 2011, Dardie Robinson, a tenacious investigator with a Portland law firm began digging into the circumstances surrounding Rhonda's death. The law firm represented Rhonda’s mother, who believed that Nichols, 34 at the time, had murdered her daughter. She wanted to prevent him from gaining custody of Annie and the life insurance money.
What Robinson discovered, including an attempt by Nichols to throw his first wife off a high-rise balcony in China, as well as sexual abuse allegations with Rhonda's underaged sister, convinced her that Rhonda’s death was no accident. So began her six-year battle to ‘save Annie’ from her own father and find justice for Rhonda.
In the meantime, a parallel investigation into the case by co-authors Steve Jackson, an award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author, and private investigator Tom McCallum, posed the same questions. What really happened to Rhonda Casto on that cold, rainy afternoon on the Eagle Creek trail? And what would become of her child?
Book One--The Fallcovers the death of Rhonda Casto and the initial investigation up through Nichols' arrest for sexual assault on a minor nine months later.
- GenresTrue CrimeMystery
150 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 13, 2018
172 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Steve Jackson
19 books208 followers“He writes with both muscle and heart”—New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen
New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist Steve Jackson has written ten non-fiction books in true crime, history and biography genres; he has also written fourteen crime fiction thrillers for the long-running and Times bestselling "Butch Karp Series" in collaboration with former New York assistant district attorney Robert K. Tanenbaum.
He is currently in the process of writing three more contracted non-fiction books: ALL SECURE (Hachette), FINDING ANASTASIA (Potomac) and SAVING ANNIE (WildBlue Press), as well as working on a sequel to his bestseller NO STONE UNTURNED. He is also finishing a novel, ISLAND OF WOMEN. The publishers of his previous books include: HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Pinnacle, Atrium, De Capo, and WildBlue Press.
Steve is also the co-owner of indie publisher WildBlue Press (wildbluepress.com) with partner Michael Cordova. As of July 2018, WildBlue Press will have published more than 75 books by fifty authors in true crime, crime fiction, romance, history, current events, memoir and business genres after less than four years in business. Many of these books have become award-winning bestsellers, and several have been optioned for film and television productions.
The company is rapidly expanding both the number of authors and titles, and will be moving into other genres in the Summer and Fall of 2018.
His first non-fiction book, MONSTER, a true crime, was published in October 1998 and within two weeks became a New York Times bestseller. In 2003, his World War II dramatic narrative, LUCKY LADY, received The Colorado Book Award, best biography/history, from the Colorado Center for the Book; Lucky Lady was also the runner-up that year for the Admiral Samuel Morrison Naval History Award.
In June 2013, Jackson joined forensic investigative team NecroSearch International (the group featured in NO STONE UNTURNED) searching for the remains of the Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov in Perm, Russia as part of his research for an upcoming dramatic narrative history FINDING ANASTASIA.
Honored with NecroSearch membership in 2014, he and the team returned to Russia to continue the search in 2015, 2016, 2017 and will return to conclude their search in June 2018.
Born in 1955, Jackson grew up in Hawaii and Colorado. He graduated in 1979 from Colorado State University with a BA in Journalism.
A newspaper journalist for 25 years, he worked in locales as varied as Montana, Hawaii, Guam, Micronesia, Indonesia, Indiana, Washington D.C., Florida, Oregon and Colorado. During his career with newspapers, he received numerous national and regional awards for feature writing and investigative reporting.
Outside of writing, his interests include backpacking, fly fishing, skiing, guitar, reading, softball, music, wine, beer and spending time with his family and friends.
New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist Steve Jackson has written ten non-fiction books in true crime, history and biography genres; he has also written fourteen crime fiction thrillers for the long-running and Times bestselling "Butch Karp Series" in collaboration with former New York assistant district attorney Robert K. Tanenbaum.
He is currently in the process of writing three more contracted non-fiction books: ALL SECURE (Hachette), FINDING ANASTASIA (Potomac) and SAVING ANNIE (WildBlue Press), as well as working on a sequel to his bestseller NO STONE UNTURNED. He is also finishing a novel, ISLAND OF WOMEN. The publishers of his previous books include: HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Pinnacle, Atrium, De Capo, and WildBlue Press.
Steve is also the co-owner of indie publisher WildBlue Press (wildbluepress.com) with partner Michael Cordova. As of July 2018, WildBlue Press will have published more than 75 books by fifty authors in true crime, crime fiction, romance, history, current events, memoir and business genres after less than four years in business. Many of these books have become award-winning bestsellers, and several have been optioned for film and television productions.
The company is rapidly expanding both the number of authors and titles, and will be moving into other genres in the Summer and Fall of 2018.
His first non-fiction book, MONSTER, a true crime, was published in October 1998 and within two weeks became a New York Times bestseller. In 2003, his World War II dramatic narrative, LUCKY LADY, received The Colorado Book Award, best biography/history, from the Colorado Center for the Book; Lucky Lady was also the runner-up that year for the Admiral Samuel Morrison Naval History Award.
In June 2013, Jackson joined forensic investigative team NecroSearch International (the group featured in NO STONE UNTURNED) searching for the remains of the Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov in Perm, Russia as part of his research for an upcoming dramatic narrative history FINDING ANASTASIA.
Honored with NecroSearch membership in 2014, he and the team returned to Russia to continue the search in 2015, 2016, 2017 and will return to conclude their search in June 2018.
Born in 1955, Jackson grew up in Hawaii and Colorado. He graduated in 1979 from Colorado State University with a BA in Journalism.
A newspaper journalist for 25 years, he worked in locales as varied as Montana, Hawaii, Guam, Micronesia, Indonesia, Indiana, Washington D.C., Florida, Oregon and Colorado. During his career with newspapers, he received numerous national and regional awards for feature writing and investigative reporting.
Outside of writing, his interests include backpacking, fly fishing, skiing, guitar, reading, softball, music, wine, beer and spending time with his family and friends.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 5, 2019
* 3/5/2019 I am updating my review and changing my rating of this Series due to the last 2 "Books" not coming out in Nov & Dec 2018 to complete the story which is really lame in my opinion. There was no statement to say it was being delayed, nothing. Very disappointed. It's not often I'm made to regret a recommendation, but this is one of those times. No one wants half of the story, but that's what we've gotten.
________________________________
This book by authors Steve Jackson and Tom McCallum is the first part of the story of the mysterious death of Rhonda Casto in a fall from a 300-foot cliff in March 2009 in the woods of Oregon. The only person who was a witness to this event was her boyfriend, Stephen Nichols who also happened to be the benefactor of a very large insurance policy he’d recently taken out on her, and the father of her 9-month-old daughter Annie. He said she’d acted high and slipped and fell, that he’d found a way down, then after trying to swim upstream to get closer, he ended up going along the shore to get to her. He also claimed to have taken a 45-minute nap on top of her because of being so cold. He then said he’d given up after having attempted CPR on Casto then being overtaken by shivering and returning to his car to call for help.
Later, when the 2 SAR workers (search and rescue) arrived, the only route to get to Rhonda entailed going through mud that looked untouched and then over blackberry brambles. When they reached her body, the scene around her looked undisturbed, as did her position upon landing, which was in a fetal position on her side with her knees drawn tightly up to her chest. What blood there was had run directly down, indicating she hadn’t been moved. Because of all this, and comparing the scene to Nichols’ story, they found it hard to believe that he’d gotten to her at all, let alone tried to attend to her injuries or try to save her. No way could they imagine him taking a nap on top of her in her current position, or doing so and then putting her back into it. They took pictures and since it was becoming night, they decided they would return in the morning with a full team and equipment to bring her out since she was beyond help.
When the sheriff’s department notified Rhonda Casto’s family of her death, the family had already been trying to reach Mr. Nichols by phone and getting no answer for hours, had filed a missing person’s report. They let the sheriff’s department know that they suspected Mr. Nichols of being involved and that the hike had been planned for weeks. Also that he had recently taken out a very large life insurance policy on Ms. Casto. She had told someone that if she didn’t return that Mr. Nichols had killed her. This put a whole new light on things. The investigation gets a bit bogged down at that point, and the family wants to know what really happened on that cliff. Because it’s also looking like he’s got a thing for underage girls, and he’s lawyered up. Looking forward to Part Two. My thanks for the advance electronic copy that was provided by #netgalley, authors Steve Jackson & Tom McCallum, and the publisher for my fair review.
WildBlue Press
Pub: Sept. 13th, 2018
My blog Bookzone:
https://wordpress.com/post/bookblog20...
________________________________
This book by authors Steve Jackson and Tom McCallum is the first part of the story of the mysterious death of Rhonda Casto in a fall from a 300-foot cliff in March 2009 in the woods of Oregon. The only person who was a witness to this event was her boyfriend, Stephen Nichols who also happened to be the benefactor of a very large insurance policy he’d recently taken out on her, and the father of her 9-month-old daughter Annie. He said she’d acted high and slipped and fell, that he’d found a way down, then after trying to swim upstream to get closer, he ended up going along the shore to get to her. He also claimed to have taken a 45-minute nap on top of her because of being so cold. He then said he’d given up after having attempted CPR on Casto then being overtaken by shivering and returning to his car to call for help.
Later, when the 2 SAR workers (search and rescue) arrived, the only route to get to Rhonda entailed going through mud that looked untouched and then over blackberry brambles. When they reached her body, the scene around her looked undisturbed, as did her position upon landing, which was in a fetal position on her side with her knees drawn tightly up to her chest. What blood there was had run directly down, indicating she hadn’t been moved. Because of all this, and comparing the scene to Nichols’ story, they found it hard to believe that he’d gotten to her at all, let alone tried to attend to her injuries or try to save her. No way could they imagine him taking a nap on top of her in her current position, or doing so and then putting her back into it. They took pictures and since it was becoming night, they decided they would return in the morning with a full team and equipment to bring her out since she was beyond help.
When the sheriff’s department notified Rhonda Casto’s family of her death, the family had already been trying to reach Mr. Nichols by phone and getting no answer for hours, had filed a missing person’s report. They let the sheriff’s department know that they suspected Mr. Nichols of being involved and that the hike had been planned for weeks. Also that he had recently taken out a very large life insurance policy on Ms. Casto. She had told someone that if she didn’t return that Mr. Nichols had killed her. This put a whole new light on things. The investigation gets a bit bogged down at that point, and the family wants to know what really happened on that cliff. Because it’s also looking like he’s got a thing for underage girls, and he’s lawyered up. Looking forward to Part Two. My thanks for the advance electronic copy that was provided by #netgalley, authors Steve Jackson & Tom McCallum, and the publisher for my fair review.
WildBlue Press
Pub: Sept. 13th, 2018
My blog Bookzone:
https://wordpress.com/post/bookblog20...
September 13, 2018
3.5 Stars
In March 2009, pretty, vivacious Rhonda Casto plunged to her death from a 300-foot cliff in the Oregon woods. The only witness, Stephen Nichols, the father of her nine-month-old baby, Annie, told police investigators she slipped and fell.
Police didn't quite believe his story ... and neither did her family. Where the investigation goes and what the investigators discover puts a whole new light on what really happened.
Saving Annie is being published as a series of 4 books broken into distinct parts of the investigation.
Book One--The Fall covers the death of Rhonda Casto and the initial investigation up through an arrest.
Book Two--The Investigator will be released in October 2018.
Book Three--The Journalist and the PI will be released in November 2018.
Book Four--Case Closed will be published in December 2018.
Many thanks to the author / Wildblue Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this true crime. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
In March 2009, pretty, vivacious Rhonda Casto plunged to her death from a 300-foot cliff in the Oregon woods. The only witness, Stephen Nichols, the father of her nine-month-old baby, Annie, told police investigators she slipped and fell.
Police didn't quite believe his story ... and neither did her family. Where the investigation goes and what the investigators discover puts a whole new light on what really happened.
Saving Annie is being published as a series of 4 books broken into distinct parts of the investigation.
Book One--The Fall covers the death of Rhonda Casto and the initial investigation up through an arrest.
Book Two--The Investigator will be released in October 2018.
Book Three--The Journalist and the PI will be released in November 2018.
Book Four--Case Closed will be published in December 2018.
Many thanks to the author / Wildblue Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this true crime. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
October 2, 2018
3 and 1 / 2 stars
This book is based on a true story – true crime. It is also Book One of a four part series. I wish I had read the blurb on NetGalley more closely for I do not care for “part-ers.”
In 2009 a young woman named Rhonda Casto fell to her death from a cliff in the Oregon wilderness. She had a nine-month old daughter named Annie. Her partner, Stephen Nichols said that she slipped and fell.
The police don’t believe Stephen’s story and neither does Rhonda’s family. There were other suspicious facts surrounding the case as well, like trying to collect on a million dollar insurance payout just days after Rhonda’s death. The police were treating the death as a homicide.
Enter not only the police, but a private investigator for an attorney who was looking into the situation for Rhonda’s mother. Tempers flare as the police and the private investigator dig further into the case.
Book One is laying out the crime and introducing all of the main characters. Rhonda’s mother doesn’t want Stephen to get the insurance money and they definitely don’t want him to have custody of Annie. He has a murky history complete with violence and other assorted crimes to his name.
This is a very well researched and written book. I felt bad for Annie being stuck in the middle of the whole mess. I would like to see this series of books made into a mini-series for television. I’m sure it’d be great.
I want to thank NetGalley and WildBlue Press for forwarding to me a copy of this interesting and thought-provoking book for me to read, ponder and review.
This book is based on a true story – true crime. It is also Book One of a four part series. I wish I had read the blurb on NetGalley more closely for I do not care for “part-ers.”
In 2009 a young woman named Rhonda Casto fell to her death from a cliff in the Oregon wilderness. She had a nine-month old daughter named Annie. Her partner, Stephen Nichols said that she slipped and fell.
The police don’t believe Stephen’s story and neither does Rhonda’s family. There were other suspicious facts surrounding the case as well, like trying to collect on a million dollar insurance payout just days after Rhonda’s death. The police were treating the death as a homicide.
Enter not only the police, but a private investigator for an attorney who was looking into the situation for Rhonda’s mother. Tempers flare as the police and the private investigator dig further into the case.
Book One is laying out the crime and introducing all of the main characters. Rhonda’s mother doesn’t want Stephen to get the insurance money and they definitely don’t want him to have custody of Annie. He has a murky history complete with violence and other assorted crimes to his name.
This is a very well researched and written book. I felt bad for Annie being stuck in the middle of the whole mess. I would like to see this series of books made into a mini-series for television. I’m sure it’d be great.
I want to thank NetGalley and WildBlue Press for forwarding to me a copy of this interesting and thought-provoking book for me to read, ponder and review.
September 15, 2018
"Saving Annie: Book One" is one of the best true crime books that I have read in years. Best-selling author Steve Jackson investigates the sordid tale of Stephen Nichols' diabolical crime with surgical precision. The writing is clean and descriptive. I felt like I was at the crime scene at Eagle Creek: I could hear the sound of the river, smell the scent of the pines, and experience the terror that Rhonda Castro felt as she plunged to her death. In writing about the autopsy findings, Jackson brings home the horror of what happened to Rhonda Casto at the hands of her narcissistic boyfriend. The litany of lies told by Nichols to police is almost laughable, and it is truly a wonder that the case went cold for a period of time. This true crime story is quite unique in that the plight of the child of a killer is addressed. How many other children are raised by murderous parents who escaped justice? It is a chilling prospect. What responsibility does law enforcement have in protecting Annie from a sociopathic father? The photos in this Kindle book were great: high resolution cell phone pics that nicely capture an "ordinary" hike on a picturesque wooded trail; one taken by Rhonda of a smiling Nichols just before the murder gave me shivers. Another photo of Rhonda and Annie just made me wonder why such a beautiful young woman would choose to be with a cad like Stephen Nichols. Rhonda had her whole life ahead of her. Fair to say, she could have done so much better in the romance department. Instead, she chose to stay in a toxic relationship with both parties "joking" about killing the other one. It is a sad insight into the way that a woman with so much potential can shortchange herself and, in this case, become prey to a monster. No doubt about it, when Stephen Nichols looked at Rhonda Casto he saw only one thing: dollar signs. I will eagerly await Book Two.
October 5, 2018
Saving Annie by authors Steve Jackson with Tom McCallum is written in several parts about the true accounting of the death of Rhonda Casto from a fall while hiking in Oregon with her boyfriend Stephen Nichols. This is a heartbreaking tragedy and even if Stephen Nichols did not mean to push Rhonda over the cliff, his actions of seduction and statutory rape of Rhonda's sister makes me detest him. According to the author's information about Nichols, he obviously had criminal motives. Also, the insurance agent was negligent and made some major mistakes when pushing for approval of the 1.4 million dollar policy on Rhonda's life!
This first installment is about the fall and immediate interviews by police. This part is short and some of the information is repeated. It is written well and had me so interested in the story, until after I read Part One: The Fall I looked up all the information I could find online about this case. That is the reason I would caution the authors about dividing a true crime story into separate books. Once I followed all of the links and 48-hour news accounts, I didn't feel the need to read the following books by this author. I'm sorry, but that is an honest observation. If possible, consider publishing as a complete book in order to preserve your writing and following.
The book cover is beautiful!
This first installment is about the fall and immediate interviews by police. This part is short and some of the information is repeated. It is written well and had me so interested in the story, until after I read Part One: The Fall I looked up all the information I could find online about this case. That is the reason I would caution the authors about dividing a true crime story into separate books. Once I followed all of the links and 48-hour news accounts, I didn't feel the need to read the following books by this author. I'm sorry, but that is an honest observation. If possible, consider publishing as a complete book in order to preserve your writing and following.
The book cover is beautiful!
September 24, 2018
4 stars
“In March 2009, pretty, vivacious Rhonda Casto plunged to her death from a 300-foot cliff in the Oregon woods. The only witness, Stephen Nichols, the father of her nine-month-old baby, Annie, told police investigators she slipped and fell. Yet, Nichols’ story didn’t quite mesh with the facts.“
Saving Annie is written into “small episode-like books” which is a different concept for me and I am not sure I like it. The authors have done a phenomenal job of writing the first section. They have peaked my interest, made me care for the victim and her family and dislike the murderer.
I am giving this book 4 stars for the writing but 0 stars for the mini-book concept. This is a very short book. Saving Annie Book One left me wondering what happened next and desperately wishing the rest of the book was already written. I am not sure I will finish the rest of this mini-book series unless I wait until the whole series is published. If you do not mind the format, you will most assuredly like this book. However, if the format is an issue for you, you would be better skipping it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. The views given are my own.
#NetGalley #SavingAnnie #WildBluePress
“In March 2009, pretty, vivacious Rhonda Casto plunged to her death from a 300-foot cliff in the Oregon woods. The only witness, Stephen Nichols, the father of her nine-month-old baby, Annie, told police investigators she slipped and fell. Yet, Nichols’ story didn’t quite mesh with the facts.“
Saving Annie is written into “small episode-like books” which is a different concept for me and I am not sure I like it. The authors have done a phenomenal job of writing the first section. They have peaked my interest, made me care for the victim and her family and dislike the murderer.
I am giving this book 4 stars for the writing but 0 stars for the mini-book concept. This is a very short book. Saving Annie Book One left me wondering what happened next and desperately wishing the rest of the book was already written. I am not sure I will finish the rest of this mini-book series unless I wait until the whole series is published. If you do not mind the format, you will most assuredly like this book. However, if the format is an issue for you, you would be better skipping it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. The views given are my own.
#NetGalley #SavingAnnie #WildBluePress
January 4, 2019
Saving Annie
Book One--The Fall
by Steve Jackson
WildBlue Press
Mystery & Thrillers , True Crime
Pub Date 13 Sep 2018
I am reviewing a copy of Savin Annie: Book One: The Fall through The WildBlue Press and Netgalley:
In March of 2009, a pretty vivacious Rhonda Castro plunges to her death from a 300 foot cliff in the Oregon Woods. The only witness, Stephen Nichols the father of her nine month old daughter. Annie, told police investigators she slipped and fell.
Nichols story did not match up the facts of the case though. And some of his actions called suspicion to fall on him, which included trying to collect on a million dollar life insurance on his unemployed twenty three year old girlfriend just four months earlier. What began as a 911 call to report an accident turned into a murder investigation.
In order to prevent Nicholas from gaining custody of Annie to the man she believed killed her daughter Rhonda hires a lawyer.
I give Saving Annlie five out of five star!
Happy Reading!
November 6, 2018
My favorite genre is True Crime. This book did not disappoint. It tells of boyfriend Stephen Nichols and his girlfriend Rhonda Castro who go out for a hike on an Oregon Trail. Then comes a 911 call from Nichols saying his girlfriend fell off a cliff and despite his efforts to save her. She appears to have died. From the beginning, Nichols story changes and the police are suspicious, but there is no real evidence to hold Nichols. Later it is discovered that he had a million dollar life insurance policy on Rhonda, which he is trying to claim. He is also looking after their 9-month old baby Annie.
Rhonda's parents want the police to follow up with the case which has gone cold and also want to save their granddaughter Annie.
This is the first part of this intriguing story and I can't wait to read the next book. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me an ARC for my honest review.
Rhonda's parents want the police to follow up with the case which has gone cold and also want to save their granddaughter Annie.
This is the first part of this intriguing story and I can't wait to read the next book. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me an ARC for my honest review.
September 18, 2018
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. However, when I was researching the topic — the murder/accident of Rhonda Casto — I found and read a lengthy online article that was really this book, in a different format. Nevertheless, I was fascinated by the topic of this book (and the article).
All of the material that was presented in the book really made me think, just like how it might make anyone who reads this book think. Steve Jackson wrote this book in an unbiased way that will let readers draw their own conclusions about what happened to Rhonda Casto. As he suggests in the book, there is only one person who really knows what happened on her final day.
All of the material that was presented in the book really made me think, just like how it might make anyone who reads this book think. Steve Jackson wrote this book in an unbiased way that will let readers draw their own conclusions about what happened to Rhonda Casto. As he suggests in the book, there is only one person who really knows what happened on her final day.
October 29, 2018
Thank you to Adam @wildbluepress for the digital reading copy of Saving Annie, a non fiction, true crime series dealing with the death of Rhonda Casto and the subsequent prosecution of her boyfriend Steve.
Saving Annie is divided into 4 parts, the first of which is 'The Fall'. It starts with Steve's 911 call and ends with his arrest with for a non related case.
Steve Jackson along with P.I. Tom McCallum investigated Steve after he started dating a client's daughter. Book one is a compilation of initial investigation reports and transcripts immediately after Rhonda's death.
This is a very thorough, well written book and I look forward to reading the rest of the series to see Rhonda and her sister Melanie get justice.
If you like true crime series, this is a must read!
Saving Annie is divided into 4 parts, the first of which is 'The Fall'. It starts with Steve's 911 call and ends with his arrest with for a non related case.
Steve Jackson along with P.I. Tom McCallum investigated Steve after he started dating a client's daughter. Book one is a compilation of initial investigation reports and transcripts immediately after Rhonda's death.
This is a very thorough, well written book and I look forward to reading the rest of the series to see Rhonda and her sister Melanie get justice.
If you like true crime series, this is a must read!
September 21, 2018
I read an ARC (thanks Netgalley!) of Saving Annie: The Fall and I can't wait for the rest of the books to come out! The way it's written with all the details and police reports is fascinating and I'm now a definite fan of these authors although I have never read anything by them before. I'll be looking to see what else they've written.
I followed this case when it was first in the news, so seeing this book was great. I always wanted to know more about the case. If you enjoy true crime, this is definitely the book for you.
I followed this case when it was first in the news, so seeing this book was great. I always wanted to know more about the case. If you enjoy true crime, this is definitely the book for you.
November 8, 2018
It will take one woman to change everything. A young mother falls off a cliff but something does add up. But it is ruled as an accident that is until a paralegal finds the case. Dardie Robinson knows that she has to help as there is a child involved. And she knows what can happen to child in these cases and as she digs she becomes even more worried. But can she help solve this case?
A good read just very short. I was lucky enough to receive a copy in exchange for my honest review.
A good read just very short. I was lucky enough to receive a copy in exchange for my honest review.
November 23, 2018
Very good true crime entry. This book is written in such a way , you feel like you are there. Great book about the death of Rhonda Casto. I; had heard about this but reading the book was a welcome insight into various aspects of this case. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Although I received the book in this manner, it did not affect my opinion of this book nor my review.
October 7, 2018
A serial worth waiting for
I am not accustomed to reading my true crime books broken into pieces but this story has me hooked. The mysterious death of a young mother. The hidden life of her boyfriend both financially and sexually. I am ready to read all the next installments. This first book is extremely well written.
I am not accustomed to reading my true crime books broken into pieces but this story has me hooked. The mysterious death of a young mother. The hidden life of her boyfriend both financially and sexually. I am ready to read all the next installments. This first book is extremely well written.
November 15, 2018
Interesting story about the alleged accidental fall of a young woman out hiking with her boyfriend. Coincidentally, he recently took out a one million dollar insurance policy on her? Hmmm! This book starts with the stories being told, and I'm looking forward to moving in to the trial.Very fast read, thank yu to #netgalley for this book.
June 20, 2019
This should have not been broken into 4 books. Book 3 & 4 aren't even out so you can't even finish the darn thing. The book itself is ok, not completely attention grabbing. Wished there was more too it and more information, but then again maybe that is what is in the rest of the books that I can't finish. Received this book as an ARC and I voluntarily gave my honest opinion.
September 26, 2018
I didn't know that this is a four-part (I think it's four parts) and that this is just the first part. Very factual, complete with citations at the end of each chapter.
Now I need to wait for the next part, then I'll have to read them back-to-back.
Now I need to wait for the next part, then I'll have to read them back-to-back.
December 9, 2018
True Crime Story
This seems like a pretty routine murder for money. There are some salacious extras thrown in, but I don't see this book as having at appeal to a true crime fan
This seems like a pretty routine murder for money. There are some salacious extras thrown in, but I don't see this book as having at appeal to a true crime fan
December 31, 2018
This book was intense! the style of writing made me feel like I was walking side by side with the investigator. I can't wait to read what happens next!
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