How long does it take to read Small Sacrifices?
a true story of passion and murder
Small Sacrifices by Ann Rule takes about 9 hours 3 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 9 hours 3 minutes
A week or two of reading
First published 1987. 494 pages, about 135,850 words.
19 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 15 hours 6 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 9 hours 3 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 5 hours 40 minutes |
The page count is the median across 14 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
the mesmerizing story of Diane Downs, a beautiful, brillient, sociopath, who commits the ultimate evil when she shoots her three children to gain the love of a married man. Anne Rule's insight into the personality of Downs is as horrifying as it is disturbing. She never confesses to shooting her children, but her conduct at the trial is sickening. She taps her foot and smiles while listening to "Hungry Like the Wolf," the song that was playing in her car while she slaughtered her children; she laughs when she should cry, she cries when it benefits her. One daughter is dead, one has lost the use of her arm and speech, and the little boy is paralyzed. None of this horror seems to penetrate Diane. She has no feelings for her children's suffering. The detail in this book is fascinating. Anne Rule describes every bit of evidence and presents it in such a way as to keep the reader of the edge of her seat. A must read for all true crime buffs.
Subjects: Murder, Trials (Murder), Case studies, Murderers, Biography, Criminals
