And Never Let Her Go - by Ann Rule (Paperback)

About the Book

The bestselling true-crime writer dishes out the inside story on the murder of Anne Marie Fahey, a secretary to the governor of Delaware, at the hands of Tom Capano, the widely admired attorney and political adviser with whom Anne had a secret affair. This title hit the "New York Times" bestseller list and went back to press three times before publication.

Book Synopsis

From America's most celebrated true-crime writer comes the heartbreaking real-life drama of a doomed young woman hopelessly trapped in a web of sexual intrigue, political manipulation, and emotional deception by her charming and successful--but ultimately deadly--lover.

The author of fifteen New York Times national bestsellers, Ann Rule, a former Seattle policewoman, has researched thousands of homicides and understands every facet of murder investigation. Now, in the most complex and shocking book of her long career, she delves into the motivation that drove a seemingly successful man to kill, and she explores heretofore unknown aspects of a fatal affair between a beautiful young woman who moved confidently in the heady world of the upper echelons of government and a widely admired millionaire attorney who was an immensely popular political figure.

On June 27, 1996, thirty-year-old Anne Marie Fahey, who was the scheduling secretary for the governor of Delaware, had dinner with a man she had been having a secret affair with for more than two years. "Tommy" Capano, forty-seven, was perhaps the most politically powerful man in Wilmington. Son of a wealthy contractor, former state prosecutor, partner in a prestigious law firm, advisor to governors and mayors, Tom Capano had a soft-spoken and considerate manner that endeared him to many. Although recently estranged from his wife, he was a devoted father to his four beautiful young daughters, the trusted son of his widowed mother, and the backbone of his extended family. But sometime after 9:15 that night when Anne Marie and Tom left a Philadelphia restaurant, something terrible happened to Anne Marie. It would be forty-eight hours before her brothers and sisters realized that she had disappeared entirely.

Ann Rule brilliantly traces the lives of both Fahey and Capano as she discloses the intimate details of their ill-fated bonding. A vulnerable, trusting woman becomes spellbound by a charming, duplicitous married man, and what begins as a seemingly unremarkable affair is slowly transformed into an obsessive, convoluted, and deadly relationship.

Through her impeccable research, Rule peels away layer after layer of deception to reveal a man who lived a secret life for decades, a man so greedy that he would sacrifice anyone to gain what he desired. One of his many mistresses--all of whom were unknown to one another--was Deborah MacIntyre, an attractive and wealthy member of one of Wilmington's oldest families and an administrator of an elite private school. She, too, would become part of the mystery surrounding Anne Marie's disappearance.

As three prominent families are destroyed to satisfy one man's jealous obsessions, this unfathomable tragedy becomes a tale that few would believe if it were presented as fiction. Shockingly, it is all true. Destined to become a classic, And Never Let Her Go is a riveting account of forbidden love and murder among the rich and powerful, and a chilling insight into the evil that sometimes hides behind even the most charming façade.

From the Back Cover

THE SHATTERING CRIME STORY THAT SHOCKED THE NATION: THE THOMAS CAPANO MURDER CASE

On a June evening in 1996, 30-year-old Anne Marie Fahey, secretary to the governor of Delaware, vanished without a trace following a restaurant rendezvous with her secret lover of more than two years: Thomas Capano. One of Wilmington's most prominent and respected figures, a millionaire attorney and former state prosecutor, "Tommy" was a charming, soft-spoken family man. But in the weeks and months that followed Fahey's disappearance, investigators would gradually uncover the shocking truth: Capano was a steely manipulator driven by power and greed -- and capable of brutal murder. In a riveting narrative expertly documented by probing interviews, diary entries, and e-mail correspondence, and with superb insight into the twisted motivations of a killer, Ann Rule chronicles a real-life drama of Shakespearian proportions: ambitions fall, love turns to obsession, family names are tainted, the facade of success crumbles -- and a beautiful but vulnerable young woman pays the ultimate price in a convoluted and deadly relationship.

Review Quotes

Kirkus Reviews The stunning New York Times bestseller from "America's best true-crime writer".

Booklist [A] compassionate portrayal of the victim and a chilling portrayal of her killer....This is a true page-turner, a compelling rendering of a crime committed by a deeply troubled, egotistical sociopath.

More Rule peels away the layers of deception to reveal a monster who lived a secret life for decades.

People [A] truly creepy true-crime story....This portrait of an evil prince needs no embellishment.

Publishers Weekly (starred review) Most people like to think they recognize evil when they see it. But as this gripping story of a 1996 Delaware murder makes clear, most people are wrong. Much more than the profile of a handsome, insidious killer and the young woman he murdered, ...And Never Let Her Go is also the story of three close-knit families and how thirty-year-old Anne Marie Fahey's death strengthened or destroyed them....In Rule's capable hands [this is] the raw matierial for a modern-day tragedy.

The Orlando Sentinel (FL) Even crime buffs who followed the case closely are bound to gain new insights....The courtroom scenes of Capano are especially compelling.

The Orlando Sentinel (FL) Riveting....[a] page-turner.

The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) In her selection and treatment of the Fahey murder, [Rule] might have created her masterpiece.

The State (Columbia, SC) Compelling...Ann Rule leaves nary a stone unturned in her examination of the Fahey case....One feels as if one knows the victim and her slayer.

The Washington Post [Rule] tell[s] the sad story with authority, flair, and pace.

About the Author

Ann Rule (1931-2015) wrote thirty-five New York Times bestsellers, all of them still in print. Her first bestseller was The Stranger Beside Me, about her personal relationship with infamous serial killer Ted Bundy. A former Seattle police officer, she used her firsthand expertise in all her books. For more than three decades, she was a powerful advocate for victims of violent crime.