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ISBN: 978-1-942428-24-4
180 pages


$24.97 in hardcover
$13.97 in softcover


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Blind Rage

A true story of sin, sex, and murder in a small Arkansas town.


by Anita Paddock

When Ruie Ann Park—a pillar of the Van Buren, Arkansas, community—was found beaten to death and lying in a pool of blood in her home, the police and local residents assumed the son was the murderer. But the years would uncover a more sinister story.
      Until that night, the Park family seemed to have it all. For fifty years they owned and published the Press Argus newspaper. Hugh was well-connected politically, and his wife, Ruie Ann, was the local historian, journalist, and teacher. They had a brilliant son and a shy adopted daughter.
      They built a beautiful home on top of Logtown Hill with a vista overlooking the Arkansas River, but their idyllic life ended with divorce. Ruie Ann stayed in the home, becoming more bitter and more demanding of the daughter who couldn't match up to her beloved son.
      The son, Sam Hugh, had a promising legal career, but his fondness for young boys, alcohol, and drugs doomed what should have been a successful law practice in his hometown. The daughter, Linda, graduated from college, married an attorney, and moved away to a small town near Little Rock.
      The police were baffled. Who was smart enough to hide all evidence and pass the lie detector test?
      And who would want to bludgeon this mother to death?

Praise for Blind Rage

Blind Rage is Very well written! I would love to read more from this Author!!
      – Cindi Bean

This book is really good. I started it and couldn't put it down. It is well written and a very interesting story. I found it to be a quick read because of the things I have noted. I think the author is to be commended and I look forward to her next book.
      – J Phillips

This book was very interesting and I felt pain and sadness for Linda and the awful abuse she endured . . . But wow what a survivor!
      – LG Wilson

Wonderful book. This book flowed well and was easily read. I had little bit of a hard time with the two Linda's at one point but that was my issue not yours. I have been reading true crime for over 25 years voraciously and I LOVED your book.
      I was only puzzled at one time because of the nature of the crime scene. I kept putting myself back into what year this all happened. I may have missed it! I do remember reading that a strange disease was killing men. I remember back to about 1983. Of course I know that it had started in the early 70's I think. It was just a fantastic read. The only sad part for me was that it ended way too quickly. I was thoroughly enjoying myself. And all of a sudden!! Over. I will be waiting to read your next book. I wish you all the best!!
      – MW Rice

Years ago, I read a true crime book titled Fatal Vision by Joe McGinnis. For some reason, although I hate blood I really enjoyed the book. The story was about the murder of a soldier's wife. The dead woman's husband, Jeffrey McDonald, came home to find his wife dead and the house tossed with the intention of making it appear as a killing by a hippy or hippies crazy on drugs.
      Another true crime story I really enjoyed was Blood and Money by Thomas Thompson. The book tells the tale of the murder of a wealthy Houston socialite. I read this one pretty much straight through it was that compelling.
      But for some reason I hadn't read another true crime story up until a few days ago when I read Blind Rage by Anita Paddock. I fell under the spell of this tale—must be something wrong with me to like true crime books, maybe that's why I stayed away from the genre so long. I read it in such a hurry I felt like I was running downhill and going so fast I couldn't slow down, but had to rush on even faster to prevent taking a spill, which to me is full proof of a really great read, and I rate Blind Rage right up there with Fatal Vision and Blood and Money.
      Blind Rage takes place in a small Arkansas town. A son finds his mother dead, lying in a pool of her own blood. She'd been murdered her bedroom and dragged into another part of the house. The police figure the woman's gay son, a lawyer, is the killer. There are many twists and turns in Blind Rage and those who love the true crime genre are sure to like this book, and even those who've never before read one, will thoroughly enjoy it. It will leave you with your hands on your knees attempting to recover your wind from the effort. It did that to me, at least.
      – Sumner Wilson

I was curious about this book so I bought it. Turns out Mrs. Parks was my eighth grade history teacher. My brother used to do odd jobs for her after school. I had heard about the murder but never knew if it was resolved since I moved out of the area.
      She was a strict teacher but you learned in her class. Great book.
      – Anita Gregory

I really liked this book. It kept my attention from cover to cover and was so mesmerizing I couldn't put it down. Because I am an Arkansan, I recognized many names and places. I'm old enough to remember this most interesting case and loved the way Ms. Paddock told the story.
      – Izzy

Books by
Anita Paddock


        
Or get all 4 for only $44.95, and free shipping.

I suppose one can say I've had two separate lives. Over twenty years ago I became a widow and overnight went from being a wife who longed to be a writer to a widow who needed a job. I jumped at a chance to become manager of a Fort Smith, Arkansas, branch library. Though I no longer had a partner who encouraged my dreams, the customers in the Miller Branch Library became my friends and eased the pain of widowhood. As I've said many times, "The library saved my life."

After almost sixteen years, I reluctantly retired due to a bad hip I call "an old football injury." A dear friend who owned a bookstore suggested I get back into my writing life. Her encouraging words were, "You're a lot better writer now than you used to be."

I knew the book I'd write: a true story about a crime that took place in my hometown of Van Buren, Arkansas. I'd tried to write the story in different forms from the age of thirty-six on. This new version took a couple of years in the making, and "Blind Rage" became a popular true crime novel which was published by Pen-L Publishing in 2015. Three successful true-crime novels have followed, and I'm delighted to say I now have a tribe of readers to keep me company.

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