Levi Pulkkinen reports for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Northwest true crime author Ann Rule has died.

Rule, 83, had been in declining health in recent years. She appears to have died Sunday night at a Seattle-area hospital.

Andrea Vitalich, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in King County, Washington noted her passing.

Ann Rule was an asset to true-crime writing: she did not sugar-coat the horrible things her subjects did to other human beings, she did not glamorize her subjects, she was a meticulous researcher, and she always paid respectful tribute to the victims.  She was well-liked and well-respected by everyone in law enforcement who knew her.  She was also a very nice person.