Utterly unique in its astonishing intimacy, as jarringly frightening as when it first appeared, Ann Rule’s The Stranger Beside Me defies our expectation that we would surely know if a monster lived among us, worked alongside of us, appeared as one of us. With a slow chill that intensifies with each heart-pounding page, Rule describes her dawning awareness that Ted Bundy, her sensitive coworker on … on a crisis hotline, was one of the most prolific serial killers in America. He would confess to killing at least thirty-six young women from coast to coast, and was eventually executed for three of those cases. Drawing from their correspondence that endured until shortly before Bundy’s death, and striking a seamless balance between her deeply personal perspective and her role as a crime reporter on the hunt for a savage serial killer — the brilliant and charismatic Bundy, the man she thought she knew — Rule changed the course of true-crime literature with this unforgettable chronicle.
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True account of Ted Buddy, done well as Ann Rule always does.
Great book. One of the few books that ever scared me. I found myself checking all the windows and doors. truly terrifying. Also Ann Rule is one of my favorite true crime writers.
Very creepy but good!
I am a fan of Ann Rule, I have read many of her works. After reading this you may not agree with the death penalty but Ted Bundy got what he should have. Hard to believe any one could be so cold blooded.
Ann Rule new Ted Bundy, and her perspective is unsurpassed!
That it’s true.
I thought it so interesting and coincidental that Ann Rule worked with Ted Bundy prior to learning about his crimes and eventually writing about his deeds. It doesn’t get any weirder, right?
Anyone who thinks they can spot a psychopath a mile away hasn’t read this book and is very misguided, hopefully not tragically.
One of my fav true crime authors. Her novels usually show in-depth research, is informative and is quite easy to read. More and more in todays world the monster we warn our young about is the neighbor across the road or someone you have regular contact with. The Stranger Beside Me is just one such happening.
Ted Bundy was my introduction to True Crime writings so it was a little of that that drew me to this book. To compare my previous readings of his ‘story’ to that of someone who had – bonded – with him (over shared life difficulties while working graveyard shifts at a crisis center no less).
At times the reading got a little difficult/boring as AR veered of to give and explain her opinion of something that had happened in Bundy’s life; like **************************** POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT **************************** in one instance that stuck with me – she missed a call from him due to being in hospital and quite a few pages that followed were used hypothesizing what might have happened had she been able to take the call, might she have been able to talk Bundy away from his inner monster…or not?..****************************
All in all i still found this a interesting read even if i did skim some pages of legal and/or “what if” reflections that personally went on too long for me.
A good read by a great true crime writer.
This is a book about one of the most notorious serial killers in US history.
Noone does true crime like Ann Rule.
Very seldom have I read a book that actually gave me chills. It made me question, over and over, what in the world provokes a person to inflict such horrible crime on another person. Ms. Rule made Bundy into an acceptable member of society before realizing the true nature of this diabolical, unfeeling killer. It is definitely haunting, but is such an interesting read, that I couldn’t put it down.
Totally scary to think how close Ann Rule was to this heinous killer. I couldn’t put it down. Once again Rule rules.
A Plus
I have volunteered at a suicide hot line and this really hit home about how engaging a psychopath can be. I always thought I would have a second sense when meeting someone like Ted Bundy, but this book shakes that belief. This is a must read for anyone interested in the serial killer genre.
Unbelievable, but true.
If you want to know your 1st glimpse into Teds life, meet the author who knew him as a friend. Couldn’t put it down!!! Great Read.
Never read an Ann Rule book that I didn’t enjoy
I read this book years ago and became a fan of Ann Rule instantly. Ted Bundy was a true deviant who fooled everyone around him including the author of this book. Ann Rule illustrated how evil he truly was. Make sure you have plenty of free time to read this book as you won’t want to put it down till the very end.