The Stranger Beside Me: An Unnerving Look Into the Mind of Serial Killer Ted Bundy

Kathleen Dickson: I had read Bundy bios before but this one stands out as true talent in writing.
It's clear she tries to sensitive to the victims and is aware that it might be painful to the victims families to have anyone else try to tell a personal experience story on this "case." It's no longer a wonder to me how she had become so popular as a story teller. This one and the one by Michaud and Aynsworth are equally outstanding. Outstanding !!

Such an awful story though. What a monster.

United States on Aug 10, 2023

Misty Cat: I have been wanting to read this book for a while, so when I saw it here I wanted to buy it :) It is not a part of my Criminology course but as extra reading it will provide some insight into the mind of a serial killer.

United Kingdom on Jul 30, 2023

Svetla: Excellent book. I did read the book for one week.

United Kingdom on May 31, 2023

lucy vanmook: j'appérécie énormément les livres de Mme Ann RULE, toujours basés sur des histoires vraies, écrites sans gnagnan et relatant de façon rigoureuse les pires crimes de l'Etat de Washington. Je dois avoir tte la série, je pense. Si Amazone en a d'autres, j'aimerais être informée.

France on Jan 26, 2023

Daina: This was a great read and I didn’t want to put it down. But whoever printed this copy clearly didn’t check for mistakes. I lost count of the number of times the wrong word was used. I kept seeing “country” instead of county, “woman” instead of women. I’d definitely recommend buying this book, but maybe from a different publisher.

United States on Jun 27, 2022

C&M Swann: Excellent book. You get to understand and see a side of this man that hasn't been described the same way before. Great read.

United States on Feb 27, 2021

Corey Sias: For anyone looking to read a fantastic book or those who enjoy true crime or psychological books, do yourself a favor and read The Stranger Beside Me.

If I had to pick one book I became so enthralled with to the point where I could not put it down, it would have to be Ann Rule’s “The Stranger Beside Me”. It was over 10-years-ago when I read it for the first time, and in the midst of reading it again.

One of the most unnerving parts of this book – second to the murders, obviously – is that the author, Anne Rule, was a close friend and co-worker of Ted Bundy. Anne was a correspondent for a magazine called True Detective, which accounted for some of the crime stories in and around Oregon, when, in 1974, she was asked to begin writing about the murders which were currently going on.

At that time, they did not have any suspects until the first girl escaped from a bronze Volkswagen Beetle and ran to the local authorities, where she gave a description of the male who abducted her who used the name “Ted”.

When Anne was informed of these details, she notices how the description and name matches her co-worker and good friend, Ted Bundy. She...

United States on Mar 21, 2017

Mr. J. Fraser: I'm not sure if I'd call this a true crime classic. I think one of the problems with writing the definitive Ted Bundy book is the fact that none of the authors really know all the details of his crimes. It seems he was only completely honest with Bob Keppel and save for a few details Keppel will likely take it to his grave. The absence of the really horrifying details is a problem for any true crime book in my opinion. Not just because those details help us to really imagine what the killer experienced but also what the police experienced. Even though she had connections to the police and knew some of the people working the case she's chosen to focus primarily on her perspective. The parts that don't somehow involve her feel slightly half hearted. I do wish more emphasis was put on the police's perspective instead of hers. Where this book really scores is the unique fact that Ann Rule had known Bundy prior to his capture and corresponded with him in prison. You wont get much insight into the real Ted because he kept that largely hidden but her first hand descriptions of the man he portrayed and the one she knew as a smart and kind man is fascinating. You won't get insight like...

United Kingdom on Oct 21, 2015

AS: It is a quite remarkable coincidence, I think, that a crime writer should personally know a serial killer before they know that the person in question is indeed a slayer of multiple people. Many crime writers and detectives may come to know a serial killer once he has been apprehended, but Ann Rule considered Bundy a pretty good friend some time before he was first arrested in 1975. So I can't really agree with a number of other reviewers who upbraid Rule for apparently seeking to capitalize commercially on what they say was only a tenuous friendship or for maintaining contact with Bundy once the real horror became apparent. Rule clearly did know him fairly well and subsequently struggled to understand how the sexual deviant that Bundy was revealed to be fitted with the charming and personable young man she had worked with in 1972-3.

This dichotomy is present throughout the book and Rule clearly struggles with it. When he was first arrested in 1975, could Rule have simply resolved to ditch Bundy, given that she had already committed to writing a book about the murder victims killed by (up to that point) persons unknown? Could she and should she have simply broken off...

United Kingdom on Aug 24, 2014

glenda l vautrin: true story about serial killer Ted Bundy. He gives a warning about what porn and violence in the media can do to a person. Ann Rules tells an horrible story how a dear friend turns out to be an violent serial killer and how she is torn between his innocence and guilty. It takes a lot of evidence to confidence her that ted was guilty, even so she continued her relationship with him (as a friend) until his death. She withheld judgement until all the evidence pointed to Ted. Deep down she knew he was guilty but needed proof

United States on May 11, 2014