The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story by Ann Rule

Sep 03, 2010 Paquita Maria Sanchez rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: truthiness, merde

"Oh, I was just in the right place at the right time..."

...NOT something that many of the women in Ted Bundy's life would come to say about meeting America's Grade-A machismo pin-up boy. In fact, as far as I can tell, Ann Rule was the only person to actually benefit from knowing him. And boy, did she ever.

To state it quite plainly, Rule is not what one would call a "great" writer. Or even really a good "writer." She repeats herself to accentuate her point like she's me writing like I talk when I...more

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Aug 15, 2007 asteroidbuckle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: True Crime Fans

Shelves: true-crime

This book was absolutely riveting. I had started reading it a while ago, but was reading another book as well and had set it aside for a while. When I picked it up again, I simply could not put it down.

Ann Rule is one of the premiere true crime writers, but what made this one special was that she had been friends with Ted Bundy (and had worked with him at a Crisis Hotline!) before he was a suspect in the myriad heinous crimes he eventually confessed to a few days before he was executed.

The most...more This book was absolutely riveting. I had started reading it a while ago, but was reading another book as well and had set it aside for a while. When I picked it up again, I simply could not put it down.

Ann Rule is one of the premiere true crime writers, but what made this one special was that she had been friends with Ted Bundy (and had worked with him at a Crisis Hotline!) before he was a suspect in the myriad heinous crimes he eventually confessed to a few days before he was executed.

The most riveting thing about the book was the dichotomy that was Ted Bundy. Outwardly, especially in the beginning, he was a handsome, intelligent, charming, and successful man who had the world on a string. Inwardly, he was a mess - not psychotic, as psychologists/psychiatrists would later determine, but an "antisocial personality." He had a deep-seeded hatred for women and all of his victims were the same physical type as a woman who had scorned him in college.

In the end, Bundy had more and more trouble keeping his darker side hidden from the world. His later crimes (esp. the ones at the Chi Omega sorority at FSU) showed that after so long without being able to commit a crime (he had been in jail in Colorado for many months and had escaped to Florida), he couldn't control his impulses and ended up attacking four women (killing two of them) in a span of 15 minutes with no one hearing a thing!

After his arrest in Florida, he of course maintained his innocence, saying he was being railroaded by the justice system. He also constantly whined about the incompetence of his lawyers and displayed his own sense of intellectual superiority by representing himself at his trials. He was eventually convicted of three murders and was given three death sentences.

Ann Rule continued to correspond with Bundy in prison, even providing money for his commissary fund, almost until the end. She was still a loyal friend, but not to the point where she believed unfailingly in his innocence. She knew he had done what he had been accused and convicted of. But she could also remember the young man who had been such a good friend to her in the past.

Bundy was executed on January 24, 1989 in Florida's electric chair at Raiford Prison. Ann did not attend, but watched the coverage on television during an interview she was giving. She saw the tell-tale dimming of the prison lights and knew that Ted was dead (after many previous stays of execution).

Rule's book is very powerful and gives a good glimpse into the way a serial killer can blend so easily into mainstream society while at the same time committing unspeakable horrors against members of that same society.

I highly recommend this book.

P.S. - I double-checked all the locks on my doors and windows when I finshed this book. Chilling. Very chilling.(less)

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Jul 04, 2008 Israel rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a haunting book, I simply could not put it down. Ann Rule narratives are honest, straightforward accounts of events as she knows them, no sensational embellishments. An incredible true crime book.

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Una de las grandes habilidades de Ann Rule (primer libro suyo que leo) es la de poder organizar una gran cantidad de información técnica, entrevistas, evidencias y criminalistica puntual de una manera que se hace deliciosamente digerible.

La historia de Bundy es si...more

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Nov 07, 2008 Lisa Greer rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was hooked from the first page. What an opportunity Rule had. I know that is ghoulish, but wow. This definitely made her career, and it also shows that Bundy, like many others, is more than a cardboard cut out figure of a killer.

This was really excellent. I think Rule had great insights, and I think she might be right when she said Bundy probably fooled James Dobson in the famous interview. She showed her slow realization that he was a sociopath.

I think the interesting thing is that there are...more

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Nov 18, 2008 Tabby rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teenagers

Recommended to Tabby by: My teacher

Tabitha Portillo
Ms.Rogal
Strategic Reading
November 17 2008
Book Review
The book is called RULES
By: Cynthia Lord
Ms. Lord wrote Rules to show that even though, every teenager wants a normal life, and they all want to be accepted, that it’s okay to be different and have issues. The viewers to this book should be teenagers, simply because the book is all about them and the situations they may face in life. For instance this book also fits the teenagers because the story is being told by a teenager n...more Tabitha Portillo
Ms.Rogal
Strategic Reading
November 17 2008
Book Review
The book is called RULES
By: Cynthia Lord
Ms. Lord wrote Rules to show that even though, every teenager wants a normal life, and they all want to be accepted, that it’s okay to be different and have issues. The viewers to this book should be teenagers, simply because the book is all about them and the situations they may face in life. For instance this book also fits the teenagers because the story is being told by a teenager named Catherine. I believe Ms. Lord chose her to tell this story because, coming from an adult teenager might not listen and think the adult has no idea what teens are thinking. However the story, coming from a teen will catch the eye of other teens that have similar interests. Rules may be a true story or event. Nothing in this book could be made up; I wouldn’t be surprised if this story was based on a real person’s life.
I can’t honestly say that I related to anyone in the book because, I have never had siblings or problems with making friends or impressing people. I do however, believe that Ms. Lord got the point across to the readers. I think what she wanted to accomplish with the book, and she did. There are a lot of lessons to learn for instance, “No toys in the fish tank, it’s a rule”. I think the readers can get a pretty good idea of what the book is about from this quote.
I’m not sure there is a movie based on this book, although I’m pretty sure there are a lot of books related to this one, however I can’t think of any right now so we are just going to say that this book is unique and everyone should read it.
The significant thing about this book is that everyone lives by rules, but it’s your individual rules which set them apart from anyone else’s rules. I would recommend this book to anyone, who feels they need to be normal to have a good life, and those who feel the need to impress their peers. My final thought of the conclusion is wow this book made some interesting views and opened up my eyes to the way I view people. However, the book could have been little longer to clear up some questions that I had, but that’s just me.
The ending is thoroughly predictable almost in every spot of the book I knew what was going to happen next. All in all I would rate this book a three and a half stars, because its not the best book in the world, there are some points in the book where its like why would you write that. Then there are some points in the book where I just thought wow, this is deep conversation I never looked at it like that before. There are some points in the book where I had to think so that’s why I rated it a 3.5 out of 5, being the highest.
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Dec 31, 2008 Brenda rated it 5 of 5 stars

I adore the way Ann Rule tells her stories. I read this book when I was in college...living on the bottom floor of a dormitory... I was freaked out for a few months after finishing. You will understand once you pick this one up.

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Mar 30, 2009 Bren rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

TED BUNDY WAS, to Ann Rule, the sort of low-maintenance manner of friend with whom one conversed once in a great while, just to exchange news or perhaps share the occasional lunch. There were times, late at night, when the two worked together at a Washington state crisis hotline - and this bothered the then small-time crime column writer not at all. Ted Bundy made her feel safe, in fact, when local women were turning up missing - and, eventually, murdered.

In writing this book, it became clearer...more TED BUNDY WAS, to Ann Rule, the sort of low-maintenance manner of friend with whom one conversed once in a great while, just to exchange news or perhaps share the occasional lunch. There were times, late at night, when the two worked together at a Washington state crisis hotline - and this bothered the then small-time crime column writer not at all. Ted Bundy made her feel safe, in fact, when local women were turning up missing - and, eventually, murdered.

In writing this book, it became clearer and clearer to Rule that it would perhaps become the single greatest body of work she had ever written (before or since). She learned, only part way through writing about the mysterious crimes, that the perpetrator was the one and only Theodore Bundy. The very subject of her book was revealing himself to her in the guise of a friend.

The details of the crimes themselves are quite disturbing. As is typical with Rule's writing, she tends not to dwell exorbitantly upon such in The Stranger Beside Me but upon the known facts of each case, rarely straying from the proper chronology of the disappearances/homicides (save for dramatic effect, i.e. enhanced "readability" for the masses). Rule does, however, rely heavily upon her own personal recollections of conversations with Bundy, and situations in which she felt led to her being completely blindsided by the news of his initial arrest. After her years' experience working with law enforcement and writing about some of the worst crimes in American history, Rule (at that time) felt that she understood the criminal mind somewhat. It took Ted Bundy to shake this misguided confidence from its perch, and the revelations which poured forth changed her as a person forever.

Perhaps the biggest detrimental factor within this 2009 edition of The Stranger Beside Me is the sensation one gets that the story never seems to come to a definite conclusion. That is, Rule includes four supplemental chapters (including the original 1980 epilogue) which "update" the text from the press date of last publication. Rule excerpts some of the hand-and-typewritten letters and poems shared with her by Bundy during his extended period of incarceration, including prodigious specifics regarding his subsequent appeals, complaints, histrionics, etc. After the story's denouement, the supplemental chapters drag out the so-called "resolution" to the story (presumably the aftermath of his 1989 execution).

However, to simply omit these chapters serves to leave the store unfinished.

Rule goes so far as to judge - herself - the validity of the hundreds of "Bundy sightings" made by frightened women across the United States and around the world, many of whom took the time to write the author after the initial publication of The Stranger Beside Me. In this manner, Rule seems to depict herself as the wizened onlooker of humanity, having had such great personal insight and omnipotence bestowed upon her through Bundy's ubiquitous presence in her life.

Having been placed in such a precarious position, though, as to write about the execution of a man in whom she had held such great trust does give her some very real credibility...

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Jan 18, 2009 Jack rated it 1 of 5 stars

For all that Ann Rule invokes her friendship with Bundy -both before and after Bundy's arrest - the truth is this book could have been written solely off of newspaper research and trial records. There's no real emotional-depth or analysis. And Rule's interjections of what was happening with her personal life are annoying; they don't connect to any of the other events she's writing about, and since her entire description of her feelings towards and interactions with bundy are about as dry as when...more

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Jan 05, 2009 Nick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fascinating and extremely quick read of the story of serial killer Ted Bundy, written from the point of view of a "crime writer" who coincidentally was at one time friends with the killer. This author disturbs me nearly as much as Ted Bundy though! She is at best the most naive crime writer ever born, or at worst a knowing witness of a serial killer's career from beginning to end, possibly simply to further a dying writing career. For someone so sure of her clever criminal mind, the author fails...more Fascinating and extremely quick read of the story of serial killer Ted Bundy, written from the point of view of a "crime writer" who coincidentally was at one time friends with the killer. This author disturbs me nearly as much as Ted Bundy though! She is at best the most naive crime writer ever born, or at worst a knowing witness of a serial killer's career from beginning to end, possibly simply to further a dying writing career. For someone so sure of her clever criminal mind, the author fails again and again to put 2 and 2 together, at least according to the yarn she tells you in the book. Here's some examples:
-when the Washington murders first start taking place, the only thing known about the suspect is a brief physical description, that he goes by "Ted" and that he may drive a Volkswagen. The author's old co-worker (Ted Bundy), matches the physical description, lived blocks from the missing girls, and after a quick check by the author, drives a Volkswagen. Author's conclusion: coincidence, not worth following up on.
-Author's old co-worker Ted leaves Washington to go to law school in Utah; murders stop in Washington. Similar murders that the author reads about begin in Utah. Author's conclusion: coincidence, not worth following up on.
-Later on, Ted is finally at least a serious suspect. He is arrested and convicted on kidnapping charges (but not murder) in Utah; author's conclusion: that can't be Ted, they got the wrong guy. Author starts sending Ted money on a regular basis!!!
-Ted escapes from jail and disappears. Author's mom mails clippings of grizzly mass-murders in Florida shortly thereafter, at a time when authorities had not yet linked them to the escaped prisoner Ted. She attaches a note saying "It sounds like the 'Ted' murders. I wonder...". Author's conclusion: coincidence, not worth following up on.

Maybe I'm way off here, but any dope should have put it all together by then. Of course maybe that just explains why the author WRITES about crime instead of SOLVES crime.
Also beware of the last 50 pages or so. Extremely slow going, and also full of the author's sympathies for one of the most brutal killers to ever walk the earth. Pretty sad really.(less)

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Jan 28, 2013 Teresa rated it 5 of 5 stars

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of books on various serial killers that terrorized America throughout the years, but none affected the country quite like Ted Bundy.

He was the handsome, intelligent boy next door, working for the Crisis Clinic as work study during his undergraduate studies. She was a promising true crime writer volunteering some of her time as a way to possibly atone for the guilt she felt over her brother's suicide.

During their late night shifts manning the phone bank, Ann...more

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Jan 11, 2013 Obelia Modjeska rated it 4 of 5 stars

Read this over the summer holidays. As with all Ann's books, I couldn't put it down, although it does drag slightly in the middle. The extracts from Ted's letters to Ann, which make up a large part of this middle section, weren't of much interest to me - perhaps because here we are just getting the "mask" Ted, the same one that Ann saw and was (apparently) conned by (more on that later). I found the accounts of the actual murders much more compelling and it is this part of the narrative that rea...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Sibyl rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a really great story--much more interesting because it's told from such an ambiguous and ambivalent point of view. Ann Rule is unfortunately not a great or particularly insightful writer, but she does seem to be good at researching her subject. Much of the book's drama lies in the simple facts of Bundy's life--and in Rule's own evasions.

I am both sympathetic to and troubled by the dilemma she faced as she wrote this book: Friend or author? It's easy to understand her confusion and mixed...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Ann Rule fans, True Crime enthusiasts, Cop TV fans

Recommended to Michael by: Johnny Marr

Shelves: true-crime

I've never been a big "True Crime" fan, but I can recognize quality when I see it, and this book manages to transcend some of the worse cliches of that genre. Ms. Rule was undeniably a gifted writer, and by the time she wrote this she was practiced enough to have developed some technical ability as well. But, what really makes this the one book that a non Rule-fan should read if they're going to read any Rule, is that she was close friends with the criminal involved, and for some time tried to m...more

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Oct 14, 2012 Cindy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

I lived in Seattle in the mid-1970s when it was suddenly reported that young women with long dark hair had started disappearing under suspicious circumstances. The victims were young middle-class women from reasonably safe neighborhoods close to the University of Washington.

Then there was the sensational media coverage of the disappearance of one woman—or was it two?—from a very crowded Lake Sammamish park over one weekend. The police were searching for “Ted” with his arm in a sling who needed h...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book intrigued, educated, and scared me. The author Ann Rule met and befriended "pre-notorious" serial killer Ted Bundy while working with him on a suicide hotline. Just goes to show how well developed some people's masks are. The book details his story as well as her involvement in it. It is absolutely fascinating criminally, psychologically and sociologically and is well written. I would caution more sensitive readers, however, as portions of it are very difficult to read. I actually coul...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Casey rated it 5 of 5 stars

I thought this was an excellent account of "Ted's story," or as much of it as we could possibly ever know (other than getting the inside story from a few other key people whom knew a certain side of him). I love Ann's writing style and her heart really shows in her writing.

Okay, now for some of my personal thoughts on Ted more so than this book specifically:

His story is fascinating...I will say, it seems pretty apparent, especially towards the end, that Ann Rule is not a Christian, and I, pe...more I thought this was an excellent account of "Ted's story," or as much of it as we could possibly ever know (other than getting the inside story from a few other key people whom knew a certain side of him). I love Ann's writing style and her heart really shows in her writing.

Okay, now for some of my personal thoughts on Ted more so than this book specifically:

His story is fascinating...I will say, it seems pretty apparent, especially towards the end, that Ann Rule is not a Christian, and I, personally, would certainly attribute "reasons" towards Ted's outcome towards the demonic...Anyhow, someone that far gone and such a manipulative liar, I'd have a hard time believing he'd ever truly "come around" and repented (so I too, like her, would take his interview w/ Dr. Dobson with a grain of salt, regardless of how convincing he was). It's not for me to judge and I'm fully aware that, of course, God CAN change anyone, but that's just my personal thoughts based on the facts. I am NOT taking accountability off of Ted b/c people have free will so he made CHOICES that led him down that path. It does blow my mind his power (which I would attribute to demonic power over/through him) to fool people, even to this day. On comments on his youtube video interview w/ Dobson, people are fooled by him b/c "He had good eye contact..." and he seemed sincere....I'm sure he displayed eye contact and seemed sincere when he approached and fooled numerous INTELLIGENT women (in a cast, leg brace, etc.) and then revealed what was brewing beneath a little too late. I doubt how useful studying him would have been b/c he would have lied and manipulated those people just as he did other psycologists, cops, and professionals. Our system is certainly flawed...so much money was wasted on this man whom was OBVIOUSLY guilty. I have no solutions to offer mysef in that regards as I'm not an expert in that area and I believe any system run by imperfect humans will reflect and be imperfect. And if you fix one thing, it's possible it can have a negative effect in a different situation. On a side note, I would love to have seen how much speedier and effective it MAY could have been if they threw in from the beginning a "Jack Bauer" type to question him...perhaps a few threats (and deliveries) of hurting his pretty face, cutting off an ear etc. would have made him talk. I'm not against the death penalty. There is a difference between murder and killing, in my opinion. Anyhow, food for thought. I'm fairly convinced he's probably sharing a hot seat with Hitler for the rest of eternity...(less)

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May 28, 2012 Grace rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: serial-killers, non-fiction, true-crime

These sorts of stories fascinate me. Ted Bundy - a guy who has everything going for him, a student of law, incredibly intelligent and an amazing future ahead of him turns out to be one of the most brutal and terrifying serial killers in America. This is as well as being blessed with good looks and women practically falling at his feet - I can't make sense of it. It's frightening that if Ted Bundy hadn't confessed I may not have believed it.

I'm not a supporter of the death penalty, even in extre...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Liz Hargis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see the inside and all the secrets of a serial killer's mind? This book, by Ann Rule gave me all the details of Ted Bundy's life. This true crime book was fasinatting and it really got you engaged in the story. Ted Bundy was born in 1946 to a young mother who he grew up to believe was his sister. When he found out that she was really his mother, that haunted him for the rest of his life. As he continues through college, he meets a wonderful young l...more Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see the inside and all the secrets of a serial killer's mind? This book, by Ann Rule gave me all the details of Ted Bundy's life. This true crime book was fasinatting and it really got you engaged in the story. Ted Bundy was born in 1946 to a young mother who he grew up to believe was his sister. When he found out that she was really his mother, that haunted him for the rest of his life. As he continues through college, he meets a wonderful young lady named, Stephanie. After they broke up, he began to murder several young girls in college that resmebled her. It was almost like he had so much hatred for that type of girl. He murdered young women in college throughout Washington, Colorado, Utah, Oregan and Florida. In 1979, he was arrested for murdering three women in the state of Florida. He was sentenced to death by execution. Ann Rule's, The Stranger Beside Me, mesmerized me by how she was actually friends with Ted, and how she never even knew who the "real" Ted was. And also how he took such innocent lives of such pretty young women.

This book was so interesting that I could not even put it down. I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. Ted Bundy is probably one of the most interesting people I have read about, just in the sence of how sick he was, and how it never even bothered him that he killed over 30 women, and probably several more. One strange thing Ted said was "add a digit to that, and you'll have it." Meanging when the judge said he had killed 30-36 women. Ted Bundy had a long time lover, named Meg Anders. She never expected the "Ted" the police were looking for, to be her "Ted", therefore, she was in denial for many years. After he killed women at night, he would come home to her, late hours of the night and act like everything was normal. Ted was attracted to women who had long hair, parted in the middle, just like Stephanie. He would earn the women's trust, take them some place, hit them on the head with a rod, and rape them when they were dead. In many situations, he would just break into their house and kill them while they were asleep. Ted Bundy was very attractive making young women trust him. When in Florida, he was charged of burgalary so the police took him to jail. They knew he was the Ted who was killing the girls, but they had no evidence just yet. When he escaped, he killed his last victim a 12 year old girl named Kimberely. The court charged him with the murder of her, and two college students in a sorority in the year 1979.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in crime novels. Ann Rule is a brilliant writer and her stories get you engaged where you can't even put the book down. The Stranger Beside Me, is one of my favorite books and to this day, Ted Bundy still interests me and I want to learn more about him, to see why he was such a sick man.(less)

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Feb 04, 2012 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir, horror, law-legal, non-fiction, psychology, tragic, true-crime

Very thorough account of the life, crimes, trial, and death of serial killer Ted Bundy. Ann Rule was a crime writer who was friends with Bundy before he was ever considered as a suspect. She was hired to write the book before the killer's identity was ever known, and started work on it with Bundy's full knowledge. She starts with a brief biographical sketch, then details everything that happened in Bundy's life (the murders themselves, plus his movements and relationships and eventual arrest) fr...more Very thorough account of the life, crimes, trial, and death of serial killer Ted Bundy. Ann Rule was a crime writer who was friends with Bundy before he was ever considered as a suspect. She was hired to write the book before the killer's identity was ever known, and started work on it with Bundy's full knowledge. She starts with a brief biographical sketch, then details everything that happened in Bundy's life (the murders themselves, plus his movements and relationships and eventual arrest) from about 1971 until his execution in 1989.

This is the 2009 edition, and contains a lot of material that wasn't in the original. The book was first published in 1980, right after Bundy was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Kimberley Leach. It's clear that at the time she was still very much under his spell-- her horror at what's happening to her friend comes through clearly in her description of the crimes. That was one of the most uncomfortable aspects of reading this book, beyond the horror of the crimes themselves: Rule appears to sympathize more with "Ted" than with his victims.

After the original epilogue is an afterword written in 1986. A former law student, Bundy naturally insisted on multiple appeals in an attempt to escape the death penalty. This is actually where the book becomes most interesting for me, because Rule has clearly lost some of her illusions at this point. Apparently Bundy turned against her when she failed to make her book appropriately flattering, and she came to the (probably correct) conclusion that he had been using her as a propaganda tool. In "The Last Chapter," written in 1989, she is even more clear-headed, and she's even more so in the small update written in 2000. With their added clarity and maturity, the last 120 pages or so are by far the best in the book.

This was Rule's first full-length book, and in places it really shows. The original prose is very clunky and sensationalistic, and often I thought it sounded like something Rita Skeeter would have written. It's always informative, however, and never boring. Rule's writing style improves enough by the end of the book that I plan to pick up her later books as I see them, because she really did do a very thorough job.

Of course the subject matter is tragic, gruesome, and horrifying, and I wouldn't recommend it if you're easily upset. If you're interested in true crime, however, or in serial killers in general, The Stranger Beside Me is definitely worth reading. (less)

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Jun 23, 2011 Doug DePew rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone interested in true crime

I've worked in prisons most of my adult life. I have looked many killers in the eyes...some who committed crimes as disturbing as Bundy's. You can see it in most of them. The most disturbing thing about Bundy is the fact that most people couldn't see it. Even his friend, Ann Rule, didn't see it.

"The Stranger Beside Me" by Ann Rule is a brilliantly constructed book. It's amazing how she transitions from not knowing anything about the murders to not believing the murders to accepting that her fri...more

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Feb 27, 2011 Nicola rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, crime, bought-used

Ann Rule’s book about Ted Bundy, The Stranger Beside Me, is undeniably compelling and well-researched, but I don’t quite think it deserves to be hailed as a ‘classic’ of true crime.

The narrative hinges on Rule’s ten-year friendship with Bundy and her initial refusal to believe he was capable of mass murder. Although this friendship clearly deeply affected Rule, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that… um… they weren’t really friends.

They met as occasional work colleagues at a crisis hotline, at...more Ann Rule’s book about Ted Bundy, The Stranger Beside Me, is undeniably compelling and well-researched, but I don’t quite think it deserves to be hailed as a ‘classic’ of true crime.

The narrative hinges on Rule’s ten-year friendship with Bundy and her initial refusal to believe he was capable of mass murder. Although this friendship clearly deeply affected Rule, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that… um… they weren’t really friends.

They met as occasional work colleagues at a crisis hotline, attended a couple of social functions together and… that’s really it. Admittedly, Rule was one of Bundy’s few correspondents during his early years in prison, and those letters do shed light on Bundy, but this “friendship torn apart” angle has little truth to it. And, when Rule dramatically asserts that she feels that she had the power to stop Bundy/persuade him to confess, it really gets a little silly.

That Rule inserts so much of herself into the book is understandable, but at the risk of sounding like the bitch that I am, she really began to grate on my nerves. She writes extensively of all her problems – marital problems, money problems – but she never goes into enough detail that the reader might sympathise with her. She withholds a lot of personal information, even as she’s playing up her own place in the narrative. It’s weirdly off-putting. It reminded me of listening to someone at a party tell you at length about their problems, and then, when you ask an innocuous question, having them recoil and say, “that’s personal!”

(At one point, Rule talks about surgery that she had to have and there’s a good 2-3 pages about this surgery – but she never specifies what the surgery was for. I can’t tell you why this bugged me so much, but it really did. Either give me the full story or give me none of it!)

It probably won’t surprise you that Stranger, which weighs in at a hefty 498 pages, could do with being 200 pages shorter. (Maybe I shouldn’t complain, though. I just got another Rule book through bookmooch and it is an astonishing 650 pages in length.)

The book also has more endings than Lord of the Rings.

It’s an engaging read, but definitely one to save for a time when you have a lot of time on your hands.(less)

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Sep 20, 2010 Jenn Hailley rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved reading this book...I know that sounds gruesome to enjoy reading a true crime book about one of the cruelest monsters to ever walk this earth...but it was just so spooky...I couldn't put it down, and yet I was terrified to go to sleep. I had no idea the details of ted bundy's murder spree, and couldn't believe the sneaky stealth of his midnight break ins, or his horrible treatment of the young women he killed. It was interesting to see the insight Ms Rule had through her personal relatio...more

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Jul 30, 2009 Deborah Edwards rated it 4 of 5 stars

Still the most famous - and possibly the best - of the true crime genre, featuring Ted Bundy as the poster boy for America's obsession with serial killers. Rule's book stands out for a number of reasons. She knew Bundy, worked alongside him in a crisis center, and although she was a former policewoman with a real talent for researching sociopaths, Bundy was so intelligent, so charming, so seemingly "normal," that Rule never once suspected his darkness. Her fluid writing style and talent for conv...more

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Jun 18, 2009 Lori rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: true-crime, books-i-own

Ann Rule's "The Stranger Beside Me" is probably the most frightening of all the accounts of Ted Bundy's murderous career. Why? Because Rule was a former policewoman, she considered Ted Bundy a co-worker and friend and never saw the sociopathic personality lurking behind his charming facade. As a society, I think we want to believe that we can easily spot those Bundys, Dahmers, Gacys . . . and Rule's book emphasizes the fact that we cannot. Those monsters blend in sometimes seamlessly with the re...more

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Apr 13, 2009 Dreadlocksmile rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ann Rule is arguably the most talented and dedicated true crime authors ever. Her indepth research is second to none, and this book is possibly her best. She was actually one of Ted Bundy's closest friends years ago, when later the whole truth about the charming man she used to seek friendship in, came to light. This is the harrowing story of the serial killer Ted Bundy and the life he lived. Not often do you come across a true crime book with so much indepth knowledge and background information...more

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Apr 13, 2009 Carmen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't remember where exactly I had heard of Ann Rule or who recommended her to me. I just remember walking by this title one day while it was on a special display and being very captivated by its concept. I didn't read it for any sort of morbid curiosity about serial killers or for the lurid details of Bundy's victim's deaths. I read it mainly because the idea that anyone could be a serial killer, anyone can have deep dark secrets and still appear normal in every day society can and does happe...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fascinating true crime novel about one of the most notorious serial killers in history. Ted Bundy's story always caught my attention due to the Utah connection. My mother was in high school when he stalked Utah, and she looked a lot like his preferred victim. Also strange to think I went to the same law school as Bundy--walked the same halls and sat in the same classrooms.

I'm also fascinated to learn about those psychopaths like Bundy whose brains simply do not work as a normal person's brain d...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

i dont know if the world of crime is truely that small or what. i read small sacrifices, then this one. small sacrifices mentioned both ted bundy and the i-5 KILLER. i picked this up at a used book store along with several other true crime books and the weird thing about it, in this book it mentions that bundy conversed with the killer of adam walsh. there was also mention of a key player in this book being involved in the green river murders. which i ended up getting unknowingly both john walsh...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Joanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, crime-and-drugs, history, mystery, non-fiction, psychology

3.5 stars. At first, Rule's writing really frustrated me, though the content was fascinating throughout. I vastly preferred her tone in the Afterwords, where she unequivocally withdraws her support of Ted Bundy (perhaps because they were written after his confessions). Before that, if I had a dollar for every time she mentioned how "handsome" Bundy was (meh, unibrow), I'd be able to afford a pretty fancy dinner for two.

Still, this is a fascinating story. Unbelievable how someone like Bundy could...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Daisy*•.♥.•* rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: true-crime, my-favorites

The crimes of Ted Bundy were horrific and very brutal. This book is filled with so many details on his known crimes. It is suspected that there are hundreds of Bundy victims that no one knows about to date.

I was very shocked to know that Ann Rule knew him personally before he began his serial killing spree. What really horrified me is how she keot in contact with him even after he was arrested. She would even send him money or stamps. That is just crazy to me. I would have thought that she would...more

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