The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy: The Shocking Inside Story by Ann Rule
I don't know why I have put this book off for so long. It is obviously my kind of book. Not only is it a biography of notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, but it was written by a person who considered him a good friend. Somehow it got overlooked though and I did not delve into it until watching the Netflix docu-series, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes and then the Netflix movie starring Zac Efron, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
Ted Bundy is a well known serial killer with murders in the double digits and confirmed murders and attacks in five states, though he claimed six states. He brutally bludgeon his victims, raped them, and choked them, often times with pantyhose. When he was not acting on these urges though, he was kind, funny, smart. He could have been a lawyer or even a state governor. He had long term girlfriends; he was his mothers pride and joy. How can these be the same person? Even more, how would you feel if you found out that this person was someone you personally knew and considered a good friend? That is what happened to Ann Rule.
This might be horrible to say, but I love the irony that Ann Rule already had a book deal in place for the person committing these murders in Washington before anyone knew it was Ted Bundy. Ann and Ted met a few years prior when they both worked for a crisis clinic where the frequently talked down people who were contemplating suicide, overdosing, or in other precarious situations. I think this is the hardest thing for me to reconcile: Ted Bundy helped save lives. I think he wanted to try to counter any bad he had or would commit with good. I do not believe that is an even trade, but I would not be surprised if that had been how he tried to write it off mentally. While Ann admits that Ted was definitely different from not only people his age, but people in general, she never got the impression that he was a serial killer. But how many of us really, like really think we know a serial killer? I hope the answer is small, if not zero. While they were not best friends, they kept in touch after they both left the crisis clinic and throughout his trial up until his execution in 1989, although frequency would vary over the years. Their entire relationship is depicted in The Stranger Beside Me, along with Ann's conflicting emotions about what was being revealed about a man she thought she knew.
I always like my true crime books to give justice to the victims. The people who commit the crimes are always remembered, and usually have some sort of groupie fan base. In my opinion, the ones who should be remembered are the victims. They did not ask for it, whatever it was that happened to them. They did not know that their life was going to end. I feel that initially, Ann does not do the best job at giving justice to the victims. I felt that some of the earlier victims had very little given about them. I know that they are a victim of Ted Bundy, but I want to know if they were cheerleaders for their university, or if they were interested in art, what their goals and dreams were, and about the families that were tragically left behind, some without real answers. Maybe that is morbid, but I always feel that they deserve more than what they got. The victims that Ann discusses more are the victims that received trials. It may be that more is known about them since they or their families got their day in court.
One thing that Ann really got in to that neither Netflix show did was go into his obsession with his college girlfriend, Stephanie. She is discussed in Conversations with a Killer, and I felt that she would be somewhat integral in Ted's destruction, but it sort of just ended their relationship. The Efron movie does not even mention her, focusing more on Ted's relationship with Liz and Carole Ann. What neither of these tell you is that Ted and Stephanie dated a second time after college, while he was with Liz, and had even gotten engaged. Ted drops her randomly right after Christmas. Stephanie felt that Ted had gotten his revenge on her for her leaving him after college. Ann feels that a lot of Ted's victims were replacements for Stephanie and the revenge that was never fully quenched, and I agree. I'm not a psychologist or criminologist or anything, but I read a lot so I think I know what I'm talking about. Just kidding. Not really, though.
Overall, the book was really good. Ann includes a lot of details about her own life and feelings, which sometimes got annoying, but then I would remind myself that she is writing this in real time and she knew Ted Bundy. Of course it would be impossible for her to not make this personal. She gives the victims the dignity they deserve, she reviews the court hearings well, and she captures Bundy's multiple personalities that made it so hard to believe he could do something like this. I enjoyed Ann's writing so much that I have added all of her other books to my TBR and bought If You Really Loved Me right away because it really piqued my interests.
Rating: 8/10
Author: Ann Rule
Genres: True Crime, Non-fiction, Biography
Dates Read: June 14-19, 2019
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| (Source: Kelsey Darling) |
This might be horrible to say, but I love the irony that Ann Rule already had a book deal in place for the person committing these murders in Washington before anyone knew it was Ted Bundy. Ann and Ted met a few years prior when they both worked for a crisis clinic where the frequently talked down people who were contemplating suicide, overdosing, or in other precarious situations. I think this is the hardest thing for me to reconcile: Ted Bundy helped save lives. I think he wanted to try to counter any bad he had or would commit with good. I do not believe that is an even trade, but I would not be surprised if that had been how he tried to write it off mentally. While Ann admits that Ted was definitely different from not only people his age, but people in general, she never got the impression that he was a serial killer. But how many of us really, like really think we know a serial killer? I hope the answer is small, if not zero. While they were not best friends, they kept in touch after they both left the crisis clinic and throughout his trial up until his execution in 1989, although frequency would vary over the years. Their entire relationship is depicted in The Stranger Beside Me, along with Ann's conflicting emotions about what was being revealed about a man she thought she knew.
 |
| (Source: Giphy) |
One thing that Ann really got in to that neither Netflix show did was go into his obsession with his college girlfriend, Stephanie. She is discussed in Conversations with a Killer, and I felt that she would be somewhat integral in Ted's destruction, but it sort of just ended their relationship. The Efron movie does not even mention her, focusing more on Ted's relationship with Liz and Carole Ann. What neither of these tell you is that Ted and Stephanie dated a second time after college, while he was with Liz, and had even gotten engaged. Ted drops her randomly right after Christmas. Stephanie felt that Ted had gotten his revenge on her for her leaving him after college. Ann feels that a lot of Ted's victims were replacements for Stephanie and the revenge that was never fully quenched, and I agree. I'm not a psychologist or criminologist or anything, but I read a lot so I think I know what I'm talking about. Just kidding. Not really, though.
 |
| (Source: Giphy) |
Rating: 8/10
Author: Ann Rule
Genres: True Crime, Non-fiction, Biography
Dates Read: June 14-19, 2019
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