Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy

Oof. Disturbing to say the least, particularly when Liz mentions news stories of women disappearing or found murdered while she carries out her day-to-day life with Ted completely unaware that the perpetrator is her most intimate companion. To learn of Ted Bundy as one of the country’s most notorious serial killers is one thing, but to glean the same truth from the perspective of someone who once loved him is another matter entirely. It’s a gut-wrenching reminder how extremely difficult it is to leave an abusive situation, especially when a partner is violent and/or emotionally manipulative. There were moments throughout the book when it felt like I was reading a fictional horror, only to have the chilling realization that there were real victims and real survivors, one of whom gave us this chilling memoir.

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proceduralbob's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective fast-paced

3.5

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rachelunabridged's review against another edition

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dark informative sad medium-paced

I don't feel comfortable giving this a rating because it feels too much like rating someone's trauma. But I will say it was a really interesting and terrifying read. So tragic to hear the kind of manipulation and gaslighting this woman went through. My heart went out to her and her daughter, and I was glad to hear at the end that they've been able to mostly put the whole thing behind them. Good for them!

Would recommend to people who are interested in true crime, serial killers, or Ted Bundy specifically.

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mariareviews's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

It feels weird to rate this book, so I’ll leave this review without a rating. Full honestly, the writing is could be better and if this was fiction I would’ve DNF it so fast. But this isn’t fiction. This is the story of a woman that went through hell and survived. She’s definitely brave for exposing herself like that, open for everyone to judge her writing skills or poor choices. At first it felt like she still, dare I say, love and even sympathised with Bundy. It’s sad to see that the wound was still open when she first published the book. This new version offers her closure as a human and closure to us as readers. Molly’s side of the story was definitely eye opening and all she had to struggle with crushed my heart into tiny bits.

I hope the families and everyone involved with Ted Bundy manage to find peace and live a tranquil life.

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