Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
l’ho trovato noioso. un lungo reportage pieno di date e informazioni tralasciabili ai fini di una lettura “di piacere”, per quanto questa possa essere considerata una lettura di piacere. Ho trovato banali le considerazioni dell’autrice riguardo i suoi sentimenti per Ted Bundy e soprattutto ripetitivi. “No non può essere lui anche se una parte di me pensa che sia lui oddio è lui!!! non ci posso credere era cosi carino…” Ma così carino esattamente dove??? Vi siete frequentati per qualche mese in una clinica per lavoro. Bah
A parte ciò mi sono mancati alcuni punti di vista interessanti ad esempio quello di Stephanie, la sua prima ragazza.
In definitiva mi ha annoiata terribilmente e non vedevo l’ora di finirlo.
Che le vittime possano riposare in pace.
A parte ciò mi sono mancati alcuni punti di vista interessanti ad esempio quello di Stephanie, la sua prima ragazza.
In definitiva mi ha annoiata terribilmente e non vedevo l’ora di finirlo.
Che le vittime possano riposare in pace.
Put simply, this is potentially the most unique account and perspective on one of this countries most fascinating men.
This book was nicely written. I was not expecting it to be Ted Bundy’s entire life story but it was an okay surprise.
At some points the book dragged on which kind of annoyed me.
Another thing that annoyed me was the author’s friendship with Ted Bundy especially when she had her doubts and suspicions regarding him. The fact that she’d send checks and stamps to him. She was honest but at times I couldn’t help thinking she was exploiting their friendship for her book. A book she knew she was going to write.
I did like that she described the victims and their lives and how it gave a sense that these were completely innocent girls who wouldn’t cause harm to anyone and how their life was horrifyingly taken away from them. This book was disturbing at some points as well.
I did like the psychiatric discussion towards the end of the book on how Ted’s primitive years and the fact that he didn’t know who he was formed his entire life.
At some points the book dragged on which kind of annoyed me.
Another thing that annoyed me was the author’s friendship with Ted Bundy especially when she had her doubts and suspicions regarding him. The fact that she’d send checks and stamps to him. She was honest but at times I couldn’t help thinking she was exploiting their friendship for her book. A book she knew she was going to write.
I did like that she described the victims and their lives and how it gave a sense that these were completely innocent girls who wouldn’t cause harm to anyone and how their life was horrifyingly taken away from them. This book was disturbing at some points as well.
I did like the psychiatric discussion towards the end of the book on how Ted’s primitive years and the fact that he didn’t know who he was formed his entire life.
Obviously a very horrifying read. This book contains details about many of Ted Bundy’s crimes, as well as his execution by the state of Florida, so tread carefully.
The big issue I take with this book, as I do with so much of the true crime genre, is that at no point does it pause and question the severe police incompetence that allowed Ted Bundy to escape from custody and take more lives. The writer is a former police officer and makes clear from the beginning that she doesn’t believe anti-police sentiment is moral or merited; she’s extremely loyal to police in ways that are frankly bizarre, given that she spends much of the book laying out the ways *multiple state police forces* exhibited incompetence that allowed this man to escape and murder more women before his recapture and eventual death.
Three elements are not lost on me: that most of the police named in this book were men; that Ted Bundy committed crimes that were unspeakably misogynistic; and that it was police’s institutional incompetence that allowed him to escape. This police behavior, then, packs an extra punch: they understood him to be a notorious killer of women. They *knew* he was highly intelligent and they *knew* he was a flight risk. It’s chilling to realize that they were aware of the misogyny in Bundy’s crimes, but allowed him the degree of benign neglect that made it possible for him to escape.
To be clear, many things can be true at once: I don’t look positively on the death penalty or prison as institutions, *and* the lack of accountability for the institutional incompetence that enabled a misogynist to escape and continue his campaign of terror is extremely chilling. This book, like so many others, reinforces to me that misogyny is systemic.
The big issue I take with this book, as I do with so much of the true crime genre, is that at no point does it pause and question the severe police incompetence that allowed Ted Bundy to escape from custody and take more lives. The writer is a former police officer and makes clear from the beginning that she doesn’t believe anti-police sentiment is moral or merited; she’s extremely loyal to police in ways that are frankly bizarre, given that she spends much of the book laying out the ways *multiple state police forces* exhibited incompetence that allowed this man to escape and murder more women before his recapture and eventual death.
Three elements are not lost on me: that most of the police named in this book were men; that Ted Bundy committed crimes that were unspeakably misogynistic; and that it was police’s institutional incompetence that allowed him to escape. This police behavior, then, packs an extra punch: they understood him to be a notorious killer of women. They *knew* he was highly intelligent and they *knew* he was a flight risk. It’s chilling to realize that they were aware of the misogyny in Bundy’s crimes, but allowed him the degree of benign neglect that made it possible for him to escape.
To be clear, many things can be true at once: I don’t look positively on the death penalty or prison as institutions, *and* the lack of accountability for the institutional incompetence that enabled a misogynist to escape and continue his campaign of terror is extremely chilling. This book, like so many others, reinforces to me that misogyny is systemic.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
I found this to be extremely interesting, and learned much more about Bundy than I knew before. However, her writing style bored me at times. I also struggled with whether she exaggerated her friendship with Ted, as she only worked with him for a short time… Overall, definitely filled with intriguing tidbits, but not written “beautifully”. I enjoyed reading directly how it felt to be manipulated by Bundy, but the novel read more like an information dump than a story.
… I also found grammatical mistakes throughout! Eek!!
… I also found grammatical mistakes throughout! Eek!!
I've written this review for Really Into This
Check out all of our reviews at https://reallyintothis.com
Happy Reading, friends!
THE STRANGER BESIDE ME BY ANN RULE BOOK REVIEW
Ted Bundy seems to be everywhere right now. In conjunction with the 25th anniversary of Bundy’s exection, Netflix released a documentary Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. At the same time, the trailer for Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile starring Zac Efron dropped. It seems Ted Bundy has made a comeback of sorts.
MOMMA TOLD ME ABOUT TED
The truth is Ted Bundy has lived in my nightmares almost as long as I can remember. Like a lot of women, my mother has an infatuation with true crime. If given another career choice, likely she would’ve been an excellent forensic investigator. My mom doesn’t mess around. She’s one of those people who want answers. No way you’re getting off easy with her. Melissa wants to know why & she wants to know exactly what she is dealing with. As I get older I can really understand the value in all of those things.
As soon as I mentioned to her I was reading this book, the very first thing she said was, “that son of a bitch passed through my town driving down Interstate 10 to get to Florida.” At that moment, she recalled her age, the time of year & it was like she was 19 years old again. No time passed & she was a young, single female in the midst of a killer.
WHY DO WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SERIAL KILLERS?
That’s the thing about true crime, right? If you know these crimes and you come to know the victims & killers, the cases change your psyche. Once we realize these killers walk side by side with us, it makes us look at everything & everyone a bit differently. This personifies Ted Bundy.
I chose to read this book on audio because it is read by the author. Ann Rule worked very closely with Ted Bundy. Not only that, but she had a very personal relationship with him. Ann knew about his girlfriends, his breakups, his career goals & more. Ann offers a pretty in-depth look at what a “normal guy” Ted Bundy was. Through her personal stories, she takes readers on a parallel journey of the crimes & the path of the man she knew.
CHARISMATIC & DANGEROUS
As soon as I started driving, I could not stay away from our local mall. I remember very clearly my mother looking me dead in the eye and saying you need to be wary of somebody walking up to you with a cast or a sling asking for help. When I asked her why she said that’s one of the ways Ted Bundy got his victims.
She wasn’t lying. Bundy did all this & more. While he’s definitely not my type, his looks & charisma helped him lure women. He just couldn’t stop. I mean, hello? The man broke out of jail & was on the lam. Yet, he still couldn’t help but brutally murder women.
THE VERDICT
I am Really Into This book! Ann Rule gives us a detailed look at her friend, Ted. As we match her friend with the crimes he ultimately committed, it makes him all the more frightening. This is a must-read for any true crime lover.
Check out all of our reviews at https://reallyintothis.com
Happy Reading, friends!
THE STRANGER BESIDE ME BY ANN RULE BOOK REVIEW
Ted Bundy seems to be everywhere right now. In conjunction with the 25th anniversary of Bundy’s exection, Netflix released a documentary Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. At the same time, the trailer for Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile starring Zac Efron dropped. It seems Ted Bundy has made a comeback of sorts.
MOMMA TOLD ME ABOUT TED
The truth is Ted Bundy has lived in my nightmares almost as long as I can remember. Like a lot of women, my mother has an infatuation with true crime. If given another career choice, likely she would’ve been an excellent forensic investigator. My mom doesn’t mess around. She’s one of those people who want answers. No way you’re getting off easy with her. Melissa wants to know why & she wants to know exactly what she is dealing with. As I get older I can really understand the value in all of those things.
As soon as I mentioned to her I was reading this book, the very first thing she said was, “that son of a bitch passed through my town driving down Interstate 10 to get to Florida.” At that moment, she recalled her age, the time of year & it was like she was 19 years old again. No time passed & she was a young, single female in the midst of a killer.
WHY DO WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SERIAL KILLERS?
That’s the thing about true crime, right? If you know these crimes and you come to know the victims & killers, the cases change your psyche. Once we realize these killers walk side by side with us, it makes us look at everything & everyone a bit differently. This personifies Ted Bundy.
I chose to read this book on audio because it is read by the author. Ann Rule worked very closely with Ted Bundy. Not only that, but she had a very personal relationship with him. Ann knew about his girlfriends, his breakups, his career goals & more. Ann offers a pretty in-depth look at what a “normal guy” Ted Bundy was. Through her personal stories, she takes readers on a parallel journey of the crimes & the path of the man she knew.
CHARISMATIC & DANGEROUS
As soon as I started driving, I could not stay away from our local mall. I remember very clearly my mother looking me dead in the eye and saying you need to be wary of somebody walking up to you with a cast or a sling asking for help. When I asked her why she said that’s one of the ways Ted Bundy got his victims.
She wasn’t lying. Bundy did all this & more. While he’s definitely not my type, his looks & charisma helped him lure women. He just couldn’t stop. I mean, hello? The man broke out of jail & was on the lam. Yet, he still couldn’t help but brutally murder women.
THE VERDICT
I am Really Into This book! Ann Rule gives us a detailed look at her friend, Ted. As we match her friend with the crimes he ultimately committed, it makes him all the more frightening. This is a must-read for any true crime lover.
I was not too interested in Ted Bundy before reading this book, but I am a general true crime enthusiast so I picked this up from the library.
Overall, it details Bundy’s crimes and gives some knowledge into the man himself, seeing as Ann Rule was his coworker and friend. It is shocking that Bundy worked at a crisis center before murdering so many women, and even more shocking just how manipulative he was.
However, I didn’t find this to be too compelling, as it doesn’t really have an angle. It’s just a bare bones account of his crimes and his life. Additionally, Rule’s writing is sharp and clear, but nothing special.
I would still pick up another of her books though!
Overall, it details Bundy’s crimes and gives some knowledge into the man himself, seeing as Ann Rule was his coworker and friend. It is shocking that Bundy worked at a crisis center before murdering so many women, and even more shocking just how manipulative he was.
However, I didn’t find this to be too compelling, as it doesn’t really have an angle. It’s just a bare bones account of his crimes and his life. Additionally, Rule’s writing is sharp and clear, but nothing special.
I would still pick up another of her books though!
“If, as many people believe today, Ted Bundy took lives, he also saved lives. I know he did, because I was there when he did it.”
IF?! Even if she wrote this before he confessed, she must be the queen dumb bitch from planet dumb bitch to ever even doubt that he was guilty. To me, that quote makes it seem as if she is trying to justify his crimes, as if it could cancel out rape and murder.
i was going to content myself with furiously liking all the 1-star reviews I agreed with, but I am completely disgusted by this fan-fiction piece of trash. I am dropping this book just a few pages in because the author's blatant infatuation with her subject is completely tone-deaf and sickening.
& just because I'm feeling petty: ted bundy was handsome in what universe?! he was a ugly, generic rat faced bozo with bad teeth. whiteness is a helluva drug.
IF?! Even if she wrote this before he confessed, she must be the queen dumb bitch from planet dumb bitch to ever even doubt that he was guilty. To me, that quote makes it seem as if she is trying to justify his crimes, as if it could cancel out rape and murder.
i was going to content myself with furiously liking all the 1-star reviews I agreed with, but I am completely disgusted by this fan-fiction piece of trash. I am dropping this book just a few pages in because the author's blatant infatuation with her subject is completely tone-deaf and sickening.
& just because I'm feeling petty: ted bundy was handsome in what universe?! he was a ugly, generic rat faced bozo with bad teeth. whiteness is a helluva drug.