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A review by maryehavens
The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
Giving this 5 stars because of its place in the true crime canon.
I had to take a break on this one - got bogged down with all the names during the Colorado part.
Where to begin?
I doubt there will ever be a better true crime classic simply because Rule knew Ted so intimately, she had an extensive crime background, and she is a good writer. Did I like it? Not really simply for the fact that Ted Bundy was such a master manipulator of all peoples. Even as I read this, I rooted for him to escape Colorado. And then I was like "why am I rooting for him? How sickening!"
It's interesting that Bundy is still viewed with such fascination. I can't tell you how many students pick him as a subject for their ENGL 1301 papers. It's a bit of a shame, really, because we are all giving him exactly what he wanted: attention. Power. Fame.
Rule put it best when she said that Ted Bundy did more than rob them of their lives. He also robbed them of their specialness since each woman or girl was only one in a long line of HIS victims. I think that's why everyone was so glad he was dead, as terrible as that sounds. He was just going to keep being a nuisance in jail and a murderer outside of it.
This book did not give a clear cut reason why he murdered because I don't think there was one. Rule speculated it was all about power and maybe it was as simple as that. Still doesn't explain, to me, the amount of victims he had. The whole thing is terrible, terrible tragedy. Worth the read though.
FYI: this edition, published in 2009, has multiple updates that include his final trial, execution, and a retrospective.
I had to take a break on this one - got bogged down with all the names during the Colorado part.
Where to begin?
I doubt there will ever be a better true crime classic simply because Rule knew Ted so intimately, she had an extensive crime background, and she is a good writer. Did I like it? Not really simply for the fact that Ted Bundy was such a master manipulator of all peoples. Even as I read this, I rooted for him to escape Colorado. And then I was like "why am I rooting for him? How sickening!"
It's interesting that Bundy is still viewed with such fascination. I can't tell you how many students pick him as a subject for their ENGL 1301 papers. It's a bit of a shame, really, because we are all giving him exactly what he wanted: attention. Power. Fame.
Rule put it best when she said that Ted Bundy did more than rob them of their lives. He also robbed them of their specialness since each woman or girl was only one in a long line of HIS victims. I think that's why everyone was so glad he was dead, as terrible as that sounds. He was just going to keep being a nuisance in jail and a murderer outside of it.
This book did not give a clear cut reason why he murdered because I don't think there was one. Rule speculated it was all about power and maybe it was as simple as that. Still doesn't explain, to me, the amount of victims he had. The whole thing is terrible, terrible tragedy. Worth the read though.
FYI: this edition, published in 2009, has multiple updates that include his final trial, execution, and a retrospective.