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rmmcdowell 's review for:
The Stranger Beside Me
by Ann Rule
One reviewer called this book haunting. That's putting it mildly. Reading Ann Rule's in depth retelling of Ted Bundy's adult life is a gripping experience. I was in turns horrified and fascinated (which makes me sound slightly psychotic, so bear with me) to read his own words from personal letters and descriptions of his crimes and victims from court and actual police documents.
Ann's background in police work and her personal relationship with Bundy uniquely qualify her to write a book no one else could. The fascination lies in those things as well. She is able to take readers of true crime beyond the limitations faced by most true crime books--beyond merely the facts and actually into the life of the criminal himself. As Ann says, it is likely that no one actually knew the real Ted Bundy. Her personal connection to him shows us that at the end of the day, that is the true horror of a sociopath: they seem so normal, so caring even. And then they show their true selves.
Ann's background in police work and her personal relationship with Bundy uniquely qualify her to write a book no one else could. The fascination lies in those things as well. She is able to take readers of true crime beyond the limitations faced by most true crime books--beyond merely the facts and actually into the life of the criminal himself. As Ann says, it is likely that no one actually knew the real Ted Bundy. Her personal connection to him shows us that at the end of the day, that is the true horror of a sociopath: they seem so normal, so caring even. And then they show their true selves.