The Stranger Beside Me

Ann Rule

Release date: August 1st, 1980 (updated copy May 10th, 2022)
Genre: True crime, Nonfiction

SYNOPSIS:

A #1 New York Times Best Seller, Ann Rule’s The Stranger Beside Me gives us a unique perspective into the hidden world of Ted Bundy. Rule gives a chilling and intimate description of her time at a crisis hotline alongside her co-worker, the then charming, sensitive and trustworthy Ted Bundy, and the devastating realization that he was a brutal killer hiding in plain sight. After multiple arrests and an escape from jail, Bundy would later confess to the murders of at least thirty-six women and soon after was executed for three cases. Rule, a certified instructor for police training seminars, prosecutors and forensic science organizations, delves into how this savage killer — a man she thought she knew — could have fooled so many, including a professional like herself.

Now includes updated afterword written by Leslie Rule, Ann Rule’s daughter.

REVIEW:

I honestly do not know if I can truly “rate” this book. It was horrifying, desperately sad, and had me completely fuming. I learned an incredible amount of things from this book that I had not previously known. Ann covers all of her known aspects and doesn’t embellish or shy away from the grisly details of what Ted had done to these women. She had such a precarious position with this book and I don’t think she could have done a better job at writing about this extremely difficult matter. Her dedication to this book, to the victims (even brushes/encounters of potential victims), their families, law enforcement, the laws, and the processes/technology (I could go on) are truly beyond words.

Ann Rule was a truly inspirational person and after all she had accomplished I hope she is getting some extremely deserved rest – maybe even some answers. I was never bored reading this book but it was a lot of information to digest and I read this one so slowly.

If you enjoy reading true crime novels and haven’t read this book yet then I highly recommend doing so. Thank you to my IG group of two fellow moms for picking this one out to read – I would have never picked it up to read otherwise. I truly believe as Ann did – no one will ever truly know the “real” Ted Bundy.