The Stranger Beside Me (Revised and Updated): 20th Anniversary
There are actually two stories here: one describes the gradual disintegration of a seemingly normal, affable, brilliant man into a sexual psychopath so evil, so methodical in his vicious killings, that one wonders if he was at all human. The other story is that of Ann Rule herself, a decent, hard-working, middle-aged mother of four who meets and befriends a nice young man working beside her in a crisis clinic. A man she regards as a younger brother; a man she views as a close and trusted friend. The slow but inexorable realization on Rule's part that this man is in fact an unspeakably violent serial killer is as painful to read as it was for her to experience.
Each victim is described in terms of such respect and such anguish that even a family member, I think, can feel that his or her daughter has been given a chance to shine, a chance to be more than a victim, more than a nameless number (8th girl killed, and so forth). The poignancy of these girls' very human preoccupations and lives serves to outline the contrasting horror in even more detail. That is why Rule does not have to defile the victims with intricate detail. The contrast between their young lives and their terrible deaths is enough in itself.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
I wanted to love this book so badly, especially after all the hype from MFM. But I just didn’t. The story could have been amazing but the subpar writing ruined it for me.
I'd give this book 3.75 stars, I think. It was better than 3.5, but not quite 4 stars.
There's been a lot that's been said about this book, given that it is a classic true crime novel. Of course, I enjoyed the in depth information in this book and everything we learn about Ted Bundy. From a true crime, historical point of view, this book was really great. The author clearly did her research and talked to all the people involved and really did a thorough job in getting to know the subject of her book. And the way the book was set up hooks the reader in and really makes you want to keep turning the page, especially as you get closer and closer to the end.
I think my frustration just came from the fact that the author remained sympathetic to Ted long after the evidence was pretty clear that he killed people. And even after his trial, she sent him money and stamps and all that — I thought that was very weird. If they had been like best friends or something, then maybe I would understand her loyalty a bit more, but it feels like she over-exaggerated how well she even knew him. They worked together for a while, but other than that, their meetings and conversations seemed fairly sporadic over the years. They seemed more like acquaintances than anything else. Maybe she sent him money because she was writing about him, but that didn't seem like it was the case, at least based on what she said. So that was definitely the most frustrating part of the book, where I just wanted to ask her what she was thinking when she did that.
I do like her writing though. It's very accessible, and I have a few other books by her that are on my list for me to get to at some point!
There's been a lot that's been said about this book, given that it is a classic true crime novel. Of course, I enjoyed the in depth information in this book and everything we learn about Ted Bundy. From a true crime, historical point of view, this book was really great. The author clearly did her research and talked to all the people involved and really did a thorough job in getting to know the subject of her book. And the way the book was set up hooks the reader in and really makes you want to keep turning the page, especially as you get closer and closer to the end.
I think my frustration just came from the fact that the author remained sympathetic to Ted long after the evidence was pretty clear that he killed people. And even after his trial, she sent him money and stamps and all that — I thought that was very weird. If they had been like best friends or something, then maybe I would understand her loyalty a bit more, but it feels like she over-exaggerated how well she even knew him. They worked together for a while, but other than that, their meetings and conversations seemed fairly sporadic over the years. They seemed more like acquaintances than anything else. Maybe she sent him money because she was writing about him, but that didn't seem like it was the case, at least based on what she said. So that was definitely the most frustrating part of the book, where I just wanted to ask her what she was thinking when she did that.
I do like her writing though. It's very accessible, and I have a few other books by her that are on my list for me to get to at some point!
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.