Rating: 
Summary: To Humanize a Monster
Review: I was scared out of my mind but I couldn't put it down. Here was the story of a madman, a monster, a truly sick individual whose greatest accomplishment in life was to viciously hunt down, murder and defile beautiful women. He mercilessly took their young lives from us- who knows what they could have been. Most of them were college coeds, some were already working with disabled children, and we lost them to the sick perversions of this notorious serial murderer.
As much as we'd like to concentrate on the victims of the crimes, though, and as much as we'd like to mourn as a society for these innocents, we are drawn in by Ann Rule into the fascinating world of the killer himself. He becomes the star of the story and the women he killed are incidental. Sure, Rule gives us tiny bits of information about the victims, but some are almost just barely mentioned, mere footnotes in the biography of a depraved man.
Ann Rule admits this as one of the sad results of what Bundy did. He stole their specialness, she says, by making them all blend together as mere "Bundy victims".
I have only begun to read True Crime and my first books were by FBI profiler John Douglas. In his books, Douglas details the inner workings of sociopaths like Bundy, assuring us they are not "crazy" in the sense of having "no choice" about their forays into evil. They do it because that is what they love to do. An artist loves to paint and men like Bundy live to kill. (Bundy, however, is dead now- thanks to 2,000 volts from "Old Sparky", Florida's electric chair. He was sentenced to die in 1978 but managed to live, thanks to countless appeals, until 1989.)
I read John Douglas's book "Journey Into Darkness" last year and I had no desire to pick up a book about Ted Bundy like I was some kind of Bundy groupie (of which there were several, disgustingly enough). But the angle of this book is that Ann Rule knew the man before he was ever a prime suspect in the grisly murders of several young women. Having no idea who she was working next to late at night, Ann was actually moved to believe Bundy would be "perfect" for one of her own daughters to date, were they older. Instead of being the perfect gentleman Rule thought he was, Bundy was a man with no conscience. He felt no remorse for what he did and indeed, he denied it until the end. For what were probably selfish reasons (he was a master manipulator), he confessed right before his death on January 24, 1989. (Eerily, I bought the book on January 24, 2004, exactly fifteen years after society was assured Bundy would never kill again.) But don't think Ann was a naïve, eaisly conned woman. She was actually a cop in the 1950s and she was no dummy. What we have here is a man who is able to become whoever he needs to be in order to lure women to his trap- in this case a VW bug where he handcuffed them after bashing their head with a crow bar.
What Rule fails to mention in her book, written in 1980 then updated twenty years later in 2000, is that Bundy kept his victims alive as long as possible to torture them. He was a sexual sadist and a coward whose last victim was only twelve years old and plucked from her middle school yard. I learned this from John Douglas. He has no sympathy for men like Bundy and perhaps Rule doesn't have sympathy for every last killer but Bundy was, after all, her friend and she perhaps felt it necessary to humanize him for the readers so we would understand.
Rating:
Summary: An Essential For Your True Crime Collection
Review: This book is a must have, in my opinion. It will definitely frighten you. It will also provide an intimate look at the life and death of Theodore Robert Bundy. This book is unique due to the fact that Ann Rule knew Ted Bundy. She wanted to believe for a long time that he didn't commit these crimes, but she eventually had to let herself face the truth. The Bundy case is one that will always fascinate me, and Rule's book is a staple for an exploration of the case.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting insight into Ted Bundy
Review: The Stranger Beside me is a very interesting read about Ted Bundy and the heinous crimes he committed.The only gripe I have with the book, is that the author Ann Rule, writes about herself too much - it just seems un-necessary and contrived. Its still an interesting book to read though...a little slow in some parts, but still definetly worth looking into.
Rating:
Summary: "Frankenstein" just a literary creation, Think Again!
Review: Actually there are frankensteins amongst us all, only wearing mask. They can be your friend, mentor, sibling, neighbor. Yet hides a deep, dark secret that only becomes more apparent as one gets older. A compulsion that never stops because of a need to know why they were abandoned or mistreated as a child. I feel that Ann Rule writes from her personal experience, making it seem as a "first person" read. You don't know truely the experience, unless you've come across one, with the mask off) I, myself has come across one of these personality types, (Malignant Narcassist or passive/aggressive disorder). Not that all are "killers", but the reaction is the same. And I think Ann did more than "throw up"! Probably left with a disturbing and never ending question of "Why"? After reading Ann's book, depicting every mood, every turn of personality from the handsome, witty lawyer to a crazed, angry killer, it brings me back to the recollection of the "friend" in my life who also took off his mask and realizing he was "Nothing" he appeared to be. Only later after research and theropy, finding out I was only a reminder of his "mother". He wanted her love and punish her as well. Geez, how could I have known! I feel Ann Rule's book gives a thorough insight into how her friendship with Ted Bundy changes over time after realizing, things don't seem right; his lies, descriptions seem eerly similar. More of an insight of her intuition. I think the idea of the way Ted is able to hide his "true self" is just as compeling as the actual acts themselves. She gave, how many $10 to him? and personal thoughts! One doesn't like being made a fool! It's a must read and great description of the disorder!
Rating:
Summary: Ann Rule Has Class
Review: Any crime writer could express horror at Bundy's barbaric crimes but only a class act like Ann Rule could add to the horror a human face.
She talked about how Bundy would never let a fellow crisis worker go to her car without an escourt. She admired Bundy's compassion for callers to the crisis center. She even mentioned Bundy's Magne Cum Laude graduation from The University of Washington.
Ann Rule will always be the Queen of True Crime!!!
Rating:
Summary: Stunning and Frightening: Know Who Your Friends Are.
Review: As a fan of Ann Rule, I naturally wanted to check out this book that I'd heard so much about. Bundy was Ms. Rule's friend, et cetera, et cetera, then her big wake-up call. I think that her actions were correct, and if I had been her, I wouldn't have done anything different. I have known my share of people who turned out to be very different people than the people I thought I knew, and I can understand Ms. Rule's feelings. When I finished the last page, I was shaking all over, but I felt like crying at the same time. I have seen the "campy" version of that movie about Bundy, and Rule is correct to any girls who had written that they were "in love" with Ted Bundy. "No,", Ms. Rule writes, "You were in love with the actor who played Ted Bundy." I apologize if my quotation isn't completely accurate, but I have tried my best to reiterate those words. Yes, Bundy was charismatic, intelligent, and could have had a bright future. But it just didn't turn out that way. I wish there were answers to my questions, but there are none. I can empathize with Ms. Rule's feelings for a life so misspent. "Peace to everyone".
Rating:
Summary: THE STRANGER BESIDE ME
Review: THIS STORY KEPT ME ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT. I THOUGHT IT WAS SO GOOD THAT I BOUGHT 3 COPIES OF THE PAPERBACK AND GAVE TO MY FRIENDS. ALL OF THEM THOUGHT THE BOOK WAS THE BEST THEY HAVE READ IN A LONG TIME. I HAVE BEEN READING TRUE CRIME FOR ABOUT 4 YEARS AND THIS IS NO DOUBT, ONE OF THE BEST!
Rating:
Summary: I Rate This Book Five Depressing Stars
Review: I am not going to attempt to summarize this book when so many others have reviewed it before me. However, Ann Rule has done an exceptional job of covering her experiences with Ted Bundy as a co-worker and as one who corresponded with Mr. Bundy through numerous letters after he left the state of Washington. Sadly, Mr. Bundy often appealed to the goodness in others in getting them to help him when he appeared handicapped with a cast on an arm or a leg prior to killing them. Ted Bundy is the classic example of how it has become impossible to trust even the most sincere person who has a desire to help another individual. Ted Bundy has shown there is no stereotypical individual as to what a serial killer should look like. The book is 456 pages long, but it certainly makes for gripping reading. I would not, however, want to read another book on Ted Bundy. This one was enough.
Rating: 
Summary: This is About Ted Right?
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed "The Stranger Beside Me." However, before I began reading, I was expecting something totally different. I was expecting a story of about someone and their crimes, etc. - what a normal true crime story usually goes through. What I wasn't expecting was the inner torment of the author on whether or not she should believe her friend. I can understand that Ann Rule was friends with Ted Bundy and that caused torment for as she hunted for the "Ted" murderer and wrote her book, but this book about SOMEONE ELSE was written in the first person - and not from Ted's point of view. It's all about her thoughts and feelings as things are happening in the Ted case and what she's going through. The book was insightful because she actually knew Ted as a person - sociopath that he was. She felt that she could trust him and share with him. I do understand that would put anyone in an uncomfortable position when you find out someone is a serial killer and, yes, it should be mentioned in said book about this serial killer you are writing about. However, it should not be the basis of the entire book. Read it for the information on Ted, but try to ignore the fact that the book is more about Rule than him.
Rating:
Summary: very interesting!
Review: The book is about Theodore Robert Bundy, America's biggest serial-killer. The story is very complete because before he killed someone he was Ann Rule's friend so she can tells us how he was, and it's very interesting! -Bundy had killed one hundred people! He was very mad, but with his friend he was very nice, it's hard to understand!
It's never boring, so I highly recommended it!
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