Prince Charming and Bluebeard

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	• The Stranger Beside Me (Revised and Updated): 20th Anniversary Ann Rule Signet, 2001 - 560 pages average customer review:based on 175 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great True Crime

This is one of the best true crime books that I have read. Ann Rule does a great job at presenting all the aspects of Ted Bundy's life. So many true crime books merely tell you the crimes and how the criminal was caught, but Rule gives you many deatils of Bundy's life and the lives of his victims. Many questions I usually have after reading a true crime book were answered here. Rule does a wonderful job giving the readers information about the victims. The victims aren't just numbers in a trail of horror. They are actual people who you grieve for as you read the book.

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Prince Charming and Bluebeard

Ann Rule was a Seattle policewoman who turned to journalism, specializing in True Crime around the northwest coast. Of her many books, this is the only one where she had personal knowledge of the perfect son, law student, social worker, and "trusted friend". Rule started writing this book before she found out that the suspect in these serial killings was her friend and co-worker, Ted Bundy. [Was he the inspiration for "Hannibal Lecter"?] Rule says there was nothing in Ted's record that could predict his future (p.xi). Yet there were incidents in his behavior: suspicion of auto theft and burglary (p.12), rifling lockers and stealing from drunks (p.14). His first girlfriend believed Ted used people and took advantage of them (p.15); she was also out of his class. Ted had other disappointments (pp.16-17). But he returned to college and became an honor student in psychology. Ted told stories to gain sympathy from a Professor (p.20). [A sign of a manipulator.] But otherwise Ted seemd to have a bright future (p.21).

Ann Rule worked as a volunteer for the Seattle Crisis Clinic in 1971. Ted was one of the work-study students there. They both helped to save lives (p.25). Ted was helpful in his advice to Rule (p.27). Ted's slenderness disguised his physical strength (p.29); racquetball and bicycling. Rule admired him. Ted was a conservative Republican who believed in law and order; Rule never saw any anger (p.32). Ted had a "compartmentalized" life, moved in many circles where no one really knew much about him. Ted's relationship with Stephanie changed, due to Ted's bitterness. Did Ted court her so he could reject her as she had earlier rejected him (p.47)? She survived this and married someone else. After this, the first victim disappeared.

Rule's life continued, a single mother with four children, writing reports on cases for the police, then writing stories for publication (p.49). Rule was a Deputy Sheriff in many of the counties, and spent time with various units (p.50). After young girls disappeared, Rule believed the killer would be a violent man, someone let out of prison too soon (p.77). Ted had a letter or recommendation from the Governor of Washington (pp.106-107). His coworkers at the Dept of Emergency Services noted his resemblance to the "Ted" at Lake Sammamish (pp.108-109). So did others (p.110). The murders in the Seattle area ceased but new murders occurred in Utah, Ted's new home (Chapter 13). But Ted failed to abduct and kill a young woman; Ted impersonated a police detective to fool this victim! After this young woman started to disappear in Colorado; some of their bodies were found (pl143). Early one morning a Utah HP sergeant noticed a VW Beetle driving by; he followed and stopped this car, and arrested the driver for evading an officer, and possessing burglar tools. Now things began to fall inot pale, and Rule received a phone call from Ted (Chapter 16). Those who worked with Ted couldn't believe the charges (p.157). Rule wrote to Ted in jail, and received Ted's letters. [Rule doesn't say that her association with Ted provided a powerful competitive advantage for her book.] The divorced single mother who lived off and on with Ted admittted he would leave in the middle of the night for hours, often when the girls disappeared (p.166). The police checked Ted's credit card records and telephone bills. Ted had been in the area where girls disappeared (p.175). Prison psychiatrists found Ted to be "normal" (p0.217); but he was sober then. After his second escape Ted travelled to Tallahassee FL and attacked girls at the Chi Omega sorority. (Rule had pledged to this organization - was Ted sending her a message?) A police officer noted a car coming out of a parking lot early in the morning, followed and stopped it. The suspect resisted arrest, but Patrolman David Lee caught one of the Ten-Most-Wanted. Ted's murder spree was over (Chapter 34). The rest of this book end this story, with Rule's personal experience at the trial.

Ted's trial in Miami was televised live; was this a first? The bite marks on Lisa Levy's buttocks first linked a victim to Ted (p.397-398). Rule said Ted was found guilty becaase he fought against his defense lawyers (p.403).

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Slightly Disappointed

I realize that the author was not objective in writing this book because of her acquaintance with Bundy, but I found the book much, much less than objective. I suppose I should have gotten a book by someone else because I was looking for a novel that gave all of the facts and was very straight-forward. This came off a little "fluffy", which I admit is not the best choice of words for a novel about a serial killer. At one point, Rule wrote something along the lines of how it was such a shame that all of Ted Bundy's victims were so young, beautiful, and intelligent. (Because it would be so much more excusable if they were dumb, ugly, and old!) Also, the descriptions of various people, from Detectives to victims, was too flowery for my taste, containing lots of adjectives and cliches. The editing was also a problem, almost a nuisance. An example is that one of the possible victims' names is Ann Marie, which she writes multiple times as either "Anne Marie" or "Ann Marie", and sometimes refers to her as "Ann", just before calling her "Ann Marie" again. She states on one page that it took the jury just under 7 hours to deliberate, on the next page it's less than 6 hours, and finally it's back to 7. And my final complaint, a big pet peeve of mine, is that she stated some events as being "anticlimATIC" (instead of anticlamACTIC)- maybe she was referring to being against the weather?
Other than those complaints, I was satisfied with the portrayal of Bundy and with the amount of information given. There is much detail, including names, dates, jury selection, judges, etc. Overall a decent book if you don't mind the above issues.

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Stranger beside me

It is a great book. It gives a lot of phychological insights and shows very intriguing development of the main character.

Couldn't put it down

I originally read the book mainly for the purpose of a term paper I was doing for school. I'm majoring in Criminal Justice and find the minds of serial killers to be so interesting. So, when I chose to do my paper on Ted Bundy, I figured I would be reading a book simply to get a term paper written. However, I ended up loving the book and couldn't put it down. I found myself looking forward to having free time just so that I could use that free time to read more of the book and get further into it. Needless to say the book was great from beginning to end. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys True Crime books, especially when they are written by someone who personally knew the person who the book is about.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, page 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

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