In 1971 Ann Rule is struggling. She has separated from her husband, is raising four children almost by herself, and she has a struggling career as a crime writer. Despite her many responsibilities, Ann has decided to volunteer for the night shift at a suicide prevention hotline center. There, Ann befriends a young college student named Ted, Ted Bundy. To Ann, there is nothing amiss about Ted but as young women begin to disappear and Ann works to put the pieces together, she is forced to wonder if her friend Ted might not be all he appears to be.

Often coined as the first definitive biography of serial killer Ted Bundy, The Stranger Beside Me is not necessarily a book I would gravitate towards. Just having a broad idea about serial killers and their heinous crimes is typically enough for me, but I also think it is important to know how these killers got to their victims and what are the warning signs. Bundy in particular is an excellent example of how killers can’t be stereotyped. As Ann shows in her book, Bundy was intelligent, educated, and good-looking, seemingly the exact opposite of what a serial killer should be. He was charming and charismatic, creating a false sense of security for the people around him, including Ann.

I’m not going to focus on Bundy in this review for everything that could be said about him has been said and frankly I picked up this book, after seeing it being recommended by a BookTuber, because of Ann herself. She has one of the most unique stories in true crime, knowing Bundy before, during, and after his killing spree. When Ann first meets Bundy, she is in a vulnerable spot and Bundy proves to be someone she can confine in. They form a strong friendship and one that Ann values. So much so that it will be years before Ann fully realizes the horrible crimes her friend has committed and she recognizes his guilt.

The real strength of this book is Ann herself and the conflicting feelings she expresses throughout Bundy’s crimes. Though we can now look back and see the warning signs that Ann missed, the reader can also understand Ann’s apprehension to immediately condemn her friend. And she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Very early on many of Bundy’s former work friends, acquaintances, family, and girlfriends came to his defense, insisting an intelligent man like their Ted would never hurt a woman. They would all end up being sadly mistaken.

Throughout the book I found myself asking what I would do if I was in Ann’s shoes. Would I believe it if some of the facts of the murders look like it pointed to one of my friends? I would like to think so, but I also think I would have the same mixed feelings as Ann. Could he be framed? Was it just a coincidence? Could the police be wrong? All these questions Ann found herself asking and while she did do her due diligence of letting the Washington police know she did have a friend named Ted who looked like the man seen with two of the victims, she still didn’t believe he could be responsible. However, by the time Bundy’s trial comes along in Florida, Ann is forced to finally see the truth and realize that the young, kind man she met all those years before had never existed.

The book is heavily detailed and excellently researcher. Ann does not hold back in revealing the horrendous details of the murders but also telling the reader who these victims were; young women with hopes and dreams, just beginning their lives with the world at their feet. It’s heartbreaking, terrifying, and top tier true crime reporting. Though the additional sections Ann added after the book’s original publication in 1980 could have been condensed or left out, this was still a very well done biography about a monster.

If there is anything positive that can come out of this story it is that we now know killers can come in any form; an uneducated loner, a middle-class family man, or an intelligent, or a smooth talking law student.

And trust your dog. They know an evil person before you even catch on.

5 out of 5 stars