The Stranger Beside Me

The Shocking True Story of Serial Killer Ted Bundy

By: Ann Rule

Narrated by: Lorelei King

Length: 18 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Ann Rule was working on the biggest story of her career, tracking the trail of victims left by a brutal serial killer. Little did this future best-selling author know that the savage slayer she was hunting was the young man she counted among her closest friends.

Everyone's picture of a natural winner, Ted Bundy was a bright, charming, and handsome man with a promising future as an attorney. But on January 24, 1989 Bundy was executed for the murders of three young women - and had confessed to taking the lives of at least thirty-five more women from coast to coast. Ann Rule, who kept in constant contact with Bundy throughout the investigation, tells his story as no other person can, capturing the essence of his magnetic power, unholy compulsion, and demonic double life.

Available for the first time on audio, this shocking true story is an unforgettable listening experience. In an emotional reading, Rule tells us about Ted Bundy - the man she thought she really knew...the stranger beside her.

©2008 Ann Rule (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"As dramatic and chilling as a bedroom window shattering at midnight." ( The New York Times)

Thrilling/shocking story but poor narration

The story is chilling and grasps you quickly but the mono tone narration is what almost got me to return this audio book. I stuck with it because of yh

Murderinos, this is for you!

Loved it! If you're in to true crime , this is the number one book you need to listen to.

this book was, something else.

if you have the slightest interest in true crime, or just want to hear a well-written, well-read story about a woman's discovery of her relation to Ted Bundy, this is your book

10/10 Amazing. Thank You Ann Rule

Haunting. Chilling. Real. I forgot I was listening to a true story, it just flowed so well like a fictional tale. The way she was able to flow between Her life/His life/The lives of the victims. It really places you -right- there!

Read well.

Well told story of both the man and the monster. I had read a long time ago but was a nice listen.

Phenomenal

This book is an amazing read (or listen) and has everything in it you could want in an insightful look into Ted Bundy. It really made me realize that everyone really has two sides, but it's all in which one you let lead your life choices.

Very well written and if you're looking for a book you will thoroughly be enamored with, THIS IS IT.

Engaging

Ann Rule did justice to a story that needed to be told. Her storytelling abilities kept me engaged all through.

Enjoyed the audio, as much as the written

I actually was reading this book over 30 years ago and was finishing it up at the same time Bundt was being put to death. I enjoy true crime dramas, and this book has it all. It’s an incredible story, and is as good written as it is read.

Haunting and chilling.

It is ironic and disturbing listening to this story in this era with a psychopath in the White House. Just as Ted Bundy had thousands of naive cult followers who blindly believed he was innocent and misunderstood, so today we have millions blindly following an immoral miscreant, our current birther-in-chief.

Stunning true story!

Only recently have I started to read true crime stories. I've been a great fan of mysteries and thrillers. I thought I knew a little about Ted Bundy so I thought I'd give this a try. This story was so compelling that I listened to it almost straight through. I found the horror of this to be almost unbelievable. I think as women and certainly if one tends to be a helping sort, this book should be a must read. It should serve as a wake up call for all of us to be aware, be warned. And not to allow ourselves to be vulnerable to a "nice guy" that you don't know.
A totally awesome read.