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)

Loved it!

I hated to put it down just because I had to go to work! The narrator was very good.

Could not stop listening

Fabulously interesting story, well-written and personal. I loved following her transition from a friend who couldn't believe his evil to a person grappling with how to reconcile the personas he presented to his friends, his victims, and the world.

great book

I really liked the book but it's very gruesome.
at points I would be terrified to get down from my car after I got of work, the details it's crazy

Excellent book!

You will not be disappointed with this book! Especially the extra parts at the end! Wow!

The "In Cold Blood" of our time

What made the experience of listening to The Stranger Beside Me the most enjoyable?

Rule did an absolutely amazing job of examining Bundy from multiple perspectives. It was as if she switched between multiple brains to examine his character. She struck the perfect balance between understanding and analyzing along with sympathy for all involved parties while holding Bundy accountable for his actions.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Rule - Her multiple perspectives

Did Lorelei King do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

She definitely differentiated between the characters by changing her voice but I found it distracting. Female voices were very childlike and the southern accents were off. At times I felt as if I were listening to a children''s storybook being read by my teacher which is way off from this subject matter.

Very entertaining

I purchased this book and loved listening to it. Great storytelling and very well written. Definitely recommend.

Fascinating Story

I resisted listening to this in fear of it being too overwhelmingly creepy. It was creepy, but when personalized by Ann Rule who was friends with Ted Bundy, it came across as absolutely riveting because it was so personal. It was getting an up close account of someone who is an astonishing monster inside. An account you could never really get from an outside source.
I loved Lorelei King's narration especially since I am familiar with her work on the Charley Davidson series which I love. Here, she lends a warm engaging quality that draws you into the events, no matter how horrific.
I especially loved all of the epilogue and all the courtroom dramas.
I also thought Ann Rule was the perfect person to recount this story, in part because she was friends with the killer, but also because of her criminal investigation writing and her closeness to police and justice procedure.
I only wish there could somehow be more scientific and psychological exploration of killers. Of course there must be extreme punishment, but imagine the discovery that could benefit society.
Overall, a mesmerizing account of one of the most horrendous of murderers.

Left cold

I was riveted by this book. But could not avoid feelings of wondering why and how other than greed the author would have played along so long with the games of the anti-hero.

As a cynic I feel she knew the minute she mentioned him to the investigators that she knew exactly who she was dealing with. And the afterwords and addendum do not do a lot to put her on the right side of this narrative.

The right side being the one that wished that an undetermined number of women might still be alive if she had let law enforcement sort out her suspicions.

A little disgusted with myself for hearing this out. But a hell of a book.

As a seattle native the pronunciations of the narrator were terrible.

Definitive Book on Ted Bundy

This book is descriptive and insightful, it might as well be called the Ted Bundy Encyclopedia. It creates a multi dimensional view of Ted Bundy; not your typical "he is evil incarnate" stereotype. You can actually feel the pity that Ann Rule had for Ted Bundy. He was a demon who deserved the punishment he got (and more), but so very different from the average murderer too. Only issue I have with the book is that it drags at times and I started to get bored near the end.

Lorelai King perfect narrator

I’m so glad that I downloaded this version and not the original read by Ann Rule. I happened upon his one and later discovered a sample of the Ann Rule narration. I would have turned her off immediately! This version read by Ms. King is perfection. (Her “Ted” voice is so good)

The book itself is gripping. I loved it.