Reddit reviews The Stranger Beside Me

"A Stranger Beside Me" by Ann Rule.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Beside-Me-Ann-Rule/dp/1416559590

The Stranger Beside Me is a classic.

A few graphic novels:

1. From Hell - Cerebral, philosophical, and fastidiously researched, this is the story of the most notorious of them all, Jack the Ripper. Masterful, somber drawings and brilliant writing, if a little too high brow for my taste.
   
2. My Friend Dahmer - You won't find gore here, nor a particularly engaging plot. What you will find is authentic autobiographical vignettes written by an actual school mate of Jeffry Dahmer's that try to shed some light on the early years of this nefarious, but fascinating serial killer, but mostly seem to be an outlet for the author to process his own emotions with regards to having known and been friends with such a monster. It's not a very compelling read, i'm afraid, but on the bright side, it's quite short and the artwork is cool.
   
3. The Green River Killer - An account of the investigation of the Green River murders, focusing on one of the lead detectives, who happens to be the author's father. Nice artwork, so-so plot.
   
4. Miss Don't Touch Me - An absolutely delightful fictional novel that takes place in early 20th century Paris. It is fast-moving, suspenseful, sexy and hugely entertaining. Great artwork and a fun story. Highly recommended!
   
   A couple more books that are on my wish list, though i haven't read them yet, are:
   
   

• Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us, written by Prof. Robert Hare, the psychologist who invented the standard test for diagnosing psychopaths.
  
  
• The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry - written by the always interesting and entertaining Ron Jonson
  
  
• Ann Rule's The Stranger Beside Me - A classic true crime novel about Ted Bundy written by a woman who worked beside him and knew him personally. She went on to become a prolific true crime novelist.

Not sure how much time you have for your project or what kind of info you are planning to include, but these 2 books are classic, great resources for understanding Ted himself as well as his murders and victims.

The Stranger Beside Me - Ann Rule

The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History - Kevin M Sullivan

Malignant narcissistic sociopaths have no conscience even for those who love them and they are masters of lying and manipulation. Moonves is a predator no matter how you slice it.


If Chen has any conscience herself, she'll be seeing a top notch lawyer soon and make him pay for it. Any woman should.

If you've never read Ann Rule's book about Bundy and how she worked alongside him, you should:

https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Beside-Me-Ann-Rule/dp/1416559590

Here's some recommendations for everyone:

James Ellroy's L.A. Quartet series and Underworld USA trilogy. Gritty, intense historical fiction based in LA in the 50s-60s and then Underworld USA is 60s-70s based all over the world but deals with JFK assasination, Vietnam, the mob in vegas and a ton of other shit. Really good stuff if you're into any of that stuff.

Another one I've been reading is The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule about Ted Bundy and the author's relationship with him before and after the killings. Really good read. Also Green River, Running Red about the Green River Killer is great too if you're interested in true crime/serial killers. And Mindhunter which they based the Netflix show off of is also a good read if you're into all this shit like I am.

Love having this thread here tho.

Excellent, thank you.
I highly recommend The Stranger Beside Me, by Ann Rule, if you haven't read it already.

I really like true crime as a genre.

The Stranger Beside Me is pretty fascinating. The author, Ann Rule, worked alongside Ted Bundy while he was volunteering at a suicide hotline. Then she got assigned coincidentally to write a story on his murders, before anyone knew who it was. She is also a great writer.

If you already like true crime and are into something a bit more niche and loaded with culture war, John Safrans Murder in Missisippi I really loved. I think the subtitle: The True Story of How I Met a White Supremacist, Befriended His Black Killer and Wrote this Book, will give you a good idea of if you'll like the subject matter.

You should read The Stranger Beside Me.

> I'll also watch Game Change because I haven't watched it yet.
I'll look at both sides and see what my opinion becomes after.

> Thank you for all the info! Gives me something to do today :p

Thank you!

>No I haven't. But what I've heard of people actually meeting her, they say she is really nice and will talk to people, instead of ignoring

I have never met Bill Clinton, but I know several people who have--they say he is amazing in person--warm, kind, with a charisma or charm like none they have ever seen.

What everyone says is something along the lines of "he makes you feel like you're the only person in the world, and he cares about you".

Sarah has that kind of aura or charisma too, for some people.

Ted Bundy was also "really nice".

https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Beside-Me-Ann-Rule/dp/1416559590


With a slow chill that intensifies with each heart-pounding page, Rule describes her dawning awareness that Ted Bundy, her sensitive coworker on a crisis hotline, was one of the most prolific serial killers in America.


Nice guy though!

Dis!


I LOVE finding old books/items! Then it's on to super cringe when you remembered them being awesome, and they're just not as awesome as an adult. :P

A mental mind fuck can be nice !

Fiction or non-fiction?

Fiction: Special Assignments (also published as The Jack of Spades and The Decorator) by Boris Akunin does this well in the second tale (the stories are distinct but interrelated). By the same author, The Coronation does a section from the antagonist's perspective. It could also be a good choice for a book club, as it's a nod to Conan Doyle and paralells a classic Holmes story.

For non-fiction, anything by John Douglas (the original profiler. Many characters on FBI-type TV shows have been based off him). Also Riverman by Robert D. Keppel, which contains conversations with Ted Bundy about the possible motives of the Green River Killer. True crime writer Ann Rule wrote The Stranger Beside Me about her relationship with Ted Bundy.

While none of the non-fiction books are from the serial killer's perspective, they all offer insight into what makes these people tick.

Only Living Witness

The Stranger Beside Me

Hmm. True crime isn't often known for being well written. But check out Public Enemies by Bryan Burroughs, Columbine by Dave Cullen, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, and of course, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. T.J. English has written some supposedly good stuff, and (being from Boston) I can recommend some good books on Whitey Bulger, including Brutal, Black Mass and Rat Bastards.

If you're looking for stuff on actual murderers, it's going to be a little harder. Most of that stuff is crap. I guess the old standbys are Helter Skelter, The Stranger Beside Me, and BTK.

Author Ann Rule was a volunteer alongside him, and she wrote a really interesting book about it (if you're interested): The Stranger Beside Me

Ever read this? It has very little to do with Ted Bundy actually working at a suicide hotline but it's a damn good read.