The Stranger Beside Me

Name: The Stranger Beside Me
Author: Ann Rule

by Ann Rule

A firsthand account of the chilling discovery that a man Ann Rule knew as a friend was actually Ted Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers in American history.

The killer was closer than she imagined.

Ann Rule met Ted Bundy in 1971 while they worked together at a Seattle crisis center. At the time, Bundy appeared to be an intelligent, charming young man with ambitions in law and politics.

As Rule began writing about a series of disappearances and murders of young women, evidence gradually forced her to confront a possibility she found almost impossible to accept: the friend she knew was connected to the crimes.

Atmospheric image representing the dark investigative mood of The Stranger Beside Me.

“

The most frightening stranger can be the person you think you know.

KODAMA / EDITORIAL NOTE

The author 1931 — 2015

Ann Rule

Ann Rule was an American true-crime writer whose career was built around detailed research, investigative reporting, and firsthand knowledge of criminal cases.

Before becoming one of the most recognized true-crime writers in the United States, Rule worked as a police officer and later used her experience and contacts to examine violent crimes with unusual depth.

ABOUT ANN RULE

Her first bestseller, The Stranger Beside Me, chronicled her personal relationship with Ted Bundy.

Four details that make the story even more disturbing.

Rule and Bundy met in 1971.

The two met while working at a Seattle crisis center, where they developed a friendship and correspondence that would continue as Bundy's crimes became public.

Rule was writing about the murders.

Rule was already pursuing true-crime writing while a series of murders and disappearances involving young women was unfolding.

She initially struggled to believe it was Bundy.

The book's central tension comes from Rule's gradual realization that the friend she knew could be the person investigators were looking for.

The book became Rule's first bestseller.

Ann Rule's official biography identifies The Stranger Beside Me as her first bestseller and one of the defining works of her career.

On screen

When the story became visual.

The Stranger Beside Me was adapted into a made-for-television film in 2003, bringing Ann Rule's relationship with Ted Bundy to the screen.

2003

The Stranger Beside Me

Directed by Paul Shapiro, the television film stars Barbara Hershey as Ann Rule and Billy Campbell as Ted Bundy. It follows Rule's work as a crime writer and her shocking realization that Bundy was the killer she was investigating.

Legacy

More than a book about a killer.

The Stranger Beside Me stands out because Ann Rule was not an outside observer. She had personally known Ted Bundy before his crimes became impossible to ignore. The book combines true-crime investigation with personal memory, creating an unusually intimate portrait of the discovery of a hidden identity.

Support Kodama

Want to read The Stranger Beside Me?

If you decide to purchase the book through our link, you help Kodama continue bringing new stories, recommendations, and literary discoveries to the site.

Buy on Amazon The link may generate a small commission for Kodama, at no additional cost to you.