This is an interesting true crime book, that fans of the genre will enjoy (if enjoy is the right word here...) reading.

I now know more about Ted Bundy than I ever thought I needed to know! This book doesn't skimp on the details of his murders (although it wasn't the most gory of true crime books that I've read, which is a bit of a relief) and the details of his trials. The book begins with the victims, their names, their stories. This is important; in my opinion they are more important to remember than Bundy himself. Then we get into Bundy's story as he commits his crimes, and then the long, drawn out process of his trials and appeals.

I went into reading this with very little knowledge. I know Bundy's name, and that he was a serial killer, but that was pretty much it. The writers of this book interviewed him, so some of it is actually in his own words. It's interesting, to see how his mind worked, how he perceived the world. Ultimately though, my take away from this is that there's nothing 'special' or even particularly 'twisted' about serial killers. They're just angry, selfish men (for the most part) who like to control women and want to get their own way.

I prefer reading about crime for the puzzles. How the detectives figure out the case, put the clues together, track down the culprit. I found the first half of the book very interesting in that respect. The second half, which is about Bundy manipulating police and lawyers, and trying to control the outcomes of his trials, was less interesting to me, but it would probably be fascinating to people with an interest in that side of true crime. ( )

This is probably my all-time favorite true-crime book. It's by far the best book on Bundy, chiefly because of the authors' brilliant idea to have Bundy "speculate" about how the murders were done. The story of the victims was handled gracefully and respectfully. Even on re-reading this book, I would still find myself saying "Don't do it, don't go with him" but to no avail. I get that involved in this book. One of these days I suppose I will have to re-read Ann Rule's book on Bundy but I don't recall it holding a candle to this one.

I tried to stay up late for his execution but unfortunately I was on the east coast at the time and didn't make it. But I was relieved to get up the next morning knowing that Ted Bundy was no longer of this world.

I wonder about his family sometimes living down in Tacoma. I wonder if any of them ever changed their names, and, if not, how they cope with the inevitable questions. How awful to have your life mixed up with Ted's in any way, shape, or form. ( )

This book was truly the most anyone has gotten out of Ted Bundy out of his own words about his crimes. I was bored with the rehashing over the victims (no disrespect, I just had read quite a few times before). What really intrigued me were his dialogues with the author. The author and his fellow investigator in 1980 (one year before I was even born) was trying to get Bundy to talk about his victims. They wasted a lot of time by asking questions. Then the author and his investigator about to stop the project realized they were frustrated because Ted Bundy was acting like a 12 year old boy stuck in a grown man's body. And they wondered if maybe that might not be the key to helping him talk. So they started a game of "Lets PRETEND...YOU KNOW WHAT THE KILLER WAS THINKING". In doing that, he opened up for the only time in his life. And through this "game" just like a child he really believed no one would think HE had done these things even though he had details of the crimes he spoke that no one else could possible have!! The only type of person that could believe in such a thing would be a vastly immature juvenile. His revelations into the development of the psychopathic mind were incredible and something that no one else put someone who went through it could describe. After Bundy stopped talking they took their recordings to forensic psychiatrists asking what he thought and if their impressions were accurate--that somehow Ted Bundy stopped maturing at about 12 years old or so. The shrink agreed and told him that this was probably as close to a truthful self portrait in his own words of Ted Bundy that anyone was ever going to get. That made this book startling and compelling. I just wish there was more of that. I know you need to recognize the victims. I'm not a groupie. I'm just trying to understand psychopathology. And Ted Bundy opened up more than most of his kind. And he also did what Mrs. Hahn from the Goodbye Door did. He described his need to kill, his psychopathology as an "entity" inside him. A compulsion that was hard to control and as the record shows he failed to control in society all to often which is why he wished to stay locked up (but not be executed). After his last escape, he truly did feel like he wanted to live behind bards because the control he used to have over his psychopathology had completely dissolved. At it was against women where his violence and murderous rages were prone to strike. I'm not saying he didn't deserve execution or not. That was not my choice to make. And as a woman, I feel safer knowing there is one less person like him no longer in this world to be honest even if there has been plenty to replace him in the ensuing years. ( )

9 out of 10. great book! ( )

Not quite as good as "The Deliberate Stranger" - but worth the read. ( )