Hugh Aynesworth (1931–2023)

I watched the Netflix documentary (Confessions of a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes) and it made me curious about the transcribed conversations in this book. I knew this would be a rough read....but I also knew my curiousity would not be sated until I had this book in my hands.

While killing 30 women (including a 12 year old girl) already proves that Bundy was a cold-blooded killer and crazy.....reading through these rambling, delusional, ridiculous conversations with the serial killer just show more proves it even further. The man was narcissistic, violent, and completely out of his mind. Michaud and Aynesworth could only get Bundy to talk about the murders by telling him he could speak of the killer in the 3rd person -- letting him pretend some other person did the killing and Bundy had some magical ability to peer into this unknown persons actions, motivations and thoughts. (Reminds me of that bullshit book by OJ Simpson -- If I Did It -- where he recounted exact details from the crime but used 3rd person....like someone else did it. *eyeroll*) The man never admitted what he did, never expressed any remorse, or took any responsibility. Instead, he made strange excuses about pornography, a second personality and things that forced the violent acts.

Chilling. Creepy. Disturbing. I read portions of this book and then re-watched the documentary. The documentary includes audio from the tapes and video of Bundy.....pairing that with the book.....wow. Just a powerful display of violence and depravity. Kudos to these men who spent time with Bundy, pretended to believe his BS, and got him to talk.....it really does give an insight into how his mind worked, how he thought nobody could see past his lies and deceptions (he lied to the authors multiple times during interviews) and how in the end the only thing he felt sorry about was his inevitable end in the electric chair.

I'm glad I read this book as I did learn a lot about a killer's mindset....but, in the end, I'm not sure it was information I truly wanted. Or needed. Ugh. I seriously need to watch some Disney and read a cute middle grade book or two....maybe three....to get this out of my head. I just feel drained and a bit creeped out.... So many lives cut short. So many innocent young girls...their short lives ending in absolute terror. What a piece of shit example of humanity. I have my doubts about the justice of the death penalty most of the time. But, if anyone really deserved capital punishment, Bundy's death in the electric chair in 1989 was as close to justice as the victims were ever going to get.

I think I'm going to avoid books on true crime and serial killers for awhile. As Nietzsche said, "If you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.'' I need some sunshine. Enough dark. show less

I was afraid of what I was gonna come across here, the jarring details of murders maybe. But i must say, for all the bullshit Ted tried to pile in his defence, from blaming the society to beating around the bush, he did make some compelling points about psychology of deranged killers. Not to mention quote a few life lessons he's imparted. Good ones. Law abiding ones, i must mention.

The first half, where the details of the cases are explained, is excessively drawn out in some parts (such as describing the setting in certain states to extreme detail). The writing in this part of the book is old fashioned and I feel in some places sensationalizes the victims - casting subtle comments about their fashion choices or other decisions they made. At one point the author claims a woman would not have died if she hadn't been drinking (even though in the interviews later in the show more book, Bundy's "speculation" denies alcohol was a deciding factor). Later on another victim, who are apparently deemed more innocent, was said to have had "only three beers", as if that was not as significant when compared to the death of someone who was not a college student.
The author has a tendency to refer to the "entity" within Bundy as "The Hunchback", which is just extremely tacky. In the epilogue, the author compares Bundy's psychopathy with a schizophrenic as if they are comparable diseases, and at times it is not clear whether Bundy is being praised for his actions or not.

That being said, the part of the book focusing on the trials and the interviews with Bundy himself offer some good insight to the cases and into the mind of the killer. The way that everything eventually broke down, and Bundy came to be captured, was interesting to see unfold. It offered some new/different details compared to other books on the subject. The writing in this section was also less dry, and more focused on the facts of the case. show less

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 show more 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. show less