Abrams True Crime

if you ever thought your ex was a psychopath, well, this will make you feel less of that

DNF - 60% completion

One advice I find myself giving to people who want to get back into reading is - give up a book the moment it stops being fun or valuable to you. I decided to take that advice up for myself.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think the life, fears and struggles of Liz Kendall is not of value. But after reading 60% of the book, I found it to be a bit repetitive and decided to stop. Here's my review of the portion I read.

I don't really care for Ted Bundy or the hollywoodisation of his crimes. He is an absolutely shitty human being who committed “extremely wicked, shockingly evil and vile” acts on unsuspecting women. He does not deserve any celebration and definitely should not enjoy “pop cult” status.

But out of boredom, I did find myself watching the Ted Bundy docu-series on Netflix and found myself curious about how the women in Bundy's life felt. What were their emotions, struggles and experiences. I randomly found The Phantom Prince and started reading it on kindle on my phone.

It was a revelation to read how ridiculously “normal” Ted was in his everyday life and relationships. How he fits into the mould of a “perfect man and boyfriend”. It is remarkable how many times Elizabeth reached out to the authorities because she had a gut feeling of something not being right and how many times it was ignored. I can't fathom how she managed to be functional (slightly alcoholic) life after getting to know the extent of fuckery Ted Bundy spread. Reading about victims of such crimes and individuals close to them reminds us to not fall into the trap of “sensationalizing” these criminals. Brings a lot of empathy and kindness to the surviving victims of these crimes. (Also, reminds creeps to not label criminals “hottie” on Twitter, sigh)