An intriguing read of the notorious serial killer Theodore ‘Ted’ Bundy. The book was well written and delivered keeping me engaged throughout. I will be recommending this book and author and will look to read more of his work.

I’m obsessed with all things True Crime. I had recently finished reading up on Ted Bundy in a Forensic Psychology class that I was taking. As luck would have it, Netflix had just released the movie about the notorious serial killer. After viewing it, I looked up books about him and stumbled across this new release by Kevin Sullivan.
Ted Bundy’s Murderous Mysteries: The Many Victims of America’s Most Infamous Serial Killer” was very informative and you can tell that the author really went through a great amount of research. There was even some information that was new to me. This book was not really organized in the typical fashion that you would expect but I enjoyed it, nonetheless. After reading, I discovered that it is the third book in a series of books about Ted Bundy by this author. I will be sure to check them out as well in the future. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

*I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

DNF @ 17%: I did not mark this as DNF because I disliked the book. I realized, after I started reading, that this book seems more suitable for readers and true crime fans more familiar with Ted Bundy. I am new to the genre and know nothing about him, so I set this book aside to read more introductory books. I will revisit this book because I appreciate the use of primary sources--though I am not a fan of the sensationalist writing.

I thought I had read most of what there was to be read on Ted Bundy. But this author has provided information that I am sure most readers haven’t seen yet. Compiling information from police reports the reader gets even more reasons as to why Bundy was the way he was.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

Ted Bundy has been brought back into the lime light in 2019. This book is a recount of all the murders Bundy has committed. Still to this day we are finding out more details of Bundy's victims and what they endured. This is a eerie true crime book all about Bundy's life including his murders and time in prison.

'Ted was well-behaved, well-dressed, intelligent, and acted extremely proper at all times.'

Growing up in Florida I still remember the day Bundy was executed in the electric chair as it was announced on a radio station I was listening to. I remember the dj telling a joke about there being a power bump because Bundy was on old sparky, certainly no one I knew was grieving. I go from thinking labeling such horrific murderers as monsters gives them too much power and removes them too far from humanity for us to attempt to understand them to feeling this has to be evil. There is information in this third and final book in Sullivan’s triology about Ted Bundy that I didn’t know. It makes sense that Liz was an anchor to his sanity, what remained of it anyway. I have to wonder why or how someone becomes Ted, with his urges? Do we study it, can it be explained, prevented? I don’t know, I really don’t know. Were there more victims? There certainly must be more we don’t know about Bundy than what we’re sure of. There are records of surveillance in this book, it starts off with Ted being followed. Such books serve a purpose, because when authors comb through the police records, victims testimony, interrogation of Bundy in the cases, speak to those who knew him well and those who just had a run in with him there is an extra pair of eyes that may well connect more dots, or find new evidence, make sense of the old.

This book really takes you knee deep into interviews, and what happened to his victims. It is horrifying, how can it not be, doubly so reading this as a mother? I cannot imagine what the families suffered in the aftermath, suffer still anymore than I can imagine the heartache his own family must face, friends who once trusted him. It’s terrifying how charming, educated, friendly he seemed to others. Why wouldn’t someone trust him, in all honesty, knowing so many felt he was always proper, sounded well-educated and looked like the sort of person we’re told to trust? It was as if there was this switch that turned off whatever was human inside of him. Where did his rage come from? Why one person and not another? He seemed so blasé about everything he had done, though of course he didn’t want to talk about the victims, that would make them real people. I cannot get the thought out of my head of Bundy as predator, ‘observing people everywhere he went’. Not every stranger was fooled though, like the older bank teller who immediately thought he was a killer- why do some of us have the correct instinct and others of us fall for the act? Do our eyes trick our brain so much? These are just questions that hit me when I read anything about his sickening crimes.

The victims, let’s not forget the victims were people with lives, families and friends. Beautiful human beings who happened to attract Bundy’s attention through no fault of their own. Liz was his victim of a different sort too, but did he love her? Was he really capable of love, it seems she was more than a ‘cover’ to camouflage his blood-lust because again and again he turned to her. Was any part of him genuine? No one can act all the time, right? I cannot imagine having to face that the person you shared your life with, or given birth to is someone like Bundy. “What did I miss, what is wrong with me that I didn’t see the signs?” There aren’t words to really describe the chaos that reigned in his wake, even today it lingers.

Kevin Sullivan’s book gives the reader the feeling of what it must have been like to piece together information from so many sources, trying to put it all together to tie Ted with his victims, the ones we know about anyway. In real life it isn’t all laid out in an orderly fashion and from the interviews to testimony and Ted’s own words it’s dizzying. Those who knew him best (if that were even possible) to strangers, many of their epiphanies came far later after he was caught and things added up from his presence in certain locations, to attempts at abductions and his nervous behaviors. This certainly speaks of years of research on the author’s part. Now I have to go read something else that reaffirms my faith in humanity.

Out Now Published April 23, 2019

Wildblue Press

😕 When reading this book, do not expect it to “read” with a plot or follow a linear path through the murders of Ted Bundy. This was actually the part that was a little off putting for me. The organization of the text was just not there, and it seemed rather disjointed.

📖 📝 However, you can tell that this author REALLY did his research into the Bundy cases. This book includes interviews, police reports, logs, statements, transcripts, and everything in between pertaining to one of the most infamous serial killers ever. There were many things included in the book that I was reading about for the first time, and I have read and watched quite a bit about Ted Bundy’s life and crimes.

👉🏻If you are someone who is super interested in the minute technical aspects of crimes, specifically Ted Bundy’s crimes, this may be of interest to you. If you like reading something that is categorically organized or follows some type of linear progression, then this may not be your cup of tea. ❌ ☕️

As someone who has read many books and watched several documentary’s on Bundy, I was skeptical that I would find a fresh perspective on this highly documented serial killer. I was pleasantly surprised and easily devoured this fresh read. I thought Ann Rule held the title as one of the foremost experts on Bundy, but Kevin Sullivan knows his stuff and I really enjoyed learning new information from witnesses and testimony that I hadn’t read in other books. I’m thoroughly looking forward to checking out his other books and I highly recommend checking out this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me this book in exchange for an honest review.
I haven't read the previous 2 books in this trilogy but I think I'll go ahead and read them. This 3rd book is chock full of interesting information and actual records from the Bundy case. If you want to read some of this case's records with some insight from this excellent author, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book.

I have been fascinated with the Ted Bundy case for a while, but have never read the other installments of Mr. Sullivan's work on Bundy. I found this book to be very interesting and full of information! I think it's a great book for those interested in true crime!

This reads as the early framework of a book; it's not sure whether it wants to be just a compliation of primary evidence from the Bundy cases, or a support for the author's previous theories. The author is too invested in shaping the reading of the material if it's intended primarily a compilation of primary material, and not involved enough if it's meant to be primarily a support for his previous books. Analysis/engagement is lacking - again, that would be fine if this is just meant to be primary evidence, but it isn't quite sure it's meant to be.

I enjoy reading about true crime more than I probably should and this was definitely a great book About Ted Bundy's story.

Thank you Wild Blue Press and Netgalley for the review copy.

I am a true crime junky and when it comes to Ted Bundy, I can read anything about him. I find it crazy how so many women found him to be so trustworthy and charming because when I watch footage of him or even see pictures, I just think how demented he looks. I would have promptly walked in the opposite direction of him had I ever encountered him in life. 

That said, Kevin Sullivan has written three other books on Bundy making this volume, the fourth in his series. Sullivan's Bundy novels include The Bundy Murders, The Trail of Ted Bundy and The Bundy Secrets. What makes Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries: The Many Victims Of America's Most Infamous Serial Killer different from the first three books in this series is that Sullivan shares with the world case files and notes that have not previously been released, creating new information even for the most dedicated of Bundy's researchers. 

Detailed Case Notes
Sullivan does not disappoint with his inclusion of copies of copious amounts of case files from investigators that detail Bundy's relationships, abductions and murders. As they are true files from the case, they are detailed and often bloody, but they give you an honest documentation of the horrors that Ted Bundy inflicted on countless women while he was alive and free. 

Along with the case files, Sullivan wonderfull strings together the events and timelines, guiding the reader in putting together the new information presented as well as synthesizing it with previous information from earlier works. That said, this novel is not a light read and I found myself needing to take breaks often just because of how heavy and gruesome much of the material was. What made it even more difficult to stomach was how Sullivan showed you the cases through the victims. He makes you feel as though you are watching the last parts of each woman's life as they encountered Ted Bundy and met their often gruesome demise. 

Sullivan curates the case files and his own commentary with the ease of someone who knows their course material well. This book stands as a way to preserve what is known about Ted Bundy and his victims which as Sullivan himself admits, is important because so much of the material that we once had has already been lost because Utah had no interest in preserving it and what they did have was destroyed once the trail documents hit their nine-year limit. Overall, Sullivan's completion of his Ted Bundy series does not disappoint and offers much detailed information into Ted Bundy and his many victims. 

Book Information
Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries: The Many Victims Of America's Most Infamous Serial Killer by Kevin Sullivan was released by WildBlue Press on April 19,2019, with ISBN 9781948239141. This review corresponds to an electronic galley that was received from the publisher in exchange for this review.

Interesting read. It’s a subject we are all interested in. But such a horrible subject. This was well researched. Well written and was easy to read

A recommended read if you have an interest in true crime. Using the case files to share little known information about these cases, the author presents a unique view of bot the victims and the crimes.

Woah woah woah!! This book was detailed and gruesome, in the very best way. I live for facts and this book has them in spades. The topic is dark, horrific and so very sad. But it is real and honest and it shines a serial killer in the worst light while bringing back the names and faces of the victims. Which should be the focus, the victims and their family’s right to justice. This would be a great reference book it is just so wonderfully done. Easy to follow and hard to put down.

I was given this book from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Like all factual books about famous serial killers this book was very interesting but in a sad and scary kind of way. It was interesting to read about the terrible things that Ted Bundy did and how he did them however it was very sad to know that this is a factual book so many lives were lost at the hands of a deranged maniac. I really enjoyed the way that this book was written. To me it was written kind of like a crime documentary that you see on television. It jumped around a bit but it didn't linger on filler words and situations that weren't relevant. This was more of a informative novel more so than anything else and was full of quotes, as well as real transcripts from police and witnesses. I found that this story gave a lot of information about Ted's life and the way that he was acting around people that I didn't hear about before, so it was a nice fresh read. One thing that I didn't like however about this book, was I found the ending a little jarring and it felt like nothing got wrapped up. Especially considering that Ted Bundy was caught and prosecuted I'm a little surprised by the ending. Not a bad book but
not my favourite over all.

Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries by Kevin Sullivan is the highly recommended fourth book in his series about the serial killer. The first three books are The Bundy Murders, The Trail of Ted Bundy and The Bundy Secrets. In this third volume, Sullivan shares inside, unpublished information, documents, case files, and interviews he has collected in his research. The complete files bring to light additional facts that never made it into the other three books.

While this fourth volume can be read by anyone who has some familiarity with the Bundy case, it will be better appreciated by those intent true crime aficionados who have seriously studied every aspect of the serial killer and his murders. Sullivan does, however, do an excellent job assisting the reader in following along and putting this new information into context of previous published information. He also adds additional information about the victims and a potential victim.

Sullivan has said that this will be the last Bundy book and completes his extensive true crime investigative series, but it should be noted that he is clearly an expert on Bundy at this point so one never knows what the future holds. In any case, his final volume on Bundy wraps up years of research and information and will be a must read for those who follow the case of this horrific serial killer.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of WildBlue Press.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/05/ted-bundys-murderous-mysteries.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2826600962
https://www.librarything.com/work/23194207/book/168883695
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/1130174777447145472

If you’re a fan of true crime this book is a must read. A different perspective on the life of Ted Bundy. Truly interesting and captivated me from start to end.

This book goes into the nitty gritty of the lives and circumstances of Ted Bundy’s victims prior to his attacks. It was interesting, with a lot of rare details. If you’re very interested in Bundy and the women he murdered you will want to read it.