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Evil Beside Her: The True Story of a Texas Woman's Marriage to a Dangerous Psychopath | 
 enlarge | Author: Kathryn Casey
Publisher: Harper
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 10824
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0061582018
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1532097641411
EAN: 9780061582011
ASIN: 0061582018
Publication Date: November 1, 2008
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Condition: brand new
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Product Description
Sleeping with a monster At first, Linda Bergstrom's marriage to her husband James was idyllic. They were young and in love; he was about to enter the Navy and she was eager to start a family. But it wasn't long before the dream exploded. James became abusive and violent, prone to sudden bursts of anger, long silences, and unexplained disappearances. But Linda vowed to hold on, despite the pain and fear . . . and her disturbing suspicions about her husband's secret life. Then, not long after their move to Houston, Texas, she made a terrifying discovery: James's hidden cache containing duct tape, a ski mask, and handcuffs. No longer could Linda Bergstrom deny the hideous truth. The man she lived with, the man she married for love, was a dangerous psychopath. And there was no escape and nowhere to run. Because no one—not her friends, the Navy, or the police—would believe her.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Suspensful! A Real Page Turner! December 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When this book was initially released under the title THE RAPIST'S WIFE, Kathryn Casey had not yet made a name for herself among True Crime fans. No longer the case, EVIL BESIDE HER can now receive the acclaim and the public support of which it is so derserving. While Casey has never written a book I did not thoroughly enjoy, EVIL BESIDE HER is a truly suspensful spiral into the shadowy world of a psychopathic rapist.
Given the intimate knowledge and information Linda Bergstrom possessed about the habits of her husband of 7 years, it is absolutely terrifying to me as a woman that James Bergstrom spent hours and hours of his free time stalking potential victims, peeping into the windows of unsuspecting women, and planning his eventual rapes. In fact, as is the case with so many rapists who become more and more obsessed and desperate, James Bergstrom was soon leaving work early, reporting for work late, or not working at all to give himself the time he needed to fantasize, stalk, and execute his dark compulsions. (Scary!)
The author suggests early on that if Linda Bergstrom had had adequate information about James Bergstrom, she might not have married him. I disagree. Linda was reared in a home with a controlling, explosive father who emotionally terrorized his wife and children. Prior to marrying James Bergstrom, Linda had already witnessed his irrational jealousy, his need for absolute control, and his frightening displays of anger. When a suitor drives his truck across the lawn of the family home in a rage and then aims the truck at a family member, how much more information does one need? Linda Bergstrom repeated the dynamics of the family in which she was reared... with tragic consequences.
Linda Bergstrom stayed in an incredibyly violent marriage for 7 years, repeating the mantra that James would kill her if she left him. Yet, she had in fact left her husband on one occasion and returned to the marriage, only to find that the promises her husband made were false. Linda Bergstrom was brutally and savagely beaten on many, many occasions. He threatened to kill her on a regular basis because she "...knew too much." And, despite her greatest fear that James would harm their young daughter, she stayed just long enough for these fears to come to fruition. And so, the cycle of domestic violence continued. I wanted so badly for Linda Bergstrom to pack a suticase, collect her daughter and run for her life. The threat of leaving was no greater than the threat of staying.
I do not believe the United States Navy did the community any favors in terminating Berstrom's service with an "honorable discharge." And the state of Washington, knowing they had a rapist whom they could not convict, failed to place a simple and routine telephone call to the Houston Police Department to warn them of the psychopath who was returning home from his lackluster service and questionable conduct as a navy recruit. Unforgivable! Linda Bergstrom had to do the investigative work of several detectives and then some simply because no one in authority felt it necessary to warn the state of Texas and the city of Houston that a psychopath roamed among them.
The arrest and trial of James Bergstrom exposed the dark side of a man who maintained a carefully constructed image of normalcy. I did find the less than expert testimony of one "expert witness" very disturbing and incorrect. One forensic psychiatrist diagnosed James Bergstrom, among other diagnoses, as a PEDOPHILE. As a practicing psychotherapist who has worked with the sex offender population, this diagnosis is absolutely incorrect and without validity. One child victim when the defendant himself was a minor child does not a pedophile make. Pedophiles are primarily and singularly sexually attracted to children. There is absolutely nothing about James Bergstrom's history or conduct to suggest he was anything other than a rapist and hater of women.
Congratulations to Linda Bergstrom for serving as a police detective, a special investigative unit, and informant. Congratulations also to Kathryn Casey for telling a story that is both terrifying and hopeful, and exposing the obsessions and compulsions of man who should NEVER be released from prison.
 Interesting true crime December 23, 2008
Not as great as Ann Rule's true crime work, but still pretty interesting. The woman knew her husband was a serial rapist and nobody believed her. She becomes more and more desperate for his capture.
Awesome December 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As the others reviewers wrote: this is the best true crime I ever read. Sometimes the story repeats itself to show you how James worked, maybe I cut off some stories that were almost the same by just saying "the same happened to Jane Doe." Nonetheless is - I don't want to say a great reading or story, but is a must read.
 one of the better true crime books November 24, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was very good. I have read hundreds of true crime books, with Ann Rule being my all time favorite. I have also read many I wish I had never bought. I liked this one because you hear what the wife had to live through as her husband was out peeping and then raping women, and she had figured out what was going on, and still had to continue living with him, until the authorities had enough evidence to arrest him.
Evil Beside Her November 23, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Fantastic book! I never knew how serial rapists think, and always wondered why wives stayed with their abusive husbands. Now I have much better insight into them both! I recommended this book to my husband, and he's going to read it next!
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