Evil Beside Her: The True Story of a Texas Woman's Marriage to a Dangerous Psychopath

John Lennon didn't have James Bergstrom in mind when he wrote "Loser" yet this is as close to a perfect theme song for the serial rapist, wife-beater and all-around-creepy guy on display in Kathryn Casey's The Evil Beside Her. The basic situation couldn't be any more unsettling: rape victim finds herself married to a serial rapist and can't get anyone to believe that he is the deviant the police are seeking. In lesser hands this would be a tale of exploitation and female helplessness ripe for a Lifetime movie adaptation. Fortunately it is in the hands of True Crime great Kathryn Casey whose abilities as a story teller continue to impress me. She captures just the right rhythm for telling the story of a young woman who drifts into a marriage with a very odd young man, then stays with him as his behavior becomes increasingly bizarre, controlling and violent. Casey gives us such a sense of the ordinary days that it the battered and terrorized woman's ability to tell herself "that will never happen again" becomes comprehensible. Linda Bergstrom, the wife of serial rapist James, is slowly acclimated to the insane world of her husband until it seems if not normal than at least ordinary. On the nature/nurture debate we have strong evidence for nature in the Bergstrom clan who all demonstrate moral tone-deafness. We also have yet more proof that while all whiny losers may not be serial rapists and/or murderers, all serial offenders are whiny losers. Based on this book and Jack Olsen's I: The Creation of Serial Killer I'm rethinking my stance on incarceration and capital punishment. Forget execution and supermax imprisonment, just put on these yo-yos in a group setting where their endless complaining about their own victimization can torture each other. These guys aren't relentless killing machines, they're non-stop kvetching machines. Kathryn Casey is one of the bright lights in the True Crime genre, consistently turning out quality books informed by original research and reporting. Any fan of the genre should make it a point to read her books.

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

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.

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!

This book was well written and almost all the words were spelled correctly (a problem in some true crime books). The story was scary and the author made it believable. It wasn't a rehash of newpaper articles on the crime (also another problem with true crime books, in my opinion). Very good read.