Evil Beside Her [Mass Market Paperback]

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 incredibly 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.

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.

Kathryn Casey might be the best true crime writer out of Texas so far. Her books are usually gripping and interesting. Although this book doesn't interest me as much as the others but that's okay, she writes the best in the recent batch of true crime books that I read now. Casey writes about Linda Bergstrom and her horrifying marriage to serial rapist, James Bergstrom. In the beginning, Linda describes their marriage and relationship as ideal until James requests and later orders her to do unspeakable things in the bedroom. This book and story is a typical case of a battered spouse and an abusive relationship. Linda would soon learn that she had no choice but to stay and endure. She made excuses for him in order to rationalize her situation. As I kept reading, I wanted to keep telling her to get out of a dangerous situation. The book captivates the reader because it explains how James evolved. Like I said, Casey does a brilliant job in bringing this story into multi-dimensional and visualizations of the reader. You feel like you are in with Linda in her situation and understand how she stayed and why as well as her other actions.

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