Evil Beside Her by Kathryn Casey

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Format: eBook
Pub. Date: 1995
Publisher: HarperCollins eBooks
Type: Non-Fiction, True Crime ~ Library Book
Pages: 366
Read: 3/14/2013
Rating: Liked it ♥♡

This is the first true crime book Kathryn Casey wrote. It is told mainly from interviews, most with Linda Bergstrom. After a difficult childhood and a sexual assault as a teenager Linda found someone she thought would treat her well, at first the marriage seemed good, James himself had a difficult childhood with anger issues. He became abusive and violent, would disappear for hours at a time.

James had a secret life that when Linda found out about she was horrified. Her attempts to report him appeared to go nowhere, unfortunately she had no proof of her allegations. Also as his wife she was unable to testify against him. Eventually he was brought to justice.

This is not a good as the other books of Kathryn Casey, however it is her first book. I have read other reviews that felt Kathryn was making excuses for the wife staying with the husband, one reviewer went so far as to say she was a ‘dumb-ass’. I don’t feel this was the case, the excuses were the wife’s and are consistent with battered woman syndrome. Even though this was not as good as others, I still enjoyed it, even though much information was from interview, she did try to bring out several points of view if she was able to. I recommend this book.