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Dark Tide

Growing Up With Ted Bundy

Published by Permuted Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

Including never-before-seen photos and handwritten letters from Bundy, Dark Tide’s message is as gut-wrenching as it is clear, asking the question: how well do we know those we trust most?

Edna’s world turned upside down when her close cousin, Ted Bundy, was linked to the gruesome murders that had plagued her hometown of Seattle. Both devastating and dangerous, she reveals her journey of discovering the truth about her cousin who was more like a sibling, a man she loved, admired, and thought she knew so well. Edna delves into the unbelievable and chilling episodes she experienced, from confronting Ted and discovering a side of him she never suspected to waking to the FBI at her door after he escaped jail.

Whether searching memories for signs she’d missed or detailing scenes of life under the radar in a world still fixated on her cousin, Edna’s account tells the Ted Bundy story from a critical, new perspective: someone who called him family.

About The Authors

Edna Martin lives in a little town on Puget Sound in Washington State. She was born and raised in Seattle and also spent time in New York, Paris, and Arkansas. She graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in history. For over four decades, she has had a career in both advertising and insurance sales in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

Megan Atkinson is a screenwriter and writer living in the Pacific Northwest and Los Angeles. She received her MFA in screenwriting from UCLA. She’s written for DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, Netflix, and Disney. Working with Edna to tell her story has been a dream come true.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Permuted Press (July 23, 2024)
  • Length: 272 pages
  • ISBN13: 9798888450611

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Raves and Reviews

“The first memoir penned by a Bundy blood relative, Dark Tide is powerful and thought-provoking. Once fiercely loyal to a man she believed was falsely accused, Edna Cowell Martin shares her sense of betrayal as family pride turns to shame in this skillfully crafted journey. Ted Bundy was as close as a brother, and she trusted him implicitly until she witnessed bizarre behavior that forced her to face chilling revelations. Her secrets, held tightly for decades, are finally released in this unforgettable story."

– Leslie Rule, author of A Tangled Web—A Cyberstalker, a Deadly Obsession, and the Twisting Path to Justice

“This is a fascinating first-hand story from a cousin who loved the most notorious serial killer in America; it is as fascinating as a true crime book can be, and equally incomprehensible.”

– David Crow, author of The Pale-Faced Lie

“A bone-chilling exploration of deception, delusion, and the personal trauma inflicted by the action of others, Dark Tide is a poignant and gut-wrenching journey across the minefields of perception, manipulation, and love. Suspenseful and absorbing from the start, with the drip, drip, drip of shocking hints, to the glass eventually overflowing, Martin carries us into the cognitive dissonance of the complex emotions, perceptions, and recollections experienced as she copes with the impact of her famous cousin’s inexplicable acts on the family that thought they knew and loved him. A great, fascinating read. Highly recommend.”

– Leslie K. Simmons, author of Red Clay, Running Waters

“Eye opening and quietly disturbing.”

– Kirkus Reviews

“For fans of true crime, this is a must-read.”

– Publisher’s Weekly (Starred Review)

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