Dark Tide : Growing with Ted Bundy

Title: Dark Tide: Growing Up with Ted Bundy
Author: Edna Cowell Martin, Megan Atkinson

Publisher: Permuted Press
Release Date: July 23, 2024
Page Count: 311
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Although the Ted Bundy murders began in Washington State 50 years ago, the horror lives in the memories of so many people. And now we finally have a close family account of Ted Bundy - from his younger cousin. It's so sad, terrifying and I'm glad Edna has finally told her story. 

Edna does a great job of sharing her life in the Seattle area in the 1960s and 1970s. Of the close community she found on Puget Sound at Far-A-Way where she met her future husband, horse-back riding and digging for clams on the beach, her happy family life, and her beloved cousin Ted who was more like a brother. How he visited her small college apartment usually bringing food and wine and good conversation. That time he asked Edna's brother and boyfriend to show him the bars near the campus where students congregated. And the night he got stoned and danced "spasmodic and agitated" on the coffee table. Yet, these were just small things that were minor blips on a lifetime of friendship and love. 

The growing horror as Edna and her family learn about Ted is heartbreaking and palpable. "How does a mind process something like this, reassigning an adored cousin to one of the most well-known serial killers of the twentieth century?" Edna - or anyone placed in the same horrible situation - wants to believe that yes, the signs were there, they were just missed. But Edna shares another truth:

"Because the other answer is, I suspect, the one people are begging me to refute when they ask the question. It's the possibility no one wants, including myself. No. There were no signs. Nothing out of the ordinary. If that's true, it means Ted could be anyone. even those we'd never suspect. That means it's possible to have everyone fooled. No one wants that."

I strongly recommend Dark Tide. 5 stars and a Recommended Read. 

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

In the Shadow of Mt. Diablo : The Shocking True Identity of the Zodiac Killer

Title: In the Shadow of Mt. Diablo : The Shocking True Identity of the Zodiac Killer
Author: Mike Rodelli
Publisher: Indigo River Publishing
Release Date: May 11, 2021
Page Count: 496
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

As a child of the 70s, I recall seeing a list of amazing coincidences between the JFK and Lincoln assassinations such as ages they married, years they were each first elected to Senate and then White House, Lee Harvey Oswald and John Wilkes Booth each had three part names, etc.  The list was perhaps 15-20 items long.  

However, you can apparently also find similar amazing coincidences between Kennedy and former Mexican President Álvaro Obregón.  So, is this something extraordinary, or is it "data dredging" which Wikipedia says is: "the misuse of data analysis to find patterns in data that can be presented as statistically significant, thus dramatically increasing and understating the risk of false positives." 

Reading Mike Rodelli's work also brought up the same sort of questions for me.  Has he truly cracked the criminal case of the century, or is he just finding strands of vaguely similar coincidences and using that to weave together the supposed identity of the Zodiac Killer?   Well ... in some instances I think Rodelli has brought up some startling evidence, such as his belief that the SFPD determined right away that the Zodiac was a loner, low-economic class psycho, rather than even entertaining the idea that he might have been wealthy, well-read, crazy smart and twisted. 

He also points out that the SFPD did not really question the two true eyewitnesses to the Paul Stine murder, nor follow up with other clues or evidence that clearly appeared to be new avenues of investigation. Their DNA handling is also very suspect.

If you are at all interested in the Zodiac, I would definitely recommend you read this book and decide for yourself if Rodelli is correct.  I'm still pretty much on the fence, but I appreciate his dedication and the level of his research.  3.5 stars. 

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Killer's Shadow : The FBI's Hunt for a White Supremacist Serial Killer

Title: The Killer's Shadow : The FBI's Hunt for a White Supremacist Serial Killer
Author: John E. Douglas, Mark Olshaker
Publisher: Dey Street Books
Release Date: November 17, 2020
Page Count: 304
Rating: 5+ stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Joseph Paul Franklin wanted to become famous - famous for killing interracial couples, Jews, young black boys, white girls who dated black boys, and ultimately for starting a race war and being embraced as a hero. 

I wasn't familiar with Franklin prior to reading this book, but the authors do a stellar job of presenting the case along with giving us a flavor of the 1970's time period. Franklin was that most difficult of killers to catch - he expertly used a sniper rifle but had no set MO for his kills. Some were spur of the moment, others were meticulously planned out, and he had no personal connection to his victims.

Given his hard wiring and the effects of his upbringing and environment, and especially his view of his mother's abuse and neglect, it was as if nature had loaded the gun and nurture pulled the trigger.

The author lay out Franklin's background in detail, as well as efforts to create a profile, identify Franklin and ultimately capture him and bring him to trial. But Franklin's case is only part of the story. The authors give us related cases that really hammer home the simple fact that WORDS MATTER. And eventually all that dangerous speech turns into real actions. And all we have to do is look around us to see that hatred "metastasizing across social media platforms as well."

Franklin committed his crimes in the 1970's and was captured in 1980, but our country is still immersed in his mindset and philosophies.  And that is why this book is equally fascinating and terrifying. 5+ stars and I highly recommend this book. 

The journey to reckon with our nation's searing history of racial hatred, intolerance, and discrimination is ongoing, and there are no neutrals in that struggle. 

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Ted and Ann : The Mystery of a Missing Child and Her Neighbor Ted Bundy

Title: Ted and Ann: The Mystery of A Missing Child and Her Neighbor Ted Bundy
Author: Rebecca Morris
Publisher: Notorious USA
Release Date: April 18, 2014 (originally published September 16, 2011
Page Count: 301
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

When I initially read this book in 2014, I gave it a 4 star rating Upon reading it last year, I upgraded my rating to 4.5 stars. I reread this, in light of all the Ted Bundy-related stuff lately like the Netflix series and the movie with Zac Efron playing Ted, based on his girlfriend's book.

The author contends that Bundy's first murder was when he was almost 15 and killed an 8-year-old girl in his neighborhood, Ann Burr. The book follows Ann's devastated family as they seek to find out what happened to their beloved child. Every other chapter details Bundy's family life and adulthood.