TITLE: And the Sea Will Tell
AUTHOR: Vincent Bugliosi
RELEASE DATE: January 1st 1991
GENRE:
TAGS: True Crime, 20th entury, 1970's, Hawaii, Palmyra Atoll, Houseboats, Sailing, Island life, Fugitives, Drugs, Drug Distribution, Murder, Trial, American Justice System, Vincent Bugliosi & his huge ego
RATING (1-5): ★★★★
This book and the case it is about is absolutely fascinating. Hands down one of my favorite books from the genre of true crime- it would be perfect save for one thing: Buglioso's incredible ego.
And the Sea Will Tell is a two part book: the first half is the story of the crime. A brief recap:
Buck Walker (aka Wesley G. Walker) and Stephanie Stearns (referred to as "Jennifer Jenkins" in the book), are two quasi-hippies, involved in a relationship and living in Hawaii. Buck was a career criminal, known for violence, but supposedly highly charismatic and extremely intelligent. At 36, Buck has already served time for Armed Robbery, and for distribution of MDMA, the latter of which he was on parole for. Stephanie came from a middle class family, and had a relatively good life. She was pretty, easy going, peace loving and by all accounts a “good girl”. The two met in HA, and Stephanie quickly fell for Buck, who she saw as gruff, but also had a good side (she was alone in this opinion).
Buck somehow got caught up in another MDA distribution case, after attempting to sell to someone undercover; the prospect of violating his parole and being sent back to prison for a potential life sentence motivates him into buying a poorly kept, mastless, unrigged boat with an unlucky history, which he intended to rehab and use to sail he and Stephanie off the island. Their destination was a little known atoll known as Palmyra. Palmyra also has a history of being unlucky- several deaths, ships damaged and sunk after coming too close to the atoll's invisible coral reefs, and a lagoon thick with small but aggressive reef sharks and poisonous fish, have given Palmyra a mysterious, spooky aura. This has only been compounded by the foreboding feeling reported by many visitors. The island had been occupied by the US Navy for many years, until the station was demolished after WWII, and its ownership once again privatized. The Navy left behind bunkers and a skeleton crews worth of equipment, which also added an eery quality, but many looked at it as a salvagers paradise. In addition to the treasure trove of Navy remnants, legend claims an actual one was buried there by a pirate some centuries ago.
Because the island is private, small, and notoriously difficult to dock or fly to, Buck thought it was the perfect place to escape from the law, and he and Stephanie set about repairing their newly acquired aquatic jalopy. While their boar was made eventually made somewhat seaworthy, it was clear from the beginning neither of the two were aware or properly outfitted for life on a small island, far from civilization.
At the same time, another couple- Malcolm "Mac" Graham and Eleanor "Muff" Graham, were embarking for Palmyra as well, but aboard an incredible sailboat called the Sea Wind. It was Mac's pride and joy, and a remarkably impressive sight to behold, made even more desirable by Muff's efforts to decorate, and to stock the boat with every possible need they might have while there.
Ultimately, there is a disappearance, and presumably murder. Stephanie and Buck were accused; arrested, and a trial begins. Eventually, at least one murder is proven to have taken place.
The first half of the book tells that story, in a vivid, fascinating, and un-put-downable fashion. I was completely hooked, and read through it within a day and a half. I don't know if it's just that the story itself is so fantastic that it beggars belief, or if the writing was just superb- probably a combination of both- but it left a void after I was done with it, that no other book could come close to filling.
The problem is the second half of the book, which covers everything from the point of Stephanie and Buck's arrest, up to the end of the trials. Bugliosi is hired to represent Stephanie, who somehow managed, in my opinion, to hoodwink Bugliosi. This is relevant, b/c Bugliosi spends the first quarter of the second part explaining why he never takes on a guilty client, how he determines if a potential client is guilty, his ambivalence about Stephanie Jenkin's possible guilt/innocence, and finally his decision to represent her, b/c he considers her innocent, despite having every red flag and obvious clue point out the opposite.
I won't get into the guilt/innocent issue though- that's for you to find when you read the book.
As far as the book goes though, we could have done without the second part. I don't really like it when an author inserts himself in the story, but he can't help inserting himself- to the point that I started thinking they should have called the book “Why Vincent Bugliosi is so brilliant, and some other people who got murdered”. Bugliosi loves himself. Majorly.
He is a smart man, and has written several books about his career, which is, by all accounts, is also impressive. But the second half- the trial, mainly- could have easily been cut down and inserted into the first part, cleanly, and made it much more readable.
The first part is written in third person, and really, it could have been a novel- the island itself is the most fascinating character in it, & its mythology steals the show. The caveat being, it's obviously Bugliosi's take on Stephanie Jenkin's version of what happened, and while it's damn interesting, I have serious questions about the ethics of writing a true crime story whose events no one can confirm or deny save the alleged mastermind. It had the makings of a really good novel, and given the issue of reliability, it should have just been taken in that direction.
If you enjoy true crime, sailing, mystery islands, or anything spooky, you'll enjoy this. Even for just the first part, it's well worth the money, and the story still sticks in my mind. I actually had to take a break from true crime after this one, b/c everything I read after was no where near as interesting. I know there is a somewhat dated TV movie based on the book, but I've yet to find a copy for a reasonable price. An excellent and gripping book that made me want to read more about Palmyra.
