Have you ever heard or read of this grisly true story of murder on an atoll located in the Pacific Ocean of all places? If so, you are ahead of me. If not, neither have I, until today. On my part, it is hardly surprising as the murder occurred way back in 1974 when I was only a wee bairn.
I picked up this book for three reasons: first, I have heard that Bugliosi is a Master at putting pen to paper and also an eloquent orator to boot. Second, I want to read Bugliosi's meticulous and detailed account and arguments on the events surrounding the murder. Thirdly, I am curious as to what happened on that "ghost-type island" nearly forty years ago.
When I come to the end of the page, I cannot shake the thought that the prosecutors and defense could only rely on the testimonies of the only two people concerned (Buck Walker and Jennifer Jenkins) in the murder case to prove the facts that what they were alleging were true. Apart from various witnesses who could merely vouch for them, no one, apart from Mr Walker and Miss Jenkins, were on the island with the two victims. Walker and Jenkins knew exactly what took place on that mystery-shrouded atoll in the Pacific Ocean in 1974 or at least one of them knew. Without them confessing and I do not see that ever happening, this is what the theft and murder trials had boiled down to - their word.
I would recommend this book to all crime enthusiasts, if only to get a deeper insight into America's criminal jurisprudence and Bugliosi's probing and extensive analysis, whether you concur with him or otherwise, of an utterly complex and alarming true crime story. I am glad I read it.
And The Sea Will Tell, a New York Times No 1 hardcover bestseller, was published in 1991.
What is the story?
(a riveting opening from the book) Palmyra Island: At once beautiful and forbidding, this uninhabited tropical atoll is off the well-traveled path of the trade winds. Situated dead center in the Pacific Ocean, Palmyra was discovered by accident only in the nineteenth century. If one were to search the high seas for a setting that would lend itself to impenetrable mystery, this lonely outpost would not disappoint.
From afar, Palmyra is seductive: tall coconut trees and stretches of beach are enveloped by a coral reef and the brilliant shallows of the tropical ocean.
Once ashore, however, one finds that the vegetation that looks so lush and inviting from a distance is impassable except with a machete. Hordes of land crabs claim squatter's rights to much of the island. The beaches are not sandy, but rocky, and surrounded by coral as sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, capable of shredding the ribs of the sturdiest vessel. Only a narrow passage in the reef on the south-western side allows access to a lagoon populated by schools of colourful fish, temptingly meaty but poisonous to eat. And it doesn't take long to notice in the crystalline waters the menacing gray shadows of nature's most perfect eating machines. Sharks. There is, finally, no escape from the blazing sun and stifling humidity.
Only the most adventuresome, or desperate, would plan an extended stay here. This is the true story of two men and two women who did. One married couple, two lovers. Four lives forever changed on an island that never wanted company. Each of the visitors sought escape from the world, but for very different reasons, their destinies intersecting on this deserted atoll. Not all of them would leave alive. The mystery shrouding their fate would be as dark and chilling as the ocean floor deep beneath Palmyra Island.
About the authors:
Vincent Bugliosi, American attorney and author, is a two-time winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award in the best true crime book of the year category for his No 1 New York Times bestsellers, Helter Skelter (1974) and Till Death Do Us Part (1978). In his career at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, he successfully prosecuted 105 out of 106 felony jury trials and his most famous trial was the Charles Manson case, which became the basis of his bestselling book Helter Skelter (1974). He lives with his wife in Los Angeles.
Bruce Henderson is the author and coauthor of more than twenty nonfiction works including True North (2005) and Fatal North (2001). He is a member of the Authors Guild and American Society of Journalists and Authors. He lives in northern California. For more information on the author and his other works, go to www.brucehendersonbooks.com
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