Customer Reviews

Vanished at Sea: The True Story of a Child TV Actor and Double Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I picked this book up at a bookstore a couple of days ago when browsing the true crime section because the title and cover caught my attention. Today I had some free time and read the whole book. It is a well-written and straightforward account of a truly horrifying crime, orchestrated by a person who evidently is terribly twisted. It's not a spoiler to mention the crime, which is described early in the book -- the luring of an innocent retired couple to take several people on a test ride on the couple's $400,000 yacht, with the goal of murdering the couple in cold blood at sea after forcing them to sign over the title to the boat and their other possessions.

The horror of the crime compelled me to read on, as the author unfolded the tale of the crime's discovery and the competent steps taken by the police and prosecutor to bring the perpetrators to justice. The writing is about average, but it does not get in the way of the story, and the author's style gave me nothing to complain about.

But I do have one fairly major bone to pick with the author or her publisher, or whoever decided to publish this paperback original at this point. I have to give the publisher credit for getting the book in print in a timely manner -- one person was sentenced for a particular crime in October 2007 -- just 3 months ago! The problem is, the major villain in the book was scheduled to go to trial in "early 2008"! So, from reading this book about the crime, we don't know the ending of the story! I have read many true crime books, and I have never read one before where the principal culprit (alleged) has not yet gone to trial, at least where a trial is in the offing. (Jack the Ripper never went to trial, but that's a rather different situation.)

So, I found that the book did a good job of presenting the facts as they stand now, which left me wondering at the depths of human depravity (and stone-cold stupidity) that could have led to this unutterably awful crime. But, I really think a book like this should not be published until the main perpetrator's fate is known, at least in a case like this, where he has been caught and charged and is awaiting trial.

I am a true crime junkie. I've read over 100 TC books in my lifetime. This has to be one of the most difficult accounts I've read because of the horrific details of the crime. Many times, the crime itself is left to the imagination. In this case, a witness tells exactly what happened. I actually kept going back to the photos to look at the victims because I just couldn't come to grips with what happened. Skylar is a perfect example of someone that never should be let near society again, period. The way this crime was carried out is just beyond human comprehension. This book honors the memory of the victims and gives us a good picture of their life. I also agree that it was rushed--I will have to look online to find out the ending of the trial. Thank God these people were caught, I can't imagine what they could have done if left to their own devices any longer.

Tina Dirmann's account of the horrific deaths of Tom and Jackie Hawks at sea while they are showing their yacht off to psychopath Skylay Deleon and his cohorts reads like one of those "rush to print" true crimes books that seeks to beat the oppositon to the punch. Problem with such efforts is that as here, the principal villain, Skylar Deleon, has not yet even had his trial. The author must be assuming a guilty verdict yet OJ's trial should teach us it's never over till it's over. Also, failure to carefully edit the facts results in errors such as the author's assertion that the victim Tom Hanks had served in combat in the Phillipines. Clearly she was referring to the Vietnam conflict and got her history confused. All in all, barely a three out of five.

I found this book very suspenseful and well written. I liked the way the chapters skipped around in time and in between characters. Others have commented that the book was rushed. I liked the fact that it was written before the trial, which I now look forward to following. I wonder with all the publicity how they could ever find an unbiased jury. But then again, who cares? Skylar should be eliminated as slowly and painfully as possible.

Being new to the true crime genre, mostly a reader of fiction, mystery, and non-fiction adventure and science (a.k.a. Crichton, Connelley, Krakauer, or E.O. Wilson), I was pleasantly surprised by this book and this author. This story surprised and shocked me to say the least. Ms. Dirmann's account was well researched and very well written. Her conversational style kept me turning the pages as though she were telling me the story herself, in person. It made for an easy, enjoyable read. In fact, I am looking forward to reading it again, as soon as I finish her first book, Such Good Boys, which I am halfway through after one day and cannot put down.

Also, I do not subscribe to the "written-too-soon" train of thought. The story ends with a sense of finality, with all of the accused (if they even deserve that bit of politically correct leniency) charged, behind bars, and at least one trial complete. As I understand it, others are still awaiting trial (it was recently postponed AGAIN until August 2008), and it's been 4 years since the murder. To wait for all trials to conclude before writing a book like this would deprive readers of an engaging tale for possibly years, and the story is far faded from the headlines. If opinions or accounts do change, I look forward to the 2nd edition for clarification, the decision of the jury, and the sentencing, if necessary.

Great work Ms. Dirmann, Ill be in line for your next one. Please keep them coming.

This horrific story about the murders of Tom and Jackie Hawks was truly difficult to comprehend. It is extremely difficult for me to relate to human beings who are too lazy to work but want to steal and kill in order to acquire wealth.

While the novel was well written, I truly wish I had read the reviews by others before I purchased the book and read it. While the wheels of justice seem to move quite slowly in some cases, I am baffled as to why Jennifer Deleon went to trial quickly and it seems as if Skylar Deleon and his partner in crime have yet to have a trial.

I was hugely disappointed when I reached the end of the book only to discover Skylar had not had his trial. Now I will have to keep searching the Internet for information on him in order to learn of his fate :-(

As a long time fan of Ann Rule, I can't help comparing other true crime writers to her. I don't recall Ann Rule ever writing a book until the killer had been to trial. In fact, that is usually a huge part of her novels,as she attends the trials herself. If Ms. Dirmann felt strongly about writing the book before Skylar Deleon went to trial, it would be a service to her readers if she would at least post on her web site what was happening with his trial, as other authors have done.

This was a thriller and grabbed my attention immediately from page one. Couldn't put the book down. I was touched by the loving people in this book -- the victims and their families -- and was horrified by the actions of the criminals. The author gives some insight into each of the characters, which makes the story all the more tragic. If you are interested in reading true crime stories, this one was well written.

Warning: *Spoiler Alert*

"Vanished At Sea" is the true story of a couple murdered at sea by a sociopathic ex-child actor and his accomplices so that said sociopath (Skylar DeLeon) could take possesion of their boat AND all of their assets. Once DeLeon forces Tom and Jackie Hawkes to sign everything over to him, Skylar and his accomlices tie the Hawkes to one of the anchors and after taping their eyes and mouths shut, he throws them and the anchor overboard.

I read a lot of true crime but I found this story particularly chilling because a) I love the sea and boating and b) something like this could happen to anyone. The chapter describing the crime itself--wow. All I can say is that it takes a whole lot of cruelty for someone to do what was done to the Hawkes.

However, Skylar, being something of a dumb**s, volunteers too much information when questioned by detectives, which sent up a red flag for them. Deleon says that he got the money to buy the Hawkes's yacht from a druge deal involving smuggling cocaine over the border into Mexico and after it was sold, he gave the money to a friend to hold. The more you learn about Deleon, the more it becomes glaringly obvious what a sleazeball he truly is, blaming everything and everyone but himself for what has happened in his life.

Jennifer, his wife, isn't much better. Upon taking possession of the yacht she paws through the Hawkes's possession as if it were some sort of garage sale gone bad. You really have no respect for her when it becomes obvious that she is NOT ignorant of how the yacht came to be in Deleon's possession.

There are chapters about Tom and Jackie and their lives both before and after they met and married. They seemed to be very good people, a loving, caring couple which makes the way they died even more heinous.

I noticed in comments to the first review that Deleon has been sentenced to death. I hope that California will carry through and execute him. Anyone who is too lazy to work and instead does something like this deserves to die IMHO.

All in all, this is a book that will stay with me for a long, long time.

I ordered this book with reservations. I had followed this story in the news and was afraid that my familiarity with the story would make the book a slow read. If anything, my knowledge of the background was an asset. This book is very well written, and unlike most true crime books, I read every page. Tina Dirmann's focus in this book is on Skylar Deleon; both the development of a personality that could do this crime, and a personality that could pull in so many other people for his own use.

This story was particularly awful in how these people were killed. All for money and their boat. The killers were too lazy to go out and get real jobs so they killed this couple instead. They deserve whatever they're getting in prison.