And the Sea Will Tell (Paperback)

~ (Author), Bruce Henderson (Author) "It had rained during the night, one of those warm tropical showers that leaves the air heavy and sweet..." (more)
Key Phrases: theft trial, bon voyage dinner, high high tide, Sea Wind, Buck Walker, Judge King (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

And the Sea Will Tell spins a riveting story--a story that could have been the backbone for a classic novel by Herman Melville or Joseph Conrad. Two couples--one wealthy and married, the other an ex-con and his hippie girlfriend-- separately set sail for a remote South Pacific island, each hoping to play "Adam and Eve" in paradise. Instead of getting away from it all, they take it with them-- their pasts and prejudices, and the petty battles over status and material goods that arise from their different social classes. Only two people out of the original four live through the experience. One of them has the extraordinary good luck to be defended in court by master attorney Vincent Bugliosi (author of Helter Skelter). As the Los Angeles Times writes, "The book succeeds on all counts. The final pages are some of the most suspenseful in trial literature." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In 1974, wealthy Californians Mac and Muff Graham sailed to Palmyra Island, 1000 miles south of Hawaii, in their boat the Sea Wind . Buck Walker and Jennifer Jenkins arrived soon after on the same atoll, fleeing drug charges in Hawaii. Several months later, Walker and Jenkins returned to Hawaii in the Sea Wind , claiming that the Grahams were presumed dead when the dinghy in which they had gone fishing was washed ashore unmanned. However, in 1980, vacationers on Palmyra found bones soon identified as those of Muff Graham, who was determined to have been shot. Walker and Jenkins were charged with murder: in separate San Francisco trials, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and she was acquitted. Writing with Henderson ( Empire of Deceit) , Bugliosi ( Helter Skelter ), who served as Jenkins's attorney, offers a case history which could have been a true-crime classic if not for the 250 tedious pages devoted to his client's 23-day trial. Photos not seen by PW. Literary Guild main selection.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (April 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393327965
• ISBN-13: 978-0393327960
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #53,921 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful sense of place & use of detail, December 17, 2001

By	James G. Greenhill "Jim Greenhill" (Durango, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: And the Sea Will Tell (Mass Market Paperback)

It's going on four years since I read "And The Sea Will Tell" & it's the haunting sense of Palmyra that's stayed with me--the setting is brilliantly evoked. I loved the deliberate slow pacing (appropriate to how things might have felt for the couples staying at Palmyra), rich detail & strong sense of the characters. It's amazing how rich a sense of people & place can be developed by completely immersing yourself in the facts of one case & that's why the best true crime works so well--because you CAN know so much, including details you wouldn't at first expect to know, such as what people likely were thinking, within reasonable doubt--& this is certainly among the very best true crime. If it weren't for another of Bugliosi's books ("Helter Skelter") this would be on my true crime top ten list. Bugliosi's books are ALL a must-read for criminal justice enthusiasts, each outstanding in its own way, despite his ego. This one is everything other positive reviews have said and also a case study in how to convey an excellent sense of place in writing.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ABSOLUTELY RIVETING IN EVERY WAY, February 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: And the Sea Will Tell (Mass Market Paperback)

Although this book is based on one of Bugliosi's actual cases, it is far more riveting and spellbinding than any fiction thriller could ever be. (No doubt many writers of fiction wish they could come up with something this good--I know I do!) Bugliosi is a fine writer and does a wonderful job of characterization as well as weaving a haunting spell of mystery around the events portrayed. I did not agree with Bugliosi that Jennifer was not guilty, but that didn't take away from my overall fascination with the book. A sad book, but one with a haunting end that readers will find hard to forget.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A terrible tragedy, plus a great story, March 7, 2005

By	John (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: And the Sea Will Tell (Mass Market Paperback)

Part 1 is an account of a neat couple --good people-- who, at the husband's behest, sailed to an uninhabited tropical atoll to get away from it all and ended up getting murdered by a brainsick felon on the lam.

Part 2 is the story of the subsequent criminal proceedings. Aware of Mr. Bugliosi's illustrious record as a prosecutor, I considered this part one big happy ending from the outset, looking forward to an account of his dramatic show and cogent case against the murderer. I was dismayed to learn that he was instead retained to defend the murderer's girlfriend in a separate trial. What makes it a great story is that the defense faced overwhelming difficulties and was at times on the brink of losing it all! By no means is this Mr. Bugliosi crowing about his stellar performance in some slam-dunk case. This is the story of a remarkably unconcerned and ungrateful Adult Child of an Alcoholic (who displayed classic symptoms of that syndrome) who went to slaughter with far better representation than she deserved, an embarrassing record of suspicious conduct around the time of the murders, and a blithe, lazy attitude toward trial preparation.

You can guess the outcome of the trial considering that this book was written, but it still has a tense ending regarding what the defense team went through during deliberation. How the jurors' dispositions compared to the lawyers' guesses is another thing to look forward to.

This is a nonfiction novel rather than one of Mr. Bugliosi's indignant harangues but as usual, I learned a lot about criminal process and jurisprudence. He also lets us in on small aspects of his personal life and I enjoyed this, too. And while I am convinced that "Jennifer Jenkins" is innocent of murder, I think she should win an Oscar for acting stupid in regards to that werewolf she was shacking up with.

UPDATE: Buck Walker was released on 8-28-2007! Go to the Federal Bureau of Prisons site, click Inmate Search, and search for WESLEY G. WALKER. Unbelievable. "And I say to myself, what a wonderful world..."