Every bit the equal of Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter," this book is a comprehensive ripper of a true-crime yarn that feels structured like an Agatha Christie tale. To wit: Four people are on a remote, even spooky South Pacific island named Palmyra. Two, a married couple, disappear and are presumed dead. The other two — a hippie with a murky criminal past and his maybe-not-as-naive-as-she-seems girlfriend — turn up months later in Hawaii with the boat belonging to the vanished couple. The man is found guilty of murder nearly a decade later, after the bones belonging to one of the missing turn up. But was the other guilty as well? Bugliosi, who switches to the defense table in this tale, insists that she isn't. He does a good job of convincing a jury nearly two decades after the slayings ... but will you be convinced as well? You'll have fun trying to put together the pieces of the bizarre true 1970s and 1980s story of Paradise Found — and Paradise Lost. It's a story in which physical evidence, by necessity, must take a backseat to circumstantial offerings and character assessment. And being readers, we love to judge. And put our wits against those of Bugliosi, who is one of the sharpest legal minds in American crime. He makes his case, lays out all the facts, put his own spin on them ... but never tries to unfairly prejudice anyone's opinion. No, his prejudices are there — but fairly and honestly rendered — and that's what ultimately keeps the reader in the game amidst an intimidatingly high stack of facts and suppositions. Good fun, good story, good storytelling. "And The Sea Will Tell" is another in my short stack of books I know I'll read again and again.
I'm 32% done with And the Sea Will Tell: Loved the first 22% of the book but it seems all the rest is going to be trial and talk about how good the author is? Darn Here I thought I was finally reading a good true crime book again. — Apr 07, 2015 ---------------------------------Update April 9 after reading nearly 70 %Can't do this anymore.Sorry but I have lost all respect of Vincent Bugliosi. My god reading him being so smug all the time is so annoying.The first 25 % was great. I do not mind reading how trials went because it can be really interesting and I've tried here as well, but after 45% of him telling us how smart he is and how good he did I say no more!!It is obvious he managed to get Jennifer Jenkins aka Stephanie Stearns free. Yes he changed her name in the book but not the other people like the names of the family or the people that were there on the island.He would never write (although the author is Bruce Henderson) a book where he failed.Now I know why I never read this book. My intuition told me so. lol. Fiend told me it was so good but I do not agree.. Tedious is the word.He was also constantly saying he would only defend her if she was innocent while it was obvious he was not even sure and the way she acted did not show innocence at all.She knew what has happened. Come on! Anyway. Never again a book about Bugliosi.
A mesmerizing true murder story where two couples, with no knowledge of each other, sail to the remote islsnd of Palmyra wishing to spend some tie on their own in this isolated place. One of them mysteriously dsappears, casting obvious doubts on the survivors. This is the first-hand and detailed story of what happened and of the separate trials of the suspects. A new role for the attorney and writer, Bugliosi, as most of his career he has been a prosecutor. Here, he acts as the defense attorney. The entire trial kept me glued to my chair, but the summation was a piece of art: perfectly well structured, organized, smart and compelling. I could not know what the verdict would be till the end of the book. The author also gives us a glimpse of what happens behind closed doors in interactions betwwn lawyers and the judge. Spectacular!
—Patricia Ibarra
My son snagged this from the family lake cottage; it was a discard from the local library which my sister had picked up. I was sucked in immediately by the mystery in Book One, "The Crime." However, Book Two, "Justice," began about a third of the way in, and it was hard going from then on. If you are a fan of court procedurals, or want to be a trial lawyer, you may find this book fascinating, but if you're a layperson like me, you'll start flipping pages. Obviously, I was interested enough to want to learn the outcome of the murder trial, but 574 pages is a lot of flipping.
—Kim Condas
This is an amazing accounting of a case that Vincent Bugliosi worked, investigated and tried in the courts. The crime infuriated me, frightend many and went to trial after a lot of hard investigation and leg work. Two people were murdered for their boat and belongings by persons who coveted what they did not have. One person prosecuted as the murderer was as despicable as Charles Manson, another case this master detective / attorney was involved with. The other person, as you will see also is an interesting piece of this puzzle. Sadly two people died on a tropical island after befriending and spending time with a couple who only had interest in their possesions.Read the book.
—Barbara Bellehumeur
