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Vanished at Sea: The True Story of a Child TV Actor and Double Murder (St. Martin's True...
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by Tina Dirmann
Sales Rank: 12083
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List Price: $6.99
$2.90
At Amazon
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Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks January 2, 2008
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312941978
ISBN-13: 978-0312941970
Product Dimensions:
6.6 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
Product Description
It was supposed to be blue skies and smooth sailing for Thomas and Jackie Hawks. A retired probation officer and a stay-at-home mom, they were looking forward to entering the next phase of their golden years. Their plan: To sell their home—a 55-foot, $435,000 yacht—and start a new life on land…and spend as much time with their grandchildren as possible. The Hawks were thrilled when a young man named Skylar Deleon wanted to buy the boat for himself, his wife, and their two kids. Little did Thomas and Jackie know that this unemployed, former childhood actor and dishonorably discharged Marine had another devious plan in mind: To lure the couple out to sea, force them to sign away their life savings, throw them overboard, and leave them
Back Cover Copy
YACHT FOR SALE BY OWNERS
Outstanding condition, cruise ready, moored in Newport Beach, CA.
It was supposed to be blue skies and smooth sailing for Thomas and Jackie Hawks. A retired probation officer and a stay-at-home mom, they were looking forward to entering the next phase of their golden years. Their plan: To sell their home—a 55-foot, $435,000 yacht—and start a new life on land…and spend as much time with their grandchildren as possible.
ASKING PRICE
The cost of two lives…
The Hawks were thrilled when a young man named Skylar Deleon wanted to buy the boat for himself, his wife, and their two kids. Little did Thomas and Jackie know that this unemployed, former childhood actor and dishonorably discharged Marine had another devious plan in mind: To lure the couple out to sea, force them to sign away their life savings, throw them overboard, and leave them VANISHED AT SEA.
Customer Reviews & Comments
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.
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Vanished at Sea: The True Story of a Child TV Actor and Double Murder (St. Martin's True...
List Price: $6.99
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Price: $2.90
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