A Death in the Islands

November 1, 2016

Attorney and novelist Farris tells the story of Thalia Massie, who asserted that she was raped by five Hawaiian boys in September 1931. Following a hung jury, Thalia's husband, her mother, and two naval sailors took matters into their own hands. They abducted one of the defendants in an attempt to beat a confession out of him and killed another. Attorney Clarence Darrow used the "honor killing" defense in a time when there was high racial tension between the white minority and Hawaiians. The four individuals were convicted of manslaughter, but military and political pressure, including from President Herbert Hoover, called upon the territorial governor to intervene. To avoid martial law and boycott from the navy, the defendants' sentence was commuted to just one hour in custody. While this book reads like a novel, it has been meticulously researched through trial transcripts, police reports, and case materials. However, Farris admits in his introduction that he took some liberties in setting the scenes and dialog, which makes it hard to determine what was really said and what was embellished. VERDICT John P. Rosa's Local Story is a better source for the accurate history, but libraries should consider buying this title as a companion to Rosa's book.--Michael Sawyer, Daytona Beach, FL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2016
Inspiring screenplays, exposes, and novels for 85 years, the trials of Thalia Massie, her mother, husband, and two friends still leave more questions than answers. In 1931, Massie, the vivacious wife of a naval officer stationed at Pearl Harbor, accused Joe Kahahawai and four other local men of various ethnicities of gang-raping and beating her. Filled with inconsistencies, her story may not have held water, but it did hold up in court, enough to result in a mistrial. The verdict outraged Thalia's mother, society doyenne Grace Fortescue, who, along with Thalia's husband and two of his navy colleagues, then kidnapped and murdered Kahahawai in revenge. For their trial, Fortescue lured prominent attorney Clarence Darrow out of retirement. His unconventional defense and interpretation of the law culminated in a virtual acquittal, jeopardizing the Hawaiian Territory's fragile racial balance and tarnishing the reputation of one of America's most respected jurists. Attorney Farris' transcript-laden revisiting of this notorious crime will appeal to true crime and legal thriller buffs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)