The Widow Wave: A True Courtroom Drama of Tragedy at Sea

Jay W. Jacobs

Aug 2014 · Quid Pro Books

About this ebook

Will anyone ever know what happened to the Aloha, a sport fishing boat that vanished with all onboard in the Pacific off San Francisco’s coast? ‘Knowing’ is a complex, inexact business. There’s real truth and then there’s courtroom truth; a jury’s verdict may or may not approach what actually happened. Nor can someone reading about such an event—one that had no witnesses or hard evidence to explain it—be sure where the truth lies. But trials, judges, and juries are what we use in our legal system to find truth.

The Widow Wave explores this alternate reality. It is a fascinating true-life mystery and lawyer procedural rolled into one. Jay Jacobs offers no facile answers—and he’s not the flawless protagonist typically starring in such dramas. He lets us see how such a big wrongful death case really unfolds, in a true story that reads like a novel. Will the jury find the truth? Will the reader?

"An intelligently told true story of honor, integrity and justice. The Widow Wave reminded me of The Perfect Storm, played out in a taut courtroom thriller. Jay Jacobs masterfully weaves the harrowing tale of the last voyage of the Aloha, and courtroom battle that followed. A great read."
— Robert Dugoni, New York Times Bestselling Author of My Sister's Grave

"A compelling story of a modern day maritime tragedy that beautifully discusses the vital importance of advances in observational technologies, forecasts and communications in avoiding future loss of life at sea. Jacobs skillfully weaves together the legal, scientific and maritime narratives to enthrall and educate the reader."
— Julie Thomas, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Manager of the Institute of Geo and Planetary Physics

"Trial lawyer Jay Jacobs, in a unique, personally revealing memoir, defends a widow and her deceased husband's honor in an intimate first person account of how the civil trial process unfolds.... The reader will learn about the strategies, shoals, and embroilments of a real life, vigorously contested trial with its many emotional upheavals."
— Justice James Marchiano (ret.), formerly Presiding Justice, California Court of Appeals, First Appellate District 

"Jacobs' vivid prose pulls you into a compelling drama, deftly transporting you from the courtroom to the storm-tossed Pacific and back to the courtroom again. The book reads like a well-wrought detective novel."
— Daniel James Brown, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Boys in the Boat 

Ratings and reviews

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Very good read, nicely paced.

About the author

Jay W. Jacobs has been a member of the California bar for more than 35 years. A civil litigator, he specialized in maritime law. Prior to law school, he was a sailor and an officer in the merchant marine, sailing on cargo ships, ore-carriers and tankers on voyages bound for Europe, Africa, India, the Far East, South America, the Persian Gulf and Japan. He now lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest.