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Blood and Fire: The Duke of Windsor and the Strange Murder of Sir Harry Oakes
When news of Sir Harry Oakes' murder in the Bahamas broke to the world on the morning of July 8,1943, one man was more concerned than most. He was the Duke of Windsor, then Governor of the British colony, whose job it was to ensure that the killer was caught and brought to justice. However, the Duke's actions in the aftermath of the 20th. century's greatest murder mystery raised more questions than answers, and cast doubt on his own intentions in calling in two Miami investigators of dubious worth. Was the Duke a conspirator in a gigantic cover-up? Did he try to excecute an innocent man in an attempt to protect himself and his friends? In this compelling tale, John Marquis presents an alternative view to the one generally accepted in the Bahamas, which is that the Duke was a bungler who mishandled the case. He believes the evidence strongly suggests that the Duke was a plotter with something to hide, and a cruel mission to condemn an innocent man. More than 60 years later, the story retains the power to mesmerise all those with a taste for intrigue in high places at a time when the western world faced its greatest peril. It is an electrifying tale of high society chicanery in a tropical paradise during wartime, with the hangman's noose providing a grusome backdrop. As a murder mystery, Blood and Fire has everything...
252 pages, Hardcover
First published November 30, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 7, 2024
Maybe the most annoying read I've undertaken about the Harry Oakes murder! And I have read quite a few after reading the fictionalized version in Beatriz William's The Golden Hour -- a great book, BTW.
This "reportage" is incredibly redundant (ex: telling the Meyer Lansky theory in full TWICE and then offering it again in an entire dedicated chapter). And it feels long, at just about 200 pages; one gets the impression of a school assignment that was not long enough and needed more filler.
Far worse though, is that after the teaser of an impeccable source merely wanting to set the record straight a half-century+ later, we don't really know who the source was -- or what the specifics were!! It should have been laid out in a more, clear evidentiary manner to tie things up.
But epic fail as a journalist since he buried the lead! When we finally get to the author's theory, he gets side-tracked by the account of one of the prime suspect's employees, clearly reiterating the conspiratorial line which he has spent 200 pages debunking -- why even bother reporting it? Then, the impeccable source connects Betty Renner murder to a house in Nassau -- are we supposed to infer this was Chrisitie's home, as described earlier? Did I miss that?
In addition, the real motives of the Duke of Windsor, were glossed over and deserved an actual chapter -- much moreso than Meyer Lansky. His financial shenanigans in the Mexican bank with Wenner-Gren and Oakes -- allowing fortunes to be sent illegally offshore -- and the fact that Christie's Lyford Cay development was imperiled by Oakes imminent decampment to Mexico were not clearly or cognetly addressed. And what about Oakes missing fortune? I learned online that 2005 documents state that this was likely split between Mexican authorities, the Duke & Christie?!
Only briefly touched upon was the role of Foskett, the corrupt US attorney of the Oakes family -- who had been defrauding Oakes for years and he was a a beneficiary in the will?! How could he even be the attorney? Why didn't this get a full chapter and multiple mentions??
Even the pictures were bad! He used some twice in cropped form, even.
Lastly, the writing was full of weird British colloquilaisms.
All up, this offers nothing to directly tie the Duke to the murder, although he did capitalize on the tragedy. And, the investigation was thwarted BADLY, by the Duke. BUT, if you want to know who killed Sir Harry.....follow the money!
Marquis could have explained it in a more connected sort of way; it feels like a "gotcha" at the end with all this new info. Where was the editor!!/
This "reportage" is incredibly redundant (ex: telling the Meyer Lansky theory in full TWICE and then offering it again in an entire dedicated chapter). And it feels long, at just about 200 pages; one gets the impression of a school assignment that was not long enough and needed more filler.
Far worse though, is that after the teaser of an impeccable source merely wanting to set the record straight a half-century+ later, we don't really know who the source was -- or what the specifics were!! It should have been laid out in a more, clear evidentiary manner to tie things up.
But epic fail as a journalist since he buried the lead! When we finally get to the author's theory, he gets side-tracked by the account of one of the prime suspect's employees, clearly reiterating the conspiratorial line which he has spent 200 pages debunking -- why even bother reporting it? Then, the impeccable source connects Betty Renner murder to a house in Nassau -- are we supposed to infer this was Chrisitie's home, as described earlier? Did I miss that?
In addition, the real motives of the Duke of Windsor, were glossed over and deserved an actual chapter -- much moreso than Meyer Lansky. His financial shenanigans in the Mexican bank with Wenner-Gren and Oakes -- allowing fortunes to be sent illegally offshore -- and the fact that Christie's Lyford Cay development was imperiled by Oakes imminent decampment to Mexico were not clearly or cognetly addressed. And what about Oakes missing fortune? I learned online that 2005 documents state that this was likely split between Mexican authorities, the Duke & Christie?!
Only briefly touched upon was the role of Foskett, the corrupt US attorney of the Oakes family -- who had been defrauding Oakes for years and he was a a beneficiary in the will?! How could he even be the attorney? Why didn't this get a full chapter and multiple mentions??
Even the pictures were bad! He used some twice in cropped form, even.
Lastly, the writing was full of weird British colloquilaisms.
All up, this offers nothing to directly tie the Duke to the murder, although he did capitalize on the tragedy. And, the investigation was thwarted BADLY, by the Duke. BUT, if you want to know who killed Sir Harry.....follow the money!
Marquis could have explained it in a more connected sort of way; it feels like a "gotcha" at the end with all this new info. Where was the editor!!/
September 5, 2020
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”. This unsolved murder of Sir Harry Oakes was muddy to say the least. Intrigue, coverups and lies upon lies which will never be solved was very interesting, all the more so because the murder happened in the 1940s and very few people are alive today to shed light on the murder. I wonder what really happened? Interesting book with hypotheses.
August 7, 2012
Being Bahamian I love to read about the history of the Bahamas -- this scandal - the murder of Sir Harry Oakes - has many theories but continues to be a mystery and unsolved -- this was a decent book on the topic but to get a real in depth look at the families involved it is best to read a smany books written on teh topic that you can find.
December 14, 2009
Having visited Bar Harbor, Maine in October, it was amazing to read about the murder of one of its prominent citizens. The Oakes had a one of their homes in Bar Harbor now called The Atlantic Oakes Inn. That said, the book could have used more editing and fact checking. The power of politics.
May 31, 2017
Brits behaving badly
January 3, 2016
Nonfiction
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews