Nick Foster

William Dathan Holbert, who loves to call himself (and hear others call him) “Wild Bill,” is an extremely dangerous man. He’s one of those young men who can turn on the charm when he needs to, and become as cold as a robot when he has reason to kill the same people he’s charmed into trusting him– and he considers the killer-side of his personality to be the real him, not the charming side. Killing several people over a relatively short period of time is not something easily hidden show more by a murderer who continues to choose his victims from a relatively small pool of candidates – but Holbert did it. And he was able to do it because the community from which he chose his victims was largely made up of American expats with so many things they wanted to hide about themselves that they respected the principle of privacy more than they respected each other.

Bocas del Toro is a fairly remote section of Panama that over the years became a haven for Americans who wanted a fresh start, men and women who were running from, or hiding from, someone back in the United States who had good reason to want to get their hands on them. False papers, including birth certificates, visas, and passports were common, along with the fake names that went along with the fake paperwork. Most everyone had a wild story to tell about themselves and their supposed wealth, and most everyone knew not to believe a word they heard from their fellow expats. It was not uncommon for expats to leave the community with little or no notice and few goodbyes to their “friends” in Bocas, so when Wild Bill started eliminating a few of them by his own hand, it took months before anyone there (including local police) even wondered what might be happening.

In 2011, the author’s Financial Times editor assigned him to write a piece on Panama’s apparent real estate boom. Because acquiring real estate worth hundreds of thousands of dollars was behind each of Bill Holbert’s murders, it was only a matter of time before Nick Foster got wind of his story. Once he did, Foster decided to tell the story of the man and woman who came into Bocas del Toro like two grim reapers and only quit killing when family members of some of Holbert’s victims finally exposed them. The result is The Jolly Roger Social Club: A True Story of a Killer in Paradise.

The Jolly Roger Social Club is a well-researched and documented account of the killing spree that Holbert and his demented partner, Laura Michelle Reese, inflicted upon Boca’s expat community. The author explores the backgrounds of both killers, their victims, and other members of their community in great detail in an effort to make clear exactly how something like this could happen, and he is largely successful in doing that. The book also offers a concise history of Panama, its origins, and its close ties to American politics and business. The author’s prose style, however, is a little too densely packed to make it the kind of true crime exposé that reads smoothly or quickly. Despite that, this book has a lot to say about psychopaths and how they choose their victims and their spots, and I found it all fascinating.

(Review Copy from Publisher) show less

"The Jolly Roger Social Club: A True Story of a Killer in Paradise" follows the story of an American who makes a killing, so to speak, in the paradise world of Panama. As readers, however, we soon find out that this landscape is anything but a paradise, as the writer intertwines the recent history of Panama with the narrative of the murder and subsequent investigation.

While many parts of this book were interesting, the writing in many ways is disjointed, as the writer jumps from one topic to show more another without any easy transitions. Sometimes, the writer is telling the story of the murderer and his victims; sometimes, he is telling us about the brutal history of Panama. Often, the connections are not clear. Sometimes, the writer himself seems to appear out of nowhere, almost as if to say, "Hey, can't you see I did a good job with investigating."

Final thoughts: intriguing story but the book could have used a closer editing job. show less

This gruesome true crime story takes us to the U. S. expat community on the Caribbean coast of northwest Panama, where five members of that community were murdered by one of their own between 2007 and 2010. The author, a journalist of some experience, does a nice job of describing the murderer, his victims and the free wheeling, boozy society they lived in. Most all of the expats had a "past." "Everyone here," one said, "came because they were either 'Wanted' or unwanted."

The pattern of show more killing was chillingly similar: William Holbert, who held himself out to be a man of means (although actually a serious criminal escaping U. S. law enforcement), befriended the victims, established trust, then killed them and acquired their Panamanian real estate by forging documents. The bodies were quickly disposed of, and Holbert told others that the victims had rapidly left the country for personal reasons. These stories held up for a while until the family members of the disappeared added the pieces, which all pointed to Holbert. He fled with his girlfriend to neighboring countries, but they were soon captured. He confessed to Panamanian authorities, although he fabricated the reasons for the killings (invoking the Mafia, among other things). He and his girlfriend, who claims to know nothing of the killings, are currently jailed in Panama. They are also linked to the murder at sea of an American lawyer for his money.

The book is stuffed full of details; too many at times. The author visited most of the locales where the actions took place and interviewed most of the expat folks who knew Holbert and the victims. He even interviewed Holbert in prison. The murderer was quasi-contrite. As he told Panamanian investigators: " . . . [I]t gives me no pleasure to kill people. Actually, it's a difficult decision to make and it's difficult to do." So we see the pathology first hand, but the pathology is not explained or analyzed, only described.

We also see the criminal justice system of a third world country - drenched in corruption and crippled by lack of resources. As of the writing, Holbert and his girlfriend have not yet been tried, five years after their capture. Both are recently married to Panamanian citizens, barring them, under Panamanian law, from extradition to the United States.

My major criticism is that the book needs tightening and a tougher editorial hand. It is about 20% longer than it should have been. There are many repetitions of events and descriptions and needless meanderings. Countless pages, for example, are devoted to the career and travails of Manuel Noriega, the former Panamanian strongman, which have nothing to do with Holbert's crimes. show less

Intriguing investigative journalism about a man whose life was full of deception, cons, and ultimately murder. With many names and reinventions of himself, "Wild Bill" and his partner Jane Cortez open a dive bar called The Jolly Roger Social Club with the motto "Over 90% of our members survive". Wearing a Viking style horned helmet and drinking Seco Herrerano white rum, Bill possessed a loud persuasive personality. The book has several stories that build a picture of Panama's underbelly - show more sometimes they directly feed into the story of Wild Bill and sometimes they don't. Lots of Panamanian history of the canal, Peace Corps, and Noriega with personal touches. The book can get bogged down in detail but the reader is able to visualize the places described. Expats of Boca, Boquete and David will enjoy the name drops and envisioning a close brush with a psychopath. show less