Helpful Score: 3
This is an interesting account of the author's family's very close brush with the "Boston Strangler," as well as the corresponding conviction of a black man for what could very likely have been one of the infamous stranglings.
Helpful Score: 3
I thought this would be more of a story, but it is very fact based.
Helpful Score: 2
It's definitely not as good as his prior book, A Perfect Storm. The story about how his family had Albert DeSalvo working in their house when one of the supposed Boston Strangler killings took place in town is fascinating. But, I had the strong feeling that the author didn't have enough for a full book with this story alone, so he added information about the 1960's that I didn't feel was needed.
All in all, I found it interesting, but it will appeal most to those who are very interested in the story surrounding the Boston Strangler. It leaves a lot of questions unanswered, so it is ultimately unfulfilling.
All in all, I found it interesting, but it will appeal most to those who are very interested in the story surrounding the Boston Strangler. It leaves a lot of questions unanswered, so it is ultimately unfulfilling.
Helpful Score: 1
Though the reviews are quite mixed for this book, I actually enjoyed the book. It is rather refreshing when an author doesn't confuse his opinion with facts. Junger confesses that he himself doesn't know the truth and that the deeper he delves into the possibilities the more confused he became.
Junger a resident of Belmont, Massachusetts relives his own family's brush with infamy when a man that once worked in their home could very well have been the Boston Strangler.
As murders are taking place in the quiet suburb of Belmont the police are hard pressed for a suspect, that is until a black man is seen walking in the area of a recent murder. Roy Smith seems like the most likely candidate, he has a criminal record and was known to have worked in one of the victims homes. Easily convicted, the story seems to end there, that is until a man by the name of Albert DeSalvo enters the picture and the reader and author begin to question if the right man was convicted after all.
Junger a resident of Belmont, Massachusetts relives his own family's brush with infamy when a man that once worked in their home could very well have been the Boston Strangler.
As murders are taking place in the quiet suburb of Belmont the police are hard pressed for a suspect, that is until a black man is seen walking in the area of a recent murder. Roy Smith seems like the most likely candidate, he has a criminal record and was known to have worked in one of the victims homes. Easily convicted, the story seems to end there, that is until a man by the name of Albert DeSalvo enters the picture and the reader and author begin to question if the right man was convicted after all.
Helpful Score: 1
Not Junger's best work.
Part fact, part fiction account of the Boston Strangler story. I did feel there was a bit too much detail about the 1960's that weren't relevant to the story.
Interesting subject not very interestingly told, I thought.
A quick but far from easy read.
This book was written by the same man who wrote The Perfect Storm so I was expecting a great read that would hold my interest. I am from New England and remember being very frightened of "The Boston Strangler" as I walked to and from school in the early 60s. Unfortunately the book lost my interest after the beginning chapter when the author told his story of his father hiring a handy man to help with some remodeling at their home. The handy man turned out to be Albert DeSalvo.
interesting account of the strangler and the author's mother's brush with the strangler
I enjoyed the first chapter of this book and then it lost me. It was just too dry and officious for my taste.
Great book. He's a super writer and researcher.
A satisying, non-fiction account of the Boston Strangler, as well as a man who was falsely imprisoned for one of the the Strangler's murders. It also relates a thumbnail history of the times, including the civil rights movement and the death of JFK.
A well researched review of the familiar Boston Strangler story, but with a different angle, that of another murder that was not attributed to him, but for which another man spent his life in jail, continually protesting his innocence.
Very interesting book about rali life events that took place - quitee fascinating
In 1963, with the city of Boston already terrified by a series of savage crimes known as the Boston Stranglings, a murder occurred in the quiet suburb of Belmont, just a few blocks from the house of Sebastian Junger's family-a murder that seemed to fit exactly the pattern of the Strangler. Roy Smith, a black man who had cleaned the victim's house that day, was arrested, tried, and convicted, but the terror of the Strangler continued.
Two years later, Albert DeSalvo, a handyman who had been working at the Jungers' home on the day of the Belmont murder, and who had lften spent time there alone with Sebastian and his mother, confessed in lurid detail to being the Boston Strangler.
This is the point of entry to Junger's first book-length project since The Perfect Storm: a norrowly averted tragedy for Junger's family opens out into an electrifying exploration of race and justice in America. By turns exciting and subtle, the narrative chronicles three lives that collide-and are ultimately destroyed-in the vortex of one of the first and most controversial serial murder cases in America. The power of the story and the brilliance of Junger's reporting place this book on the short shelf of classics beside In Cold Blood.
Two years later, Albert DeSalvo, a handyman who had been working at the Jungers' home on the day of the Belmont murder, and who had lften spent time there alone with Sebastian and his mother, confessed in lurid detail to being the Boston Strangler.
This is the point of entry to Junger's first book-length project since The Perfect Storm: a norrowly averted tragedy for Junger's family opens out into an electrifying exploration of race and justice in America. By turns exciting and subtle, the narrative chronicles three lives that collide-and are ultimately destroyed-in the vortex of one of the first and most controversial serial murder cases in America. The power of the story and the brilliance of Junger's reporting place this book on the short shelf of classics beside In Cold Blood.
It was the finding of an odd family photograph that initially led Sebastian Junger to investigate the murder which forms the basis of this extraordinary true story. Actually, it wasn't so much the photograph itself that was strange, but who was photographed with a one-year-old Sebastian and his thirty-four-year-old mother, Ellen. The story behind the taking of this photograph is actually the most horrifying revelation of all, as this information only further highlights just how close the Jungers came to experiencing their own personal tragedy on that particular day in the spring of 1963.
In 1963, residents of the city of Boston were being terrorized by a series of gruesome murders that soon became known as the 'Boston Stranglings'. However, the quiet suburb of Belmont had never experienced the same level of fear until the brutal murder of Bessie Goldberg - which happened only a few blocks from the Junger family home. While Bessie Goldberg's murder bore all the hallmarks of being committed by the Strangler, a young black man by the name of Roy Smith - who had just cleaned the victim's house that day - was arrested, tried, and convicted for her murder. And so, the Strangler continued his reign of terror.
Two years later, Albert DeSalvo - a handyman who was working at the Jungers' home on the day of the Belmont murder - confessed in lurid detail to being the Boston Strangler. Much to the horror of the Jungers, this competent, punctual, and unassuming young man had often spent time alone in their home, as well as with Sebastian and his mother. This disturbing revelation, and the chilling photograph that was taken to commemorate the building of a home studio, opens into a electrifying exploration of race and justice in America during the 1960s. This extraordinary narrative chronicles the multiple lives that collide - and are ultimately destroyed - in the vortex of one of the first and most controversial serial murder cases in America.
I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I found it to be very well-written and thought-provoking, if a little slow in certain parts. Although I felt that the story lost some of its momentum, it still picked up appreciably, and I would certainly give this book a strong A!
In 1963, residents of the city of Boston were being terrorized by a series of gruesome murders that soon became known as the 'Boston Stranglings'. However, the quiet suburb of Belmont had never experienced the same level of fear until the brutal murder of Bessie Goldberg - which happened only a few blocks from the Junger family home. While Bessie Goldberg's murder bore all the hallmarks of being committed by the Strangler, a young black man by the name of Roy Smith - who had just cleaned the victim's house that day - was arrested, tried, and convicted for her murder. And so, the Strangler continued his reign of terror.
Two years later, Albert DeSalvo - a handyman who was working at the Jungers' home on the day of the Belmont murder - confessed in lurid detail to being the Boston Strangler. Much to the horror of the Jungers, this competent, punctual, and unassuming young man had often spent time alone in their home, as well as with Sebastian and his mother. This disturbing revelation, and the chilling photograph that was taken to commemorate the building of a home studio, opens into a electrifying exploration of race and justice in America during the 1960s. This extraordinary narrative chronicles the multiple lives that collide - and are ultimately destroyed - in the vortex of one of the first and most controversial serial murder cases in America.
I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I found it to be very well-written and thought-provoking, if a little slow in certain parts. Although I felt that the story lost some of its momentum, it still picked up appreciably, and I would certainly give this book a strong A!
Based on actual events (I think).
