A Death in Belmont - Sebastian Junger

From the back:

In the spring of 1963, the quiet suburb of Belmont, Massachusetts, is rocked by a shocking murder that fits the pattern of the infamous Boston Strangler, still at large. Hoping for a break in the case, the police arrest Roy Smith, a black ex-con whom the victim hired to clean her house. Smith is hastily convicted of the murder, but the Strangler's terror continues. And through it all, one man escapes the scrutiny of the police: a carpenter working at the time at the Belmont home of young Sebastian Junger and his parents - a man named Albert DeSalvo, who would eventually confess to the Strangler's horrific crimes.

From the acclaimed author of A Perfect Storm comes a powerful chronicle of three lives that collide in the vortext of one of America's most controversial serial murder cases.

This is such a powerful story from the beginning - Junger researched the Boston Strangler extensively, and compiled all of his research of interviews and recordings and newspaper clippings into this book that I couldn't put down. It is absolutely amazing to me that he and his family walked away physically unscathed while an alleged murderer worked in their house. I saw physically unscathed because there was obviously emotional problems that they faced after the fact.


Junger was just a kid when the Boston Strangler was at work, and since his book is based on research, it's still not completely proven that Al DeSalvo, the contractor and alleged Boston Strangler, actually did commit the brutal rapes and murders. He confessed to it hoping for immunity and a book deal (crazy, right? He obviously had issues.)


Most striking about the book is the amount of research that went into it. Since it was Boston in 1963, and several other issues were facing the country (President Kennedy's assassination, race riots and civil rights issues), Junger provided an in-depth look at some of these issues to give us more context into society's problems at that time. Some of the stories about lynchings were incredible to read - I'm going to have to ask my grandparents what they remember about the early 60s.


Due to the racial issues throughout the country, it was no surprise reading about the arrest and trial, and eventual conviction of Roy Smith, who was a black ex-con. Even I could see the mistakes that were made on the cops' parts and just some of the facts presented at the trial. Toward the end of the book, when it became more clear that Smith was not in fact guilty of the murder for which he was convicted, doubts about DeSalvo started becoming more obvious. I can't imagine the feelings that went through the minds of the Jungers the day they were told he confessed to being the Boston Strangler. Creepy. For whatever reason, someone was really looking out for them.


Roy Smith ended up serving many years in prison. His attorney still worked on appeals and to prove his innocence, but evidence wasn't kept in the 60s like it is today. He ended up being diagnosed with cancer and succumbing to it before he could make it out of prison (due to all the paperwork it took to free him.) To think that someone went to prison for crimes they did not commit is too horrible for words. I am interested in learning more about organizations working for justice on behalf of the innocent.

I know my thoughts about this book are all over the place, but I wanted to give a brief overview of the story and my thoughts without giving everything away. I really recommend this book, and I'm curious what conclusions other readers came to regarding Smith and DeSalvo. I truly believe Smith was innocent, but I'm not fully convinced DeSalvo committed every rape and murder traced to the Boston Strangler.

The Chicago Way - Michael Harvey

From the back:


Private detective Michael Kelly is hired by his former partner to solve an eight-year old rape and battery case long gone cold. But when the partner turns up dead, Kelly enlists a team of his savviest colleagues to connect the dots between the recent murder and the cold case it revived: a television reporter whose relationship with Kelly is not strictly professional; his best friend from childhood, now forensic DNA expert; and an old ally from the DA's office. To close the case, Kelly will have to face the mob, a serial killer, his own double-crossing friends, and the mean streets of the city he loves.


For starters, I love Chicago, but it really does contain some mean streets and horrific murders. For another thing, I love crime stories so this was right up my alley. Since that description from the back cover pretty much sums up the book, I just have a few extra comments.


While reading this, I really tried my best to keep an open mind about all the characters, despite their flaws, and to really try to figure out who the murderer was. I succeeded in the first but never did figure out the killer until it came out. I still felt unresolved at the end of the book though, as it seemed to never fully connect all the dots. I did really enjoy Harvey's writing style and his humor, as well as most of his characters.


I did have one issue with the book, that being the narrator's relationship with a reporter named Diane. Being a private investigator and talking to a reporter should create enough friction as it is, but to be in somewhat of a relationship with a reporter who obviously has an agenda is just bad news. It annoyed me to a certain degree that Michael Kelly didn't see Diane for who she was earlier - of course she's going to try to sleep with you, because she wants a story out of you. It was obvious from the start that's what she was after. But when she turned out to be just a little too involved with the case, it was a disaster. But of course, made for a great book.


I am curious if anyone else has read this one. I haven't come across it on any other blogs, I just happened upon it in the bookstore. Share your thoughts if you have some!