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A Death in Belmont
A Death in Belmont
Author: Sebastian Junger
A fatal collision of three lives in the most intriguing and original crime story since In Cold Blood. — In the spring of 1963, the quiet suburb of Belmont, Massachusetts, is rocked by a shocking sex murder that exactly fits the pattern of the Boston Strangler. Sensing a break in the case that has paralyzed the city of Boston, the po...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780393059809
ISBN-10: 0393059804
Publication Date: 4/18/2006
Pages: 320
Rating:
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 57

3.3 stars, based on 57 ratings
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed A Death in Belmont on + 57 more book reviews
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.
juniedoll avatar reviewed A Death in Belmont on + 17 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I thought this would be more of a story, but it is very fact based.
mnphotos1951 avatar reviewed A Death in Belmont on + 10 more book reviews
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.
reviewed A Death in Belmont on + 330 more book reviews
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.
reviewed A Death in Belmont on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Not Junger's best work.
Read All 18 Book Reviews of "A Death in Belmont"

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nursenancy avatar reviewed A Death in Belmont on + 51 more book reviews
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.
reviewed A Death in Belmont on + 31 more book reviews
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.
reviewed A Death in Belmont on + 63 more book reviews
Great book. He's a super writer and researcher.
reviewed A Death in Belmont on + 51 more book reviews
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.


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