A Death in Belmont - Sebastian Junger

Did the Boston Strangler kill 14 people?

I have read Junger's two other books, and I think this book is a good thou average read. Since I am no lawyer, I didn't get hung up on whether juries deem a person innocent or guilty. There were also a few typos in this book. However, I get Junger's focus which is a black man was tried and found guilty on a murder that could have been committed by the Boston Strangler. Junger does a good job of recreating the atmosphere of 1963 America. America was unjust in the South, but also racially motivated in a liberal area such as Boston. Everybody identified the black man walking down the street in Belmont. Nobody placed blame on a young white man walking around asking people if they wanted their house painted. This is the point Junger was trying to make.

As for the book itself, it was interesting in how the Boston Strangler committed his crimes. Obviously Al was a serial killer trying to shock society with his crimes. The personal relationship of Al with Junger's family was of interest.

This is an OK read for those interested in Civil Rights and the Boston Strangler crimes. I read it for the first reason and gained a little more knowledge about the relationships of blacks with whites in the early sixties.

inaccurate and manipulative

As a friend and neighbor of the Goldberg family it was with trepidation I began reading Sebastian Junger's account of a crime that affected me deeply. I remember very well the circumstances regarding the murder of my classmate's mother.
Surprisingly, the overwhelming evidence against Roy Smith, the convicted murderer, is almost completely omitted from Junger's version. The fact that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld Smith's conviction is also missing from this poorly researched book. I was disappointed when I realized that Junger misrepresented the truth in order to tie his picture of himself with Albert DeSalvo to the murder of my friend's mother

Not The Perfect Book

If this book had not been authored by Sebastian Junger, it wouldn't have been published. What should have been a magazine article at most becomes a boring and drawn-out affair with an implausible ending.

Interesting yet too long

This story was interesting. Although he is not old enough to actually remember any of the events, he draws in a very personal aspect to the crime in the title. The story of the man wrongly accused is heartbreaking but typical of the time. S. Junger takes too long however to make some of his points. No doubt the story is intriguing, but some superfluous wording could have definitely made it more enjoyable.

Could not put it down.

I could not put the book down, I was mesmerized from start to finish. How this man who wrote a famous and great tragic story was himself a part of such a larger-than-life infamous time frame and proximity. I highly recommend this story.