Books › A Death in Belmont
A Death in Belmont
First published 2006 · 387 pages
A spare, dread-soaked true crime narrative that pulls the reader into the chilling vortex of a controversial 1960s murder case.
What it feels like
This dread-soaked true crime narrative pulls readers into the paralyzing terror of a 1960s suburb shattered by violence. Written in a spare, powerful prose style, the book maintains a propulsive tension as it chronicles the devastating collision of three lives. The atmosphere is chilling and claustrophobic, capturing the paranoia of a community living in the shadow of a serial killer and the tragic consequences of hasty justice. It is an investigative and somber experience, exploring the dark intersections of fate and systemic prejudice without sensationalism. Readers who appreciate meticulously researched, atmospheric case studies that focus on the human cost of controversial historical crimes will find themselves completely absorbed by this haunting exploration of suburban tragedy.
- Mood
- tense
- dread-soaked
- chilling
- claustrophobic
- Tone
- spare
- somber
- investigative
- urgent
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- suburban terror · hasty justice · the collision of fate · shadow of serial violence
- The writing
- Spare and powerful, delivering a gripping narrative with journalistic precision and chilling restraint.
- The arc
- Moves from the shocking disruption of suburban quiet to a chilling descent into a controversial and devastating tragedy.
- Who it's for
- Readers who devour meticulously researched true crime that explores the dark intersections of fate, hasty justice, and suburban paranoia.
Content notes
- murder
- sexual violence
- racial prejudice
- serial killer themes
About the book
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 police track down a black man, Roy Smith, who cleaned the victim's house that day and left a receipt with his name on the kitchen counter. Smith is hastily convicted of the Belmont murder, but the terror of the Strangler continues. On the day of the murder, Albert DeSalvo--the man who would eventually confess in lurid detail to the Strangler's crimes--is also in Belmont, working as a carpenter at the Jungers' home. In this spare, powerful narrative, Sebastian Junger chronicles three lives that collide--and ultimately are destroyed--in the vortex of one of the first and most controversial serial murder cases in America.--From publisher description.
Description from Open Library.
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