BOOK REVIEW

Author: Sebastian Junger

Title: A death in Belmont

In ten words or less: Boston police arrest wrong man for murder.

Review: In 1963, a murder took place just a few blocks from the quiet suburban home of Sebastian Junger's family. There was a series of savage murders in the Boston area at that time, and the killer, known as the Boston Strangler, was still at large.

The police liked Roy Smith, a black man who had moved to Boston from the south, for the rape and murder of Mrs. Goldberg, the older suburban housewife. He was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to life on a case that consisted of circumstantial evidence.

Junger, author of 'The perfect storm,' examines the case against Smith. Albert DeSalvo, who later confessed to twelve Boston Strangler killings, had worked as a handyman at the Junger house the day Mrs. Goldberg was murdered. Was it possible DeSalvo could have done that killing also? Had Junger's mother been in danger?

Was justice done in this case? Junder presents a compelling argument that Smith was not guilty of the murder and that DeSalvo was probably not the Boston Strangler. Readers of Simon Winchester and Ann Rule will be interested in this re-telling of events.

Why bother? Junger presents a case in which the cops and legal system were all too eager to convict a black man for a murder in which they had few leads. It's not a new story, but the Junger family proximity to the scene of the crime adds a fresh twist.