Guest Reviewer: Mikeal Payne
Title: A Death In Belmont
Author: Sebastian Junger
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 0060742690
Release Date: April 2007
Genre/Sub-genre: Non-fiction/True Crime
Year/Setting: 1960's Boston
Overall Rating: 4.0
Sexual Content Rating: N/A
Language (Profanity/Slang) Content Rating: Moderate
Violent Content Rating: Intense/Extreme
Sebastian's Website: None Found
In the 1960’s, Roy Smith, an African American, went from job to job, living here and there, the regular way of an ex-con. Trouble seemed to follow Roy and he ended up on the wrong end of the law.
Roy was arrested and found guilty for the crimes of the Boston Strangler. Sentenced to life in prison, he maintained his claim of innocence, and appealed his sentence on numerous occasions. Even after a lawyer took his case, pro-bono, and could show without a doubt Roy was innocent, the jury felt differently. Was the color of his skin enough to determine his fate?
Albert De Salvo was an Italian American who grew up with an abusive father, who not only beat him, but his mother as well. He grew to be a strong man, a family man with a wife and two kids. Al was dependable and found work as a carpenter.
A few years after Roy’s arrest, Al was arrested for the same crimes. That of the Boston Strangler. He underwent psychiatric exams while in prison and even though he confessed to the murders, there were too many things that did not match up with the police findings.
Who is the real Boston Strangler? Who really committed the brutal strangling?
The book starts out slow in the introductory stage, setting up the story. But as I read further, the story became more involved and interesting. It gave great insight to what life was like during the 1960’s, especially for the poor who lived day to day.
As the story took shape, the characters grew and the plot kept my mind going and thinking. At times, I found myself having to refer back to pages due to all the people involved, but each character added to the story’s interest and set the stage for the next chapter, the next reveal.
Overall, I found A Death In Belmont an enjoyable and thought provoking reading experience. It showed factualization where one would expect in a crime story of this high caliber.
Sebastian Junger exhibits his journalistic skills while accounting for each character in this book. A Death In Belmont will keep you interested until the end. Read it and make your own conclusions.
Mikeal
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