Journalists write the most interesting books. For example, the scene in which he tells the police he had gone into 'Joddan Mahsh to buy a rulah.' (Translation: He went into Jordan Marsh to buy a ruler.) I didn't know Jordan Marsh sold rulers.Įnough reminiscing. However, his affected Boston accent was very amusing. I don't know if the film was adapted from the book.

It too was musty.Ī long time ago I watched Tony Curtis in the movie 'The Boston Strangler' on tv. Fortunately, I obtained the 1967 hardcover through the inter-library loan system of my local public library.

I searched on ebay and found that old book with the menacing eyes on the cover. I was curious if this was the same book I had found in the cellar that day. It noted Gerold Frank's The Boston Strangler as an authoritative book on the subject. In my opinion, one quality of a good book is that it will recommend other books to the reader. Still, the cover of that musty paperback remained in my memory for 35 years. Would you trust him? Two thousand women did.' I remember thinking at the time that there couldn't have been two thousand victims in the Boston Stranger case. The cover read 'Look into this man's eyes. The cover illustration was an extreme close up of a menacing pair of eyes. One day in the summer of 1975 (I was twelve) I found it while rummaging through boxes of books in our basement. One of them had purchased the paperback edition of this book in the late 1960s. I had two older brothers who were both avid readers and collected many books. I am fortunate to be the youngest of five. While it didn't make me a true crime convert, I did enjoy The Boston Strangler. Since I spoiled the ending for myself by looking up the case on Wikipedia before opening the book, I eventually got kind of bored with it and started skimming but that was no fault of the book or the writing. If I didn't have a dog, I probably would have made sure the back door was locked a couple times. I can read about fictitious murders all day long but I feel a little squeamish when they're real. The descriptions of the murders wore on me. I found it interesting that psychics were consulted and police thought the strangler had to be more than one man. One by one they were introduced and dismissed. The writing was breezy and it did a good job of presenting each suspect as a believable candidate for being the Boston Strangler.

Well, I still prefer my crimes to be the made up ones but this was a pretty engaging read. After enjoying the shit out of True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray, I decided to give true crime another chance. I'm mentioned several times that I'm not really into true crime. This book chronicles the resulting manhunt. From 1962-1964, thirteen women were sexually assaulted and murdered, strangled to death by an unknown assailant.

The Boston Strangler by Gerold Frank