The Boston Stranglers

by Susan Kelly

Overview

Was Albert DeSalvo Really the Boston Strangler?

Handyman Albert DeSalvo confessed to eleven brutal rape/murders that terrorized Boston from 1962 to 1964. The repeat sex offender boasted he had raped an additional 2,000 women. His story became the subject of a bestselling book, a major Hollywood movie, and a Hulu docuseries. But DeSalvo was not The Boston Strangler.

Author Susan Kelly’s detailed investigation shows us the true DeSalvo—a pathological liar whose hunger for celebrity drove him to false confessions—and indicates that the stranglings were committed by more than one killer. Exploring stunning DNA findings, a shocking re-autopsy, expert profiling evidence, and other recent developments, she shows why this savage, unsolved case continues to fascinate and haunt us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780806542669
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	02/20/2024
Pages:	544
Sales rank:	1,075,207
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Susan Kelly is the author of ten crime novels. She lives in west London with her solicitor husband and their cat.

Table of Contents

	Preface	11
Part 1
1.	A Time of Terror	21
2.	Police Under Fire	35
3.	The State Takes Over	42
4.	Psychiatrists and Psychics	51
Part 2
5.	The Measuring Man	63
6.	The Green Man	71
7.	A Murder in the Suburbs	83
8.	Enter George Nassar ... And F. Lee Bailey	88
9.	The Cuckoo's Nest	96
10.	Bailey Takes Action	101
11.	Wheeling and Dealing	110
12.	The Green Man Goes to Trial	124
Part 3
13.	A Great Escape, a Musical Interlude, and More Wheeling and Dealing	140
14.	Hooray for Hollywood	159
15.	From Jet Plane Lawyer to Helicopter Lawyer	166
16.	The Barnum and Bailey Circus	186
17.	The Barnum and Bailey Circus, II	196
18.	Endgame	208
Part 4
19.	Grave Doubts	229
20.	Origins of a Hoax	239
21.	The Confessions of Albert DeSalvo	248
22.	The Confessions of Albert DeSalvo, II	260
23.	The Confessions of Albert DeSalvo, III	274
24.	The Confessions of Albert DeSalvo, IV	290
Part 5
25.	The Murders of Anna Slesers, Nina Nichols, Helen Blake, Margaret Davis, and Jane Sullivan	307
26.	The Murder of Sophie Clark	333
27.	The Murder of Patricia Bissette	341
28.	The Murder of Patricia Bissette, II	351
29.	The Murder of Patricia Bissette, III	365
30.	The Murder of Beverly Samans	383
31.	The Murder of Beverly Samans, II	394
32.	The Murders of Evelyn Corbin and Joann Graff	405
33.	The Murder of Mary Sullivan	417
Part 6
34.	Final Thoughts	441
35.	Last Moments	448
	Epilogue	453
	Update	457
	Sources	482
	Index	499

Editorial Reviews

Susan Kelly's thesis is that there was not just one Boston Strangler, but several. She asserts that Albert DeSalvo, already in prison for burglary and sex crimes, confessed to all the murders for the notoriety and the money that would come from a book. There was no physical evidence tying DeSalvo to the killings, and, while there were several other possible suspects, city officials and police were determined to calm a frantic public by quickly naming a killer. Lorna Raver brings an intelligent energy to this nonfiction account. Raver's narration is engrossing as Kelly lays out the gruesome particulars of each of the 13 murders alleged to be the Strangler's. However, as with many true-crime books, too many tedious details detract from the book's forward momentum. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2009 - AudioFile