The Boston Strangler - by Gerold Frank (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The New York Times-bestselling account of the serial killer's rampage and the ensuing manhunt. Now a Hulu true crime thriller starring Keira Knightley.

On June 14, 1962, twenty-five-year-old Juris Slesers arrived at his mother's apartment to drive her to church. But there was no answer at the door. When he pushed his way inside, Juris found Anna Slesers dead on the kitchen floor, the cord of her housecoat knotted tightly around her neck.

Over the next two years, twelve more bodies were discovered in and around Boston: all women, all sexually assaulted, and all strangled. None of the victims exhibited any signs of struggle, nothing was stolen from their homes, and there were no signs of forcible entry. The police could find no discernable motive or clues. Who was this madman? How was he entering women's homes? And what insanity was driving him?

Drawn from hundreds of hours of personal interviews, as well as police, medical, and court documentation, this is a grisly, horrifying, and meticulously researched account of Albert DeSalvo--an American serial killer on par with Jack the Ripper.

Review Quotes

"Stock up and stand back. . . . It takes will power to lay the book down, almost as much as it would have required of the victims to keep their doors closed to the man who said he'd been sent to repair their plumbing and repaint their apartments. . . . It is a mad genius stroke and Frank's book will contribute to a legend and literature of America's Jack the Ripper." --Kirkus Reviews

"One of the most remarkable chronicles of true crime ever published. A classic in its genre!" --John Barkham Reviews

"A superb true crime account . . . The book tells a sensational story; it tells it simply, candidly, faithfully, and as completely as one could want. Chilling reading . . . An engrossing book and creepy tale." --The New York Times

About the Author

Gerold Frank (1907-1998) was a bestselling author, reporter, and war correspondent. His career ranged widely, from covering World War II and the plight of European Jews, to publishing true-crime sensations, to pioneering a new literary art form: the "as-told-to" celebrity biography. A prolific ghostwriter, he formed intimate collaborations with the biggest stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, including Judy Garland, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Rita Hayworth. As a journalist and author, Frank secured extraordinary access, embedding with the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Palestine, and later with the Massachusetts Attorney General's Boston Strangler Task Force during its investigation of the infamous serial killings. Several of his books became films, including "The Boston Strangler," starring Tony Curtis and Henry Fonda. Frank won Edgar Awards for The Boston Strangler and The Deed. Other bestsellers included Judy, the only biography of Judy Garland written with the full cooperation of her family and closest confidants, and An American Death, about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.