A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger

It’s quite funny to look at incidents from your childhood and see how they have subconsciously affected what you become or how you act as an adult (change the word ‘funny’ for ‘sad’ or ‘weird’ depending on said childhood). The cover of this book shows Junger as a baby, being held by his mum, as Al DeSalvo, a man who worked as a labourer on their house, stands behind them. Just a few short years after this picture was taken, DeSalvo was later found to be the infamous Boston Strangler and decades on, Junger is an acclaimed journalist, lauded especially for his work in war-torn Afghanistan and reporting on corruption in Africa.

This book is his retracing of the events of that year in his hometown of Belmont, as DeSalvo waged a terrifying war on the women of Boston. But it’s more than just your every day crime biography, looking at the black men who were incarcerated for DeSalvo’s crimes and the blatant racism and police force errors that led him to staying on the loose.

Junger’s eye for detail, and obvious meticulous research, feeds this book, which feels like an extended newspaper profile. It keeps the pace and keeps you reading, so much so that I devoured it in the space of two nights (take that, Toltz). A disturbing look into dark suburban Americana.