The early 1960s were tumultuous times in this country - our President was assassinated and the City of Boston, often thought of as a cultural and historic mecca, was riddled with fear. Eleven women had been murdered, some of them also raped by a man who earned the sobriquet Boston Strangler. Police were stymied, and citizens in an uproar.
There was a man, Albert DeSalvo, who confessed to the murders. He had able defense - F. Lee Bailey. Following a few rounds of legal maneuvering DeSalvo was given life for the rapes. Later, he would be killed in prison. There were and are many who do not believe he was the Boston Strangler.
These events are the launching pad for William Landay's mesmerizing second novel, The Strangler. We meet the Daleys, an Irish cop family if there ever was one. Daley the elder was a policeman killed in the line of duty. His three sons are a complex trio. Joe, the eldest, is a cop with problems - $20,000 worth of them. He's an inveterate gambler and soon finds himself so far in debt to the mob that there seems no way out.
Middle son Michael is a lawyer via Harvard who works for an attorney general with aspirations. Michael who is assigned to the Strangler case is described by his mother as " ....her most finely calibrated son, the quickest to take offense and the slowest to forgive". Youngest son Ricky? He's very accomplished........at stealing jewels. There you have them save for their widowed mother who is being courted by their late father's best friend.
At this point in time DeSalvo is imprisoned but there are still many questions about the case. Then another woman, a friend of the Daley's, is murdered in the Strangler manner.
Landay's novel has it all - steam roller suspense, compelling dialogue, and a plot propelled by actual events. It's a sure winner!
- Gail Cooke