The Boston Strangler - Softcover

Frank, Gerald

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0451144910 ISBN 13: 9780451144911

Publisher: Signet, 1967

Synopsis

New York Times Bestseller and Winner of the Edgar Award: The definitive account of the notorious serial killer—and the manhunt that followed his rampage.
 
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. After waiting a half hour, Juris shoved his way inside. He found fifty-five-year-old Anna Slesers lying on the kitchen floor, dead, the cord of her housecoat knotted tightly around her neck and turned up in a bow.
 
Between 1962 and 1964, twelve more bodies were discovered in and around Boston: all women, all sexually assaulted, and all strangled—often with their own pantyhose. 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 insane killer? How was he entering women’s homes? And why were they letting him in?
 
More than a gripping chronicle of an American serial killer on par with Jack the Ripper, The Boston Strangler is a shocking story about what happens to a city under a siege of terror. Drawn from hundreds of hours of personal interviews, as well as police, medical, and court documentation, author Gerold Frank’s grisly, horrifying, and meticulously researched account was awarded the Edgar for Best Fact Crime.
 

About this title

About the Author

Gerold Frank (1907–1998) was an American author and ghostwriter. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Frank attended Ohio State University. After graduation, he moved to New York with dreams of becoming a poet, and then moved back to Cleveland to work as a newspaperman. Later, he returned to New York to work for the Journal-American. During World War II, Frank was a war correspondent in the Middle East. He won two Edgar Awards for Best Fact Crime, for his books The Deed and The Boston Strangler, the latter of which was adapted into a film starring Tony Curtis. He was a pioneer of the contemporary literary form of the as-told-to celebrity biography. Frank’s books number in the dozens, and include collaborations with Lillian Roth, Mike Connolly, Diana Barrymore, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Judy Garland.
 

Review

“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
 

Edition details

• Publisher: Signet
• Publication date: 1967
• ISBN 10: 0451144910
• ISBN 13: 9780451144911
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 408