"Shallow Graves" by Maureen Boyle
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| photo: maureenboylewriter.com |
In 1988, nine women were murdered in New Bedford. Their bodies were disposed along the highway surrounding the town. As the bodies were discovered one-by-one, local and state police worked together to identify the bodies and bring the killer, or killers, to justice. Were these murders connected? That's just one of the questions waiting to be answered in Maureen Boyle's "Shallow Graves".
Boyle, who is known for her compelling true-crime novels set in Massachusetts, tackles the murders that captivated the city of New Bedford. The year 1988 was an eventful one for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its governor, Michael Dukakis had secured the Democratic nomination in the Presidential election, and the Boston Red Sox won the division title after sitting in fifth place at the All-Star Break. There were many reasons for Bay State residents to feel excited.
The excitement in the former whaling hub, however, was a different one. Women were on edge as the local news reported of another woman's body found alongside the road with alarming frequency. Law enforcement did their best to calm the public. They were doing everything they could. They would catch the killer. Justice would be served.
Murder victims were drug addicts and prostitutes. They were women who grew up in middle-class neighborhoods and had bright futures ahead of them until drugs found them and took a tight hold of their lives. Women turned to walking the streets in the rough, gritty parts of the city, selling themselves to johns to make some money for their fix. Someone was preying on the unsuspecting women, but who? That's what the law enforcement community was trying to figure out.
It's never easy finding a serial killer, and it gets more complicated with unreliable witnesses and politics creeping into the picture. The politics include a district attorney running for re-election and state police dealing with retaliatory tactics for not backing the right candidate in the past. There's also a defense attorney with a checkered past and a puzzling, almost unreliable way of practicing law, leading some to question how someone like this passed the bar exam, let alone get and keep clients.
Families want answers, the media is salivating over a big story that is sure to capture the attention of the rest of Massachusetts. Witnesses are testifying before grand juries, recanting their testimonies, and then recanting their recantations. Lawyers are finding holes in the case police have built up, and one murder suspect is frequently calling talk radio stations and writing angry letters to the editor, much to the chagrin of his lawyer. Can the police find the killer? Will the families have answers? Will women be able to get the help they need to clean up their lives before their next night walking the street is their last? Will politics take a back seat as the DA's office works on the case that is packed with murder, drugs, and sex. These are just some of the questions that will be answered in Boyle's book.
Contact me if you are a writer or run a bookstore in New England.
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