Boston Tabloid

The Killing of Robin Benedict

De: Don Stradley

Narrado por: Patrick Lawlor

The disappearance of a twenty-one-year-old woman from a Massachusetts suburb became one of the most discussed crimes of the twentieth century.

The discussion intensified when the public learned that Robin Benedict worked as a prostitute in Boston’s notorious red-light district, the “Combat Zone,” and was linked by a trail of blood to a famous professor from Tufts University. When Robin Benedict vanished, the investigation and media circus that gripped the city of Boston hadn’t been seen since the days of the Boston Strangler case.

On a Sunday morning in March 1983, a small-time pimp walked into a police station and claimed his girlfriend was missing. He said she had been on her way to visit a client named William Douglas. In the year that followed, the case drew in detectives, state troopers, scores of journalists, and even psychics. But Robin was never found.

Boston Tabloid reconstructs a grisly murder and explores one man’s bizarre obsession. In revisiting this legendary crime, Don Stradley consulted journalists involved in the media frenzy, prison authorities, arresting officers, and psychiatrists, all in an effort to unravel a most tangled story. Why was the city, and the nation, swept up in this sordid tale? It remains a grim and fascinating moment in Boston’s history.

©2022 by Don Stradley (P)2023 by Blackstone Publishing

Good story for true crime buffs

An enjoyable full treatment of a fascinating and baffling murder. I think the author does a good job covering all the basic things. I especially liked how covered the psychological background of this strange man and what drove him.

Disjointed

This is a fascinating story that unfortunately the writer did not do a great job telling. the timeline was often disjointed and bounced around a lot. for instance, it goes from describing Robin's life as a prostitute to mentioning the hammer she was killed with (but strangely not describing the actual murder) then talking about her childhood. I would much rather have seen someone like Anne rule (RIP) write a book on this case. It seems this writer is rather new or lacking in skill. there is no vivid detail or any of the storytelling techniques that good true crime writers use to make a story come to life. instead this book offers a bland retelling of events compiled in a disjointed timeline. The narrator is great and I gave an extra star for that. Still worth a read if you are interested in this wild case.