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Murder in Boston: A Woman Murdered. A City Torn Apart. A Crime That Gripped a Nation. And That's Just the Beginning . . .
A shocking true story of crime, punishment, and injustice in a major American city.
A woman murdered. A city torn apart. A crime that gripped a nation. And that’s just the beginning of the story.
Charles Stuart claimed it was a black man who carjacked him, shooting both himself and his wife, ending both her life and the life of their unborn child. The accusation and subsequent manhunt enflamed the long-simmering racial tensions of Boston, leading to the arrest of an innocent man. It was then discovered that Stuart had killed his wife and shot himself to cover up the crime, seeking a big insurance payout. When his crimes were exposed, Stuart jumped off a bridge to his death.
Ken Englade explores the story with panoramic vision and a stunning eye for detail. Looking at the crime itself and the police response, Englade shows how Stuart’s crime unraveled, how the truth came out, and what the media’s response can tell us about the biases through which we view the worst of crimes.
A woman murdered. A city torn apart. A crime that gripped a nation. And that’s just the beginning of the story.
Charles Stuart claimed it was a black man who carjacked him, shooting both himself and his wife, ending both her life and the life of their unborn child. The accusation and subsequent manhunt enflamed the long-simmering racial tensions of Boston, leading to the arrest of an innocent man. It was then discovered that Stuart had killed his wife and shot himself to cover up the crime, seeking a big insurance payout. When his crimes were exposed, Stuart jumped off a bridge to his death.
Ken Englade explores the story with panoramic vision and a stunning eye for detail. Looking at the crime itself and the police response, Englade shows how Stuart’s crime unraveled, how the truth came out, and what the media’s response can tell us about the biases through which we view the worst of crimes.
268 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 15, 1990
53 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Ken Englade
21 books67 followersKenneth F. Englade is a New Mexico-based author who has published nine books dealing with high profile trials. His latest book, Meltdown in Haditha: The Killing of 24 Iraqi Civilians by U.S. Marines and the Failure of Military Justice, will be published in 2015 by McFarland & Co. He also published five historical novels dealing with the pre-Civil War West. His books have been published in Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. He is a veteran journalist who has worked on newspapers and for fourteen years with United Press International, including three years in Asia where he covered the Vietnam War and the fall of Saigon. Beyond Reason, his book about a University of Virginia coed and her German boyfriend who conspired to kill the woman’s parents was a finalist for the Edgar Allan Poe Award. From 2000-2006 he was a public information officer for the Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency. In 2010 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Louisiana State University School of Mass Communications in recognition of his career achievements.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 21, 2018
If this isn't the worst true-crime book I've ever read, it's in the top five. On the cover, it claims to be "the first complete account of the Stuart murder case." It is not. Instead, it's a complete account of the journalistic coverage of the Stuart murder case. Which is about as boring and frustrating as it sounds. As I was reading yet another in-depth comparison of how various newspapers chose to cover the case, I thought, "I bet the writer is a journalist." Yep. Shocking.
Englade appears to have done none of his own legwork. Unlike other true-crime accounts, there are no firsthand interviews with anyone close to the case. The entire book, when it's not a critique on what various media outlets reported and how they reported it, is quotes from the media. There are many chapters about the politics surrounding the case and the racial implications as well, but very little about the crime itself. It's as if the author saw some newspaper articles on the case and decided he could get away with writing a book simply by paraphrasing and critiquing said articles.
There is no insight into why a seemingly normal, apparently happily married man expecting his first child would murder his wife in cold blood (this isn't a spoiler because it's proclaimed on the book's cover), no interviews with the killer's family, friends, etc.
St. Martin's, how could you? I'm so disappointed with this. Paraphrasing a bunch of newspaper articles does not replace the hard work most true-crime writers undertake.
Englade appears to have done none of his own legwork. Unlike other true-crime accounts, there are no firsthand interviews with anyone close to the case. The entire book, when it's not a critique on what various media outlets reported and how they reported it, is quotes from the media. There are many chapters about the politics surrounding the case and the racial implications as well, but very little about the crime itself. It's as if the author saw some newspaper articles on the case and decided he could get away with writing a book simply by paraphrasing and critiquing said articles.
There is no insight into why a seemingly normal, apparently happily married man expecting his first child would murder his wife in cold blood (this isn't a spoiler because it's proclaimed on the book's cover), no interviews with the killer's family, friends, etc.
St. Martin's, how could you? I'm so disappointed with this. Paraphrasing a bunch of newspaper articles does not replace the hard work most true-crime writers undertake.
September 8, 2017
Ken Englade was a writer of true crime books. During his career, he wrote several books about murders - mostly of "beautiful young women" - one of which was "Murder in Boston", which was originally published in December, 1990. (By the way, have you ever noticed that true crime books seem to only be written about "beautiful young women"? Are the less comely ones not worth the time or paper to write about?) I selected "Murder in Boston" as an audio book only because of the narrator, PJ Ochlan, who is my favorite narrator.
Anyway, the reason I mentioned in the paragraph above the original date of publication is that the book does not seem to have been updated after that date. (There is an ecopy of the book, but I don't know if the author updates the story there. Probably not, or Ochlan would have read it, because it was recorded quite recently). The main rub against this book and your buying it now is that I believe much more came out after the book's publication.
One of the negative reviews about the book speaks to Englade's going past the story of the crime and the persons involved, and writing about the political and social implications of the murder and subsequent coverup. He does do that, and I feel it adds to the story. What Chuck Stuart did that evening in October, 1989, caused an uproar in Boston, and all over the US. If a "white, yuppie couple from the Boston suburbs can be shot, the wife and unborn child dying", presumably by a black man - a nearly life-long criminal - in inner city Boston, then it can happen anywhere. Englade does quite a good job with that aspect of the case. Englade writes a stinging condemnation of "official Boston" - the police, city authorities, and the political structure of the city - but he saves his most excoriating words for the local newspapers and TV stations. Englade also uses the modifiers "assumed murderer" and "presumed suicide" when writing about Charles Stuart.
For a true crime book, "Murder in Boston", was quite well-written. I just wish Englade had either waited longer than a year after the murder to publish it OR had written an update.
Anyway, the reason I mentioned in the paragraph above the original date of publication is that the book does not seem to have been updated after that date. (There is an ecopy of the book, but I don't know if the author updates the story there. Probably not, or Ochlan would have read it, because it was recorded quite recently). The main rub against this book and your buying it now is that I believe much more came out after the book's publication.
One of the negative reviews about the book speaks to Englade's going past the story of the crime and the persons involved, and writing about the political and social implications of the murder and subsequent coverup. He does do that, and I feel it adds to the story. What Chuck Stuart did that evening in October, 1989, caused an uproar in Boston, and all over the US. If a "white, yuppie couple from the Boston suburbs can be shot, the wife and unborn child dying", presumably by a black man - a nearly life-long criminal - in inner city Boston, then it can happen anywhere. Englade does quite a good job with that aspect of the case. Englade writes a stinging condemnation of "official Boston" - the police, city authorities, and the political structure of the city - but he saves his most excoriating words for the local newspapers and TV stations. Englade also uses the modifiers "assumed murderer" and "presumed suicide" when writing about Charles Stuart.
For a true crime book, "Murder in Boston", was quite well-written. I just wish Englade had either waited longer than a year after the murder to publish it OR had written an update.
July 24, 2025
Interesting story about the murder of a man's wife and her unborn child, possibly by her husband, who then may, or may not have committed suicide. The difficulty is that the author is not able to obtain key statements and information about the crime. Overall, a major question relates to the honesty and integrity of both law enforcement and elected officials.
February 21, 2018
Good insight into the crime that reads very well. I found a lot of great information in it, especially when it came to the social issues that arose because of Stuart's accusations.
August 21, 2018
was quite the true crime and such a tragic story.
April 26, 2020
This book was more about the media coverage and political effects of the crime than the crime itself. Interesting from that perspective, but not much information about the crime itself.
November 16, 2020
It was interesting especially about newspaper coverage.
December 31, 2020
Really deserves a 1.25! I reserve 1 stars for books I can’t finish. I did finish this one but probably because I kept listening to the audio book while driving to and from work.
February 20, 2016
An excellent read as true-crime stories go. The author takes you, headline by headline, through a notorious murder case and tries to make sense of the available information, which managed to be both lurid and maddeningly scanty. He asks good questions and thinks things through pretty well. My only quibbles are the author's odd belief that the suicide note left by a major character in the drama was somehow not indicative of suicide, and the frequent use of commas where there should have been semicolons.
March 13, 2016
The white killer blamed a black man and caused outrage in the Mission Hill section of Boston. Newspapers and television went with unidentifird sources and rumor due to lack of pertinent information. An account of the Stuart murder case that turned the city against itself.
October 11, 2018
Very long drawn out true crime story. I remember the crime. Since there was little factual information released no actual conclusion could be ascertained which was frustrating. Would not recommend reading.
May 22, 2021
About as boring as reading the labels on a bottle of medicine. I am guessing the author "copied and pasted" about 90% of the text from newspaper articles. He must work for a Boston newspaper. Don't waste your money on this book.............buy a newspaper instead.
March 10, 2009
So many questions unanswered in this book but I really enjoyed reading it.
October 26, 2018
Intriguing Mystery
A very good read, with several twists. It could also be called a " who done it. " Overall it kept my interest.
A very good read, with several twists. It could also be called a " who done it. " Overall it kept my interest.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews