“A thoughtful, compelling reexamination of an intriguing story of fatal obsession and its enduring mysteries.”—Kirkus Reviews
William Douglas was a respected professor from Tufts University. He had a loving family and a home in the suburbs. No one suspected he had a secret life that brought him nightly to Boston’s adult entertainment district, the notorious “Combat Zone.”
Douglas also enjoyed an ongoing arrangement with a beautiful young prostitute named Robin Benedict. One afternoon in March of 1983, a small-time pimp walked into a private eye’s office and claimed Robin was missing. In the year that followed, the case drew in detectives, state troopers, and even psychics. The ensuing investigation and media circus hadn’t been seen in the city since the days of the Boston Strangler. Yet Robin remained missing. Did Douglas have the answer?
Boston Tabloid explores a man’s bizarre obsession, and the media’s treatment of a complex case. Author Don Stradley consulted journalists involved in the newspaper blitz, prison authorities, investigators, and psychiatrists, all in an effort to understand a grisly Boston crime that grabbed headlines across the nation.
Don Stradley is the author of The War: Hagler–Hearns and Three Rounds for the Ages (one ofThe Progressive magazine’s “Favorite of Books 2021”); Berserk: The Shocking Life and Death of Edwin Valero;Slaughter in the Streets: When Boston Became Boxing’s Murder Capital; and A Fistful of Murder: The Fights and Crimes of Carlos Monzon, all from Hamilcar Publications. Slaughter in the Streets was named by CrimeReads in 2020 as one of “The Classics of Boxing Literature.” He lives on Boston’s North Shore.
Praise
“Well-researched and a page-turner…”
—Library Journal
“An exceptionally well written, organized and presented study of a notorious homicide and the mysteries that surrounded it… A riveting read from cover to cover.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Boston Tabloid answers the call to take to take true crime to the next level—a true page-turner, it brings the reality of Boston’s underbelly to the forefront for perhaps the first time.”
—M. William Phelps, New York Times bestselling author and host of iHeartMedia’s podcasts Crossing the Line with M. William Phelps and Paper Ghosts
“Boston Tabloid is everything a top-notch true-crime book should be and more.”
—Linda Rosencrance, author of Murder at Morses Pond and co-author of The Mafia Hit Man’s Daughter
“Don Stradley has captured perfectly the addictive, exhilarating hopelessness and desperation embodied in a sunken part of Boston that no longer exists. Taking no shortcuts and never showing off, Stradley’s restraint and interest in getting details right combine to elevate true crime writing to a level that turns it into something brand new. Unsettling and unflinching, Boston Tabloid will stay with you whether or not you want it to.”
—Charles Farrell, author of (Low)life: A Memoir of Jazz, Fight-Fixing, and the Mob
“Boston Tabloid is a remarkable book written by a gifted storyteller. Don Stradley tells the gripping tale of the professor and the prostitute in captivating prose that may just keep you up at night! Once again, Stradley exposes Boston’s seedy history in a way that reimagines true crime and contemporary American history.”
—Bob Batchelor, author of The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition’s Evil Genius
“With the panache of a tabloid newspaper scribe, Don Stradley recounts the sordid but undeniably fascinating case of the prostitute murdered by a renowned college professor. With a wealth of detail, Stradley traces the spiral of obsession and addiction that led to the death of Combat Zone hooker Robin Benedict at the hands of professor William Douglas. Even more fascinating are Stradley’s descriptions of the investigation and how the shifting tides of public perception in the 1980s could turn a perpetrator into a victim.”
—Stephanie Schorow, author of Inside the Combat Zone: The Stripped Down Story of Boston’s Most Notorious Neighborhood.
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