Genealogy of a Murder: Four Generations, Three Families, One Fateful Night

Lisa Belkin

Jul 2023 · Highbridge Audio · Narrated by Erin Bennett

About this audiobook

Independence Day weekend, 1960: a young cop is murdered, shocking his close-knit community in Stamford, Connecticut. The killer remains at large, his identity still unknown. But on a beach not far away, a young Army doctor, on vacation from his post at a research lab in a maximum-security prison, faces a chilling realization. He knows who the shooter is. In fact, the man-a prisoner out on parole-had called him only days before. By helping his former charge and trainee, the doctor, a believer in second chances, may have inadvertently helped set the murder into motion. And with that one phone call, may have sealed a policeman's fate. Alvin Tarlov, David Troy, and Joseph DeSalvo were all born of the Great Depression, all with grandparents who'd left different homelands for the same American Dream. How did one become a doctor, one a cop, and one a convict? In Genealogy of a Murder, journalist Lisa Belkin traces the paths of each of these three men-one of them her stepfather. Her canvas is large, spanning the first half of the twentieth century: immigration, the struggles of the working class, prison reform, medical experiments, politics and war, the nature/nurture debate, epigenetics, the infamous Leopold and Loeb case, and the history of motorcycle racing. It is also intimate: a look into the workings of the mind and heart.

About the author

Lisa Belkin is an award-winning journalist and the author of narrative nonfiction books. Her career at the New York Times includes stints as a national correspondent, medical reporter, and contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine. Her previous book, Show Me A Hero, was made into an HBO miniseries.

Erin Bennett is an award-winning, Los Angeles-based voice actress whose passion for storytelling informs her love of narrating audiobooks. An AudioFile Earphones Award winner, she has recorded titles in a wide array of genres. Her voice-over work spans animation, radio plays for the BBC, video games, and commercials.