“A studiously reported and consistently immersive account. Readers will be captivated.” —Publishers Weekly “Readers will be able to visualize Zalkind’s murder board as they take in her meticulous, intriguing summation of her years of research. This is an eloquent book that is part true-crime deep dive and part memoir. It’s a definitive resource on a crime that, while officially unsolved, appears to be littered with conspiracies, corruption, and poor decisions.” —Library Journal (starred review) “This mix of fact and feeling provides a unique perspective on some frustratingly unresolved aspects of a horrific assault on our national security.” —Booklist “A riveting read from start to finish…Extraordinary, exceptional, memorable, and of special appeal to readers with an interest in the subject of organized crime and cold case law enforcement.” —Midwest Book Review “[Zalkind] examines a potential intelligence and investigative failure of tragic proportions.” —The Daily Beast “Blistering…Did the FBI botch the questioning of an unarmed man connected to the main suspect in the Marathon bombing? Did they then prevent the release of information on the shooting—and then deport everyone who could conceivably talk about it or shed light on what happened?” —Rachel Maddow “Investigative journalist and producer Susan Zalkind…examines how a 2011 triple homicide in Waltham and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing are related. Zalkind…attempts to piece together what happened to…three men [who] were found in a second-floor apartment on Harding Avenue in Waltham, with their throats slashed and about a pound and a half of marijuana dumped on two of the corpses. To this day, the triple homicide remains open and unsolved. Zalkind, who was friends with [one of the victims] and raised in Newton, has spent a decade reporting on the case.” —The Boston Globe “The story is so intriguing, full of what-ifs and how-could-this-happens, that the network-style brute-force presentation doesn’t hamper the storytelling. [The crime is] fascinating to contemplate. Zalkind is the dominant force.” —The Decider “When three pot dealers were found dead in a Waltham, Massachusetts, apartment in 2011, the circumstances were considered bizarre even among cases of multiple murder. What [police] apparently disregarded was the date: September 11, the tenth anniversary of the World Trade Center attack…[This is] investigative reporter Susan Zalkind’s journey into Islamic radicalization, bureaucratic stonewalling, and what appears to be good old-fashioned incompetence: If the Waltham police and other Middlesex County investigators had solved the 2011 triple murder, they would probably have prevented the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing…[Zalkind] credits [the] audience with intelligence, and damning conclusions aren’t very difficult to reach.” —The Wall Street Journal “A compelling case.” —The Independent

“A studiously reported and consistently immersive account. Readers will be captivated.” —Publishers Weekly “Readers will be able to visualize Zalkind’s murder board as they take in her meticulous, intriguing summation of her years of research. This is an eloquent book that is part true-crime deep dive and part memoir. It’s a definitive resource on a crime that, while officially unsolved, appears to be littered with conspiracies, corruption, and poor decisions.” —Library Journal (starred review) “This mix of fact and feeling provides a unique perspective on some frustratingly unresolved aspects of a horrific assault on our national security.” —Booklist “A riveting read from start to finish…Extraordinary, exceptional, memorable, and of special appeal to readers with an interest in the subject of organized crime and cold case law enforcement.” —Midwest Book Review “[Zalkind] examines a potential intelligence and investigative failure of tragic proportions.” —The Daily Beast “Blistering…Did the FBI botch the questioning of an unarmed man connected to the main suspect in the Marathon bombing? Did they then prevent the release of information on the shooting—and then deport everyone who could conceivably talk about it or shed light on what happened?” —Rachel Maddow “Investigative journalist and producer Susan Zalkind…examines how a 2011 triple homicide in Waltham and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing are related. Zalkind…attempts to piece together what happened to…three men [who] were found in a second-floor apartment on Harding Avenue in Waltham, with their throats slashed and about a pound and a half of marijuana dumped on two of the corpses. To this day, the triple homicide remains open and unsolved. Zalkind, who was friends with [one of the victims] and raised in Newton, has spent a decade reporting on the case.” —The Boston Globe “The story is so intriguing, full of what-ifs and how-could-this-happens, that the network-style brute-force presentation doesn’t hamper the storytelling. [The crime is] fascinating to contemplate. Zalkind is the dominant force.” —The Decider “When three pot dealers were found dead in a Waltham, Massachusetts, apartment in 2011, the circumstances were considered bizarre even among cases of multiple murder. What [police] apparently disregarded was the date: September 11, the tenth anniversary of the World Trade Center attack…[This is] investigative reporter Susan Zalkind’s journey into Islamic radicalization, bureaucratic stonewalling, and what appears to be good old-fashioned incompetence: If the Waltham police and other Middlesex County investigators had solved the 2011 triple murder, they would probably have prevented the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing…[Zalkind] credits [the] audience with intelligence, and damning conclusions aren’t very difficult to reach.” —The Wall Street Journal “A compelling case.” —The Independent

Susan Zalkind is an investigative journalist based in the Boston area. Her work has appeared in This American Life, the Guardian, CityLab, VICE, the Daily Beast, The Irish Times, and Boston magazine. She also wrote and produced the 2022 Hulu docuseries The Murders Before the Marathon, named one of the best shows of the year by The Wall Street Journal. She likes to swim in the ocean.