Portrait by Nafis Azad

Susan Zalkind is a New England-based investigative journalist, author, filmmaker, and public speaker.

She spent more than a decade investigating the connections between the September 11, 2011 triple homicide in Waltham, Mass and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Her friend Erik Weissman, was a victim of the Waltham slaying. She wrote a book and produced a documentary about her findings.

The book The Waltham Murders: One Woman’s Pursuit to Expose the Truth Behind a Murder and a National Tragedy was published in March 2024.

Library Journal hailed the book as “a definitive resource” in a starred review. Publishers Weekly called Zalkind’s debut “gripping” and predicted that “readers will be captivated.”

The Midwest Book Review found the book to be “extraordinary, exceptional, memorable, and of special appeal to readers with an interest in the subject of organized crime and cold case law enforcement.”

Zalkind also created, wrote and produced the critically acclaimed three part documentary The Murders Before The Marathon. Read her producer’s note here. The series was inspired by her book proposal, began streaming in the US on Hulu in September 2022, and is available on streaming platforms around the world.

The Boston Globe notably compared Zalkind’s work to Paradise Lost and The Thin Blue Line. The Wall Street Journal called the series “damning” and listed it as one of the best TV shows of 2022.

Zalkind also writes about other things at other places. She was a New England correspondent for The Daily Beast, Vice, and The Guardian US. She likes trials and breaking news. She studied History and African Studies at Boston University and is more fun in person.

She is an in demand public speaker and currently writes for The Irish Times and Boston magazine where her 2025 investigation of a drowning at Dartmouth College was the most read story of the year.

Twitter: @susanzalkind
Instagram: @susanclarezalkind
Threads: @susanclarezalkind
Substack: Zalkind Notes
Rep: Bridget Wagner Matzie, Aevitas Creative

Dad would have loved this ♥️
Greek Tragedy: A Drowning at Dartmouth College, was the most read article in Boston magazine in 2025. Every author writes to be read. Thank you all so much for reading. Credit is most certainly due to the daring student who graffitied links all ove
My father left the planet peacefully at home but with engines blazing just moments before. How does one mark a life in this little box? How does one account for grief, the layers of which are only beginning to unfold? One week later it feels almost i
Tears of God: The literal translation of the Gaelic word for fuchsia, a plant that is not technically indigenous to Ireland though it dots every county. Also the very first words my great uncle uttered to me in greeting, grabbing my arm close in the
Aaron Sells has spent two decades charming Boston’s high rollers, cleaning up their messes, and keeping their secrets. He’s also been ordered to pay more than a million dollars in civil judgments while allegedly hiding assets and intimida
The Waltham Public Library event was so meaningful. Thank you so much to everyone who came out and to the Boston Globe for capturing this moment in print. @walthamlibrary
Missing Ireland
Looking through early Waltham murders reporting pics, timelines, and sketches 1. Door knocking 2. First trip to Orlando, 2013 3. Ali Baba Hookah Lounge, Kissimmee, Florida 4. Early bulletin board 5. Judy Clarke, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev defense atty 6.
Pretty incredible. On new admissions day Dartmouth students chalk graffitied links to “Greek Tragedy” on more than a dozen locations. Way better than going viral imo. So sad but gratifying to see the reporting resonated. Note: it’s
When my editors at Boston magazine instructed me to look into allegations of hazing at Dartmouth College I had a vague caricature in mind of New Hampshire’s power elite—preppy, yet understated, with a rugged live-free-or-die streak. Disti
Snowdrops! Not the first, but not the last either.