SCITUATE – Crime-novel enthusiasts got an idea of what real police work is like from author Maureen Boyle, whose book, “Shallow Graves: The Hunt for the New Bedford Highway Killer,” tells the true story of an unsolved string of 1988 murders.

Boyle, a former investigative journalist and now director of the journalism program at Stonehill College in North Easton, gave a talk about her book and the case to about 20 people Sunday at the Scituate Town Library.

The book, which was published in September, describes how 11 women disappeared from New Bedford in the spring and summer of 1988. Nine of the women’s bodies were found along highways in neighboring towns.

All of the women were drug addicts, and many had turned to prostitution. Because of how they lived, many were reported missing much later than they were killed, and some were never reported missing at all.

When the first victim was found in July 1988 by a driver who stopped along a highway in a rural area, investigators had no idea of the discovery’s full significance.

“The body of the (first victim) did not make the front page of the New Bedford Standard-Times. It did not make the front page of any newspaper. It (the first newspaper story) did not even warrant a byline,” said Boyle, who was a reporter at the Standard-Times back then.

Not until two other bodies were found and State Police brought in an officer from the Connecticut with a dog trained to find bodies did the true scale of what had happened become clear.

However, because the victims had been dead for so long, police found it difficult to come up with much evidence.

“In any type of murder case, the first step is to identify the victim, and they were not able to do that quickly,” Boyle said.

Because of that, and because police had a hard time finding reliable witnesses as they tried to determine when and where the women were last seen, progress in the investigation was slow.

Boyle told the library audience that modern forensic DNA technology was in its early stages and was not advanced enough to be helpful in the investigation.

“Detectives today will tell you this was not a perfect investigation, but they did the best with what they had,” she said.

A local attorney was charged with one of the murders, but the charges were later dropped. Other suspects were suggested during the course of the investigation, but no one else was ever charged.

As forensic technology has advanced, evidence has been retested, but the investigation still goes on, Boyle said.

She has been following the story since she covered it for the newspaper in 1988, and she interviewed the investigators and members of the victims’ families for her book.

She has heard many theories about who the killer is.

“Each name that I get is a completely different name,” Boyle said.

She has her own ideas about who may be responsible, but doesn’t want to disclose them for fear of wrongly accusing someone.

Boyle said she is “haunted” by the deaths of the 11 women and thinks it is important to tell their stories. She hopes that now, nearly 30 years later, her book might inspire someone to come forward with new information.

“The community needs answers. The state needs answers. The families need answers,” she said. “These dead women need justice.”