Chris Muse, teacher, justice, author, lays out culture of

courthouse justice in Massachusetts

‘The Murder of Brewster Flats’ features ‘Billy Boston,’ defense attorney

By Ed Forry

 For 50 years, Chris Muse maintained an active career, serving for several years as a Boston schoolteacher, and after Suffolk Law School becoming a public defender, a labor attorney, and a Superior Court judge, serving for 17 years until his mandatory retirement from the bench several years ago.

He continues his legal work as an adjunct professor teaching trial practice at Boston College while living peacefully on Cape Cod. In semi-retirement, he has turned his mind to fiction and produced a self-published book – “The Murder of Brewster Flats,” the story of a fictional Boston defense attorney known as “Boston Billy,” who takes on a complicated murder case on the Cape.

In many ways, the character appears to be a self-portrait painted with the author’s words. Early this month, we had a question an answer conversation about his book.

What's “The Murder on Brewster Flats” all about? 

Well, it's a fun novel that I wrote because I wrote the serious novel, “Justice Under God,” and found out that I really like writing and decided to keep doing it. This is a book about Massachusetts courthouse justice. It's been described as being a fun read by some, and others have told me it's very, very instructive on what the law is and how it's applied.

The lead attorney, William “Boston Billy” O'Neill, grew up in Savin Hill, went to English High and Boston State and Suffolk Law School, and then put his feet into the business of trying cases and has become very successful. His cases are always interesting, and in this one, he's defending a guy that he used to fish with on Cape Cod who was charged with the murder of a very prominent businessman. 

So where did the name Boston Billy come from?

Billy is actually the name of a fella that I've known for years. His name is Billy Doherty and he worked on Wall Street. And people downtown found this guy who was one of the nicest human beings in the world, one of the most engaging people in the world. And people know him as Boston Billy, so I stole that name from him. 

Does the name relate to being a defense attorney? 

No. It means everything to a friend of mine, and I just love the name Boston Billy. There isn't a person, an event, or a description of a courthouse or a court person that is not a composite of many others that I've known for 40 years. I was a defense lawyer. I was a Boston schoolteacher. I defended the Boston detectives. I defended court employees as alabor attorney.

And I had a hundred thousand stories that I that I saw or heard when I was wandering through courthouses in Massachusetts, and later on as a judge in the Superior Court. I was a labor attorney and a public defender. So I kind of lived the life and saw all the things that I wrote about in this book. 

So it's a work of fiction, but drawn on real life. Do you plan to do a series of these books?   

I’ve already started it. I've got a murder that I'm gonna solve pretty soon that happened in a fictitious park and also a murder that happened in Harvard Square. And it's the same guy, Boston Billy, doing the same kind of really dogged work to defend the innocent. And also to have a lot of fun representing some people that are guilty, but not bad people.
 

Are you surprised that people are buying your book? 

I'm delighted with the response. I spoke to a trial lawyer this morning, and she said she loved it. It's a fun book. I've got great responses from my colleagues at BC Law. And you know, it's meant to be fun. I would say this is the twilight of my life, where I want to remain engaged and I'm doing stuff that's all law related, whether it's mediating cases or teaching law students or writing about the trial court.

 I dedicated the book to all of the people that I know that have worked in the courthouses, thousands of police and prosecutors and judges, because they do the yeoman's work to provide for social justice, and that's my dedication to them.

And it's about courthouse justice. It's about what happens in the courts all across the state that I've been privileged to work in whether it's representing employees or trying cases or judging cases.

•••

“The Murder on Brewster Flats”

by Christopher J. Muse.

An excerpt.

“No one was looking at me except the sign that forbade swimming across the hundred feet of the narrows of the harbor. 

As no boats were in sight, I took the plunge and continued on Cold Storage Beach for a mile until I came to Quivett Creek, which because of the early morning low tide was just a three foot deep short crossing to the other side. 

“A few minutes later, I was standing at the beginning of the Brewster Flats. It stretched at least ten miles in front of me, and from the shoreline to the low tide ocean, it was at least a half mile, maybe in some spots a mile of sand, that would get swallowed up by the change of tides. It was magnificent. 

“In the morning there were walkers. In a few hours, it would be beach umbrellas and blankets set out in small colonies separated by swaths of sand. Little kids would sit in tidal pools as the older ones past rubber footballs and frisbees. Moms and dads would roll up the carpet, so to speak, in late afternoon, and return the near-empty Flats to walkers and a few who found a quiet spot with beach chairs to watch the sunset.

“This was when I fell in love with Brewster Flats.”

Copyright © 2026 Christopher J. Muse