This book hurt my heart. I love True Crime books so I push though. I think its important to remember the victims of these books. What I enjoyed most about this book is it held your interest. It read like a work of fiction yet it sadly was real. God bless Jax for sticking with this and for your investigative drive.

First, I was vaguely familiar with the Freeman-Bible case as I work cold cases within the state of Oklahoma, but hadn’t really gone in depth.

The scope of what Jax is as able to do for the case is absolutely astonishing. She’s a hell of a storyteller, and I sincerely doubt if the case had been in anyone else’s hands they wouldn’t have done it half the justice. 

The first couple chapters were a bit slow, but that’s any true crime book. Once you hit chapter 4- it hits you like a locomotive you just can’t look away from. Fabulous, fabulous book.

I’m obsessed with true crime and I never heard of this case. A must read for fellow true crime junkies ready for a different case.

True crime stories have taken on a larger than life as people flock to listen to podcasts, watch TV shows, or read books about the topic. Miller takes on an almost 20 year old cold case of a couple that brings up everything from drug abuse to bumbling cops. 

On the morning of December 31st, neighbors of the Freeman family come upon their trailer up in flames. Only the bodies of Kathy and Danny Freeman were found while their daughter Ashley and her best friend Lauria were missing. The local cops and the Oklahoma FBI never could solve the case and had many wondering if they had something to do with the murders. Lauria's mother continues to be a driving force in the investigation, hoping to bring her daughter home. 

The unsolved case was a compelling story and the part about the cops basically ruining any chance for the case to be solved was very aggravating. I felt like the author put too much of herself into the story but maybe that can't be helped when you work on a case like this for so long.

I am an avid true crime reader. I was so excited to learn more about this case.  I knew of it but not the inner workings.   I thought the story was interesting and I thought she did a good job with the research.  I am glad to have read it now after someone has been arrested.  However, the book would have been amazing if 1. She didn't try to write it as if it was a novel with all the flowery language and 2. She left the parts about herself and her anxiety out of it.  I get it, I have anxiety but it took the focus off the story.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴."⁣
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☠️⁣
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Man was this a doozy! The story follows the mysterious disappearance of two Oklahoma girls. There's multiple murders, meth, madness and police corruption galore!⁣
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It's absolutely thrilling, but it also made me incredibly angry at the way everything was handled.⁣
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The author really allows the unsolved mystery of the girls disappearance to consume her and she writes in a hauntingly atmospheric way that will rip you open.⁣

Recommended for True Crime fans, Unsolved Mystery fans and anyone who wants to read about hella corrupt police.

Hell in the Heartland is an in-depth look into a disturbing murder case in rural Oklahoma that occured over 20 years ago that explores allegations of police misconduct, a flourishing meth trade, and the search for two missing girls. The author, whose emotional involvement in the case becomes clear, does a great job in telling the story, which just gets more incredible and heartbreaking with each chapter.  I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An investigative masterpiece dealing with the case of two missing girls that may have been kidnapped or worse killed and dumped in a mine.
This is a powerful read that examines a case that deals with more than just small town politics, but rather large scale corruption, drugs, and more.
It's a case that many would speak about for many years long after it went unsolved and closed.
It began with a smart journalist and reporter who refused to take no for an answer in response to her persistent digging.
The vicious truth that circled the Freeman's, the Busick's, and the Penning's was for good reason-there's something there-something that others may not want you to know.
Everything seems to come back to fruition when an ID card was discovered which helped seal the deal.
Why was the vehicle never processed?
Why was everyone quick to close it down?
Why did nobody speak up for these young girls and their family?
Why ask why....
So many unknowns but one thing is for sure something terrible happened here and nobody should turn a blind eye.
We may never know the truth but we sure as hell should fight for it.
Thank you to Jax, the pub, NetGalley, and Amazon Kindle for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I'm predicting that Hell in the Heartland will be my favorite true crime book of 2020!

I have heard of the missing girls - Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible, but I hadn't heard any updates in quite some time. Jax Miller became fascinated with the Freeman/Bible case and started investigating. At some point during a sleepover at Ashley Freeman's house in 1999, the home catches fire, and when the police arrive it is discovered that Ashley's parents have been murdered and Ashley and Lauria are missing. Jax finds herself caught up in rumors of drugs, police incompetence, and possibly even police involvement. What happened at this trailer? Where are the girls?
There are so many threads to this story. One of the fascinating ones is about Ashley Freeman's brother who was shot and killed by a police officer a year before the fire at the age of 17.
One of my favorite things in any book is when the location becomes a character. Jax does a fantastic job bringing Oklahoma to life. I can picture all of these places and I'm curious about visiting some of these places.

While I thought the story itself was crazy and heartbreaking, I just had a hard time getting over the author's writing style. Don't get me wrong, he was incredibly well-researched and clearly obsessed with the story, but I guess I was expecting something more along the lines of I'll be Gone in the Dark, and this just was totally different. Nonetheless, the story was fascinating, the absolute level pf police negligence was astounding, and the girls' lives themselves was just so heartbreaking, especially against the backdrop of rural OK.

Immensely interesting - you will be at the edge of your seat for the duration of this one. Personal, touching, at times poetic. Jax Miller's passion towards telling this story truly shows and I think she does that with respect and honesty. Really appreciated the perspectives of different family members and the ways in which Miller really introduces the reader to the different settings relevant to the events that have taken place.

I have been following this story for years, so I was thrilled to get a copy to review.  Jax miller did a great job telling the story, while also honoring the girls.  A quick google will give you the backstory better than I can, but in 1999 two girls disappeared without a trace.
Rural Oklahoma is the setting, there was arson,  under, drugs, police misconduct.......but more importantly Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman are gone.  It is an infuriating story, that should have been solved years ago.

Miller's debut novel was one of my favorite books of 2015, so I've long kept an eye out to see what she would follow it up with. I was surprised to see a shift from fiction to nonfiction - and even more surprised to recognize the case from an episode of my personal favorite Investigation Discovery Channel show, Disappeared.

In 1999, in the very small town of Welch, Oklahoma, a fire breaks out that burns down the Freeman family home all the way to the ground - inside were presumed to be the Freemans, their daughter and their daughter's best friend, Lauria, over for a birthday sleepover. Between the constant missteps of the varying government agencies involved, from the very start it was clear that all was very far from being right about this case. The local elected sheriff's office couldn't have jurisdiction because just shy of a year earlier, one of their deputies shot and killed the Freeman's teenage son in a traffic stop. This police motive and involvement muddies the water into the investigation that follows. The Freeman family members the survive are certain that they need look no further than to that sheriff's office for the real culprits behind the tragedy.

Meanwhile, the other girl's family, takes investigative matters into their own hands (right down to finding a body, dealing with criminals...). They are convinced that the crime is linked to the drugs that are so rampant in the area. And when the debris of the fire is finally cleared, and everyone realizes who is and isn't accounted for, the story only becomes more heartbreaking. 

Miller sets the scenes of her own investigations and years spent immersed in this world in vivid detail. And though I thought that there would surely be new information presented here (and there most definitely is!), I found myself almost drawing this out more slowly than usual (well being super sick with food poisoning probably helped that). The book unfolds to present the information naturally, with tact, grace and more answers than I expected. And while the story still doesn't feel quite over, as there's certainly more to be uncovered, it is a satisfying read. I learned a lot about Oklahoma - and I really think that Miller has written a tactful, emotional and powerful book. I absolutely can't wait to see where she will go with her third publication!

Hell in the Heartland was very well researched and informative for a true crime book. Some true crime books leave a lot out and I am glad they did not with this book. This read was gripping and kept me interested throughout the book, I just wish those that are guilty of this senseless act would be held to their crimes.

Jax Miller clearly researched and investigated this story with a great deal of both doggedness and compassion, and her writing shows a great deal of respect to both the living and deceased that she writes about. Her writing captures the landscape and local culture of the rural Oklahoma area involved, as well writing about the people involved in a way that creates vivid enough descriptions that readers can create a solid mental picture of the area and residents. It's often heartbreaking, and not only when the two girls who were murdered and are still unfound are being discussed- but also when talking about the other losses of life, of the corruption existing within the law enforcement departments involved, etc.

"I've driven the route between Vinita and Welch more times than I can count, more times than I've visited my childhood home. Each trip is slightly brighter and louder than the last, to a place where it takes time for my eyes and ears to adjust. Coming here, to where they were last seen, isn't something I'm able to resist. I'm drawn. Obsessed. Manic. Sometimes I come up the driveway and think of the five of them here. Danny, Kathy, Ashley, Lauria, and Jeremy. Sometimes I imagine I am them. But as my senses adjust to deep, dark country, I light a smoke there on the Freeman property and imagine that I am the killer or killers who struck the first flame. I blow out my match, adding a pinch of sulfur to the pastures surrounding in the same way as Ashely blew out her birthday candles."..........

This a true crime story. It’s December 30, 1999. Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible are having a girls
birthday night sleepover at Ashley’s home. By morning the trailer has burned to the ground, and the girls are nowhere to be found. The rural Oklahoma town is left without answers.

Rumors abound. The clues useless. Years later, the author, Jax Miller, starts to look into this unsolved case. A horrific tale of secrets and crime, possibly covered up by the very people they were supposed to trust.? A mother who refused to give up. Families and friends and the rumors that followed for years, probably still do. Someone, somewhere had to know the truth.

The real question is where are Ashley and Lauria? Dead or alive?

The author takes you through this tragic line of events, and provides some ideas to what may have happened and why. A very interesting read. What I really liked was the author presented them as real. She presented their lives leading up to, and after the fire. The author did not sensationalize the story. The facts wore on her soul, and she wanted to help them find answers. From the first page, told with such detail, you feel yourself step into the story beside the author.

For more follow up please see the Facebook page: “Find Lauria Bible.”

Thank you Jax Miller, Netgalley, and Berkley Publishing Group.

#netgalley #hellintheheartland #jaxmiller #berkleypublishinggroup

I have always been obsessed with true crime in any format, but it had been awhile since I had read a great true crime book. Hell in the Heartland was definitely great. 

I had been familiar with the tragic story of Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible, but this book really delved into the details of the case. The reader can tell that Jax Miller truly cares about the missing girls and the girls' families & community. 

The writing was a little cheesy at times, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. I definitely recommend Hell in the Heartland if you also love true crime!

Thanks to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for my free e-copy for review.

Such an excellent look at this case. I heard about it in 2018 but I'm so happy to see a book come out about it because I feel like only podcasts have really touched it. It was very well written and in-depth.

What It's About: On a cold December 1999, in the small town Welch, Oklahoma, a trailer home goes up in flames and was completely destroyed by the fire. Two bodies with gunshot wound were recovered in the trailer. However, the police could not locate two sixteen year-old and best friends, Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman, whose disappearances sparked an extensive search and baffled the police for 18 years. Although an arrest was made in 2018, the whereabouts of Lauria and Ashley remain unknown until today.

My thoughts: "Inhale for four seconds, hold for four, exhale for eight. Accept. Let the storm rage. Breathe." This was how I felt reading this book. It was so unbelievable, bat-crap crazy, you would think it is a crime fiction. Sadly, it is not. 

Miller had done a great amount of research for this book. The more she researched, the more she discovered the negligence, corruption, and incompetence of the police in this case. The cover-ups and corruption were shocking and disgusting. Dark secrets that center around drugs were unraveled and there were twist and turns in this case that revealed some unknown murders. There were also some shocking wild and crazy facts about this Welch town and its surrounding towns. 

This is one compelling and gripping read. The writing is engaging and reads like a fiction. I know unsolved cases may not be not for everyone, but read this book for it will open your eyes to the level of negligence in this case. If you enjoy Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, you will definitely enjoy this one. 

"Time is something that people don’t feel until it turns against them. When it's thought to heal all, for the parents of any missing child, it only tears the cut wider; sands of time become grains of salt to an open, bleeding wound."

Pub. Date: Jul 28, 2020

***Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this gifted review copy in exchange for an honest review.***

Come for the unsolved mystery, but stay for the police incompetence. The book ends on a promising lead, so imagine my surprise when I saw just yesterday that the only suspect who is still alive (https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/missing-welch-girls-busick-pleads-guilty-to-accessory-to-murder/article_fefb6d78-0ced-5fa1-8119-c9eef28a9384.html) pleaded guilty to accessory to murder.

It's December, 1999. Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible celebrate Ashley’s birthday by having a sleepover. The following morning, the two teenagers are missing and the Freeman trailer is found ablaze. As events unfold, both of Ashley’s parents are discovered shot dead beneath the rubble of their home, and to this day, the location of the girls is unknown.

The story that follows is one of gross negligence on behalf of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Agent Steve Nutter in particular, and the Craig County police department. We learn that Ashley’s older brother, Shane, was shot dead by a police officer a year prior. The handling of his death has suspicious circumstances of its own and was enough for his father, Danny Freeman, to believe that the police were coming for him next.

There are many twists and turns to this story, and some wild facts about life and death in this particular part of Oklahoma, as well as areas nearby that once showed economic promise but amounted to lead poisoning and poverty.

I think this book comes at a unique time as many across the US are calling to defund the police; this story shows the extent of fear and frustration a community endures when the officials hired to protect you have become so corrupt that they actively work against you. As news continues to unfold, I hope that Lorene and Jay Bible are finally able to locate the remains of their daughter and find some sense of closure after so many years.