On a Tuesday night in 2011, Russell Faria returned home from his weekly game night with friends thirty minutes away. He walked into a nightmare. His wife, Betsy, lay on the floor in a pool of blood, stabbed with what was later detailed as fifty five wounds. He called 911 immediately and EMS workers found Betsy cold and starting rigor mortis, something that would indicate death had occurred around two hours before.

But the nightmare would deepen. After talking with a woman who claimed to be Betsy's best friend, Russ himself was arrested for Betsy's murder. Four people testified that Russ was with them at the game night and he had receipts for some errands he had run on the trip but that solid alibi did nothing to sway the police and prosecutor. Instead they believed Pamela Hupp, the supposed best friend who had lots of story to tell about Russ's cruelty to Betsy although everyone else thought the marriage was solid. Pam had also ended up with one of Betsy's life insurance policies taken out to care for her two daughters after her death (Betsy had terminal cancer). Although Pam made lots of noise about giving that money to the girls, she instead spent it on herself.

Russ went through a trial and one of the authors, Joel Schwartz, was his lawyer. He thought he had never seen a more clear case of a defendant's innocence but the jury returned a guilty verdict. Russ was sent to prison but Schwartz continued to work for Russ's freedom. He filed an appeal, brought a case against Pam for the insurance money and reported the prosecutor and judge to the federal agency responsible for investigating cases where fraud could be involved. He got a second trial for Russ and after four years, Russ was found not guilty.

This case had more Dateline episodes than any other in the history of the true crime show. With Russ's lawyer's inside information, true crime readers will learn all the facts of the case. As time went on, Pam was found to have a connection to several other murders, including that of her own mother, and is currently serving a life sentence. The sheer evil of committing a murder for her own profit and then trying to frame someone else makes Pam Hupp deserving of the life sentence she has received. This book is recommended for true crime readers.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead.

I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings.

Anything requested and approved will be read and a decent quality review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Very informative. I was frustrated with this case! How was the husband found guilty? This book went into great detail and it felt as if I was along side the author telling the horrible tragedy that occurred. I recommend picking this one up!

This was just crazy. If this was written as fiction I would wonder about the mental health of the author but it's all true. There were a lot of people involved in this case and at times I had trouble keeping track. I watched the series The Thing About Pam to help maybe put faces to names. Reading of a case like this where the police try to make the crime fit the suspect just makes me really question our judicial system. It boggles my mind that Betsy's family did not see through Pam or wonder why this woman was pushing herself into private business. Askey was a piece of work with the stories she made up in trying to fit Russ into the role of murderer.

Thank you to Netgalley and Citadel for providing me a digital copy.

Excellent. One of the best true crime books I've ever read. This case is so cuckoo that you can't help but get invested in the players. I started watching The Thing About Pam on Hulu even before I finished this book.

I had listened to the Dateline Podcast, The Thing About Pam and was fascinated by the case.
When this book came out, I dived right in, however, it felt dry and unreadable.
However, I picked the book back up and I was able to read it pretty much straight through.

This fascinating case is bewildering in so many ways. Why did the police just latch on to Russ for being the killer? Why did Pam need the money from the insurance money?
Were there more victims of Pam?

The authors, one of which was Russ' defense attorney, did a great job of presenting the facts, the trial, retrial of Russ, and the prosecution of Pam.

There was some disappointing things that I did not learn....how were Betsy's family doing now? Did Pam ever talk about how she singled out Betsy? ANy other scams outside of insurance forgery?

I liked the update on Russ, but wish that there was more....what happened to the house that Russ and Betsy shared? The dog played a major role in the prosecutors case with the paw print and yet no followup.

This is a good book on the trial and retrial of Russ, but not a good book for the aftermath.

Any true crime "fan" most likely has heard of the Betsy Faria case and, subsequently, the outrageousness of the one and only Pam Hupp. Author Bosworth, however, takes readers deeper into the case than anyone has before, sharing intimate details with the help of co-author and Russ Faria's defense attorney, Joel Schwartz. Readers will be enraged by the accounts of blatant lying, investigative ineptitude, and judicial misconduct surrounding Betsy Faria's murder and Russ Faria's conviction. Despite having watched the Dateline episodes on the case as well as Hulu's "The Thing About Pam", I still learned so many aspects of the case and the lives of everyone involved. Tragic yet fascinating, I recommend Bone Deep to any true crime reader and I look forward to Bosworth's next investigative piece.

This was another great true crime novel! I read it fairly quickly and didn't find myself feeling bored once. That's always a sign of a good book when it comes to true crime or any non-fiction novel, really. I actually enjoyed the more in-depth trial coverage, though some may find it to be a bit tiresome. Unfortunately I'm submitting my review a bit late as my own life got pretty hectic.

Bone Deep is a true crime novel about the many twists and turns of the Betsy Faria murder. I have been very familiar with this case for many years due to the many Dateline episodes about it and the various true crime YouTubers that have covered it. What this book does that all the other media I’ve consumed doesn’t, is it gives a very detailed and insider look into the heinous way the police and the prosecutor handled the case.

Since I obviously knew the outcome of the case before reading this book I found it fascinating the absolute absurdity of not only the police investigation but also the way the prosecutor and judge handled the case against Betsy’s husband, Russell. This book definitely gives an in depth look at shocking ways the “right side” of the law will go to cover up their mistakes or deficiencies.

And it would be remiss not mention that this book is also about Pam Hupp (recently immortalized by Renee Zewellger in The Thing about Pam). Pam Hupp is infamous for not only her crimes but also the audacity of her lies. Once you hear about this case it forevers sticks with you because it is unbelievable that she was never even considered a suspect. And reading this book and finding out just how far the police and prosecutor went to make her look innocent is jaw dropping.

The only reason I gave this four stars and not five is because I feel like Betsy got lost in the story. Most true crime books that I read or videos that I watch always let the reader/viewer get to know the victim and help keep their memory alive. And despite having her name in the title I didn’t feel that we got to know her as anything more than the victim. On the other hand, I did learn more about her husband Russell and I feel like the authors really glossed over some of his negative aspects more than they needed to. What he went through was horrible but that doesn’t automatically make him a great guy.

If you are looking for a true crime story that will vividly show you the negative side of our justice system than Bone Deep unfortunately does that. I also think it’s a great read for anyone familiar with the Pam Hupp story since I learned quite a few details for the first time.

Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. Confession: I am a true crime addict! I hadn't heard of this case before and as I was reading it, if I hadn't known it was a true crime read I would have thought it was a thriller with an unbelievably ridiculous plot! The fact that this was an actual murder and that due to some pretty sub par investigative work an innocent man was initially incarcerated for the murder of his wife was beyond disturbing. To then read how the actual murderer wasn't even considered to be a suspect for such a long time was just gob smacking to me. Especially given how it is revealed that her own mother also died under suspicious circumstances. I found myself exasperatedly unable to put this book down just hoping that eventually justice would be served. A well written, informative true crime read, whilst also being a bittersweet read, in that the victim's falsely accused husband had to spend time in jail for this heinous crime. ⭐⭐⭐⭐#charlesbosworthjnr #joeljschwartz #netgalley #goodreads #litsy #thestorygraph #truecrime #bookqueen #bookstagram #amazonkindle #amazonaustralia

If you have consumed all the other things from this trial or never heard of Pam Hupp, then this is a great book to start or end with. I read this via audio and goodness it was great to revisit all the details of this trial through the eyes of the lawyer who lived it all. I was reminded while reading this book the absolute errors that were made in the investigation and all the things that were overlooked - of course I am looking through a set of lenses with all the clues before us now, but goodness!!

I have always loved consuming non fiction via audio and this one was a great one to add to my collection.

True crime fans will appreciate this detailed writing, taken mostly from trial documents and transcripts. This book is an in-depth look at the murder of Betsy Faria, which was featured on Dateline titled "The Thing About Pam." The timeline and organization of facts is excellent and detailed, yet it reads like a murder mystery. It is a story that is often unbelievable and outlandish, yet every detail is true and accounted for. I found the story compelling and heartbreaking.

The whole time I read this I just couldn’t believe it was true. It is something that I would think would be a terrible psychological thriller but yet it’s not. This poor family had to endure so much and the murder was focused purely on the husband without really looking at anyone else. This was a great read and I highly recommend it to anyone that loves True Crime.
Thanks you to Netgalley for letting

This was a true case that was beyond frustrating and drastically bumbled for Russ. I absolutely sympathized and my heart went out to him. However, the telling of his real-life, devastating experience left me a little bored and annoyed - mainly for its repetitious writing style. I appreciate getting the full story, but it could have been tweaked a little bit. (3.5/5)

"Bone Deep" is a true-crime retelling of the murder of Betsy Faria by Pam Hupp. Faria's murder, one of several likely committed by Hupp, has been in the media--most notably, through Dateline shows and Keith Morrison's droll narration of "The Thing About Pam" podcast. In this case, the book is very much from the point of view of defense attorney Joel Schwartz as he attempted to rescue Betsy's husband Russ from the false accusations of murder pointed his way.

What's good: The book does give you a strong sense of the legislative back-and-forth in the trial and in that, it gives you an interesting view into what happens when a judge and a prosecutor mishandle their work. It also attempts to answer the unanswerable (why Pam decided to be a murderer) while making Schwartz's point--the why mattered little; Hupp was still responsible for all she had done (and continued to do.)

What's iffier: The book moves rapidly. If you're looking for the slow, methodical style of a Vincent Bugliosi unpacking his case, that's not here. Nonetheless, not everyone wants that deep a dive, so "Bone Deep" might be a strong introduction to the true crime genre for them.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Good story, well written!! Sorry this review is a bit late - I got caught up in my own real life drama.

I will admit, I had never heard of the Betsy Faria murder case until a reading cohort of mine suggested we get the book from Netgalley and read it. Being a person who is intrigued by true crime books, I readily agreed and I am really glad I did. This case was fascinating to me for several reasons. First, [author:Charles Bosworth Jr.|5646511] does a marvelous job of chronicling the case in the book. His writing is stellar and his ability to highlight the ups and downs of the case kept me riveted to the story. I couldn't wait to see what the major players in the story were going to do next and how it was going to play out. I especially liked the way that the book told the story in such a way that I was actually surprised by some of the events and actions of the players, like a good thriller with lots of twists and turns, only these were real. I was able to immerse myself in the story totally to the point of feeling anger at the way the original investigation was handled, sorrow for the families involved, and incredulity that Pam Hupp was able to escape prosecution for so long.
When I finished reading the book, I saw that the author has several other true crime books that I am looking forward to checking out. Also interested in getting the old Dateline episodes referred to in the book if possible. I am very glad that I was granted a copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington books. As far as true crime books go, I am giving this one a 5 out of 5 stars.

NOTE: As a side bar, I grew up in the St. Louis area and was familiar with most of the towns and cities, which also peaked my interest.

Amazon review is pending

I remember watching an episode of Dateline some years ago that focused on this unusual story. At the time it struck me as bizarre, but there are so many true crime stories that go beyond belief, and I added this one to the list. Last month I rewatched the Dateline episode, reigniting my interest in the case, and immediately watched Peacock’s newest show, The Thing About Pam starring Renee Zellweger, taking my fascination to a whole new level.

After watching this peculiar show I started reading Bone Deep and I don’t know if it’s because of watching the miniseries or what, but I found this novel dry. It has a very elementary, matter-of-fact feel that made reading a struggle for me. I got bogged down in the details that I already knew and I found myself skimming more than reading, which is never a good sign. Though this is a bizarre case that is truly stranger than fiction, the details truly defying logic, it wasn’t enough to keep me interested.

The book is very heavy on the trial, which is to be expected given who one of the authors is, but I also felt quite a bit of bias, which was also a turn off. If you know nothing of the Betsy Faria/Pam Hupp case then I could see Bone Deep being a rich resource for you but if you’re like me, and well versed in this case, I think you find yourself bored.

This book is so intense. I almost can't believe it's a true story. Poor Russ has been through Hell and Back after Betsy was found dead. Not only did he need to mourn the loss of his wife and subsequently his step daughters, he had to defend his actions of the night and stand trial for the worst night of his life. The facts didn't add up to Russ, but he was still being tried. This is a person worst nightmare come true. Definitely recommend for a heavy, thought provoking read.

Despite in depth trial details, this book was a captivating review of a true crime and a killer who went years without being identified. I really enjoyed the book once I got about 30% in and really invested in the truth. If you like true crime, you will like this book.