I enjoy watching Dateline , documentaries and reading true crime stories and Bone Deep caught my eye right away .

This is an incredible and at times fantastical story that I had to keep reminding myself it was true and really happened not that long ago.

Any one who likes reading about true crime should read this book before watching the series on TV.

I just reviewed Bone Deep by Charles Bosworth Jr.; Joel Schwartz. #BoneDeep #NetGalley

A very detailed, thorough investigation of the Betsy Faria murder that took place in December 2011. Betsy’s husband was arrested for her murder, despite evidence that he couldn’t possibly have committed the crime. You can feel Shwartz’s frustration; it’s almost palpable. I found myself feeling incredibly annoyed and incredulous as I read.
One small criticism - the authors seemed to try and paint Russ Faria as an innocent angel, and whilst he clearly did not murder his wife, I still think he was a little unsavoury.

I've heard about the Betsy Faria but it's refreshing to read more indepth about this case and justice and closure to the victim and her family.
I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who's into true crime or familiar with this case and wanting to learn more about the Betsy Faria case and i wish more cases would be as thorough as this one.

If you enjoy true crime, read this book!
Somehow, I missed hearing about the highly publicized case of Betsy Faria, who was murdered in her home in 2011, supposedly by her husband, Russ. The case was the subject of several Dateline episodes and had a whole podcast dedicated to it. Luckily for me, I finally heard about the book, written by the attorney who defended Russ Faria.
If this was a novel, I’d be complaining that it was too far-fetched. This is definitely one of those cases where the truth is crazier than fiction. It’s an enthralling study of the human psyche, and the insane things people are capable of doing.
Thanks to #netgalley and #citadelpress for this #arc of #bonedeep in exchange for an honest review.

When Russell returned home to find his wife Betsy dead, he became the primary person of interest in her murder. Betsy had changed her life insurance to benefit her friend Pamela, despite the evidence Russell was convicted.
An amazing insight into how an innocent man can’t defend himself against a judicial system that refuses to accept the truth. An innocent man should not go to prison.
Russell supported the new and old revelations that came with writing this book. This true story will no doubt convert to a superbly written mini-series, also released this year.
I enjoyed this true story, as will any reader, congratulations to the authors for their respectful and perceptive storytelling!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Russel comes home to find his wife, Betsy, dead. Even with an alibi and the only evidence against him coming from Betsy’s friend Patty, Russel is charged and convicted of the murder. But did he really do it?
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The beginning I felt like I was just reading an interrogation transcript (because the story is told from transcripts and recordings so it’s all real not just from memory)… but then it turned into more of a story! It was hard to believe some of the things that went on and the incompetence of the people working on this case.
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If you like true crime.. def check this one out!
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I received a digital copy of this book as an ARC in exchange of my unbiased opinion. Thank you NetGalley and of course authors Charles Bosworth Jr and Joel Schwartz! All opinions expressed are my own

This is a true crime story that frustrated me at every turn. The investigation was aimed at the husband from the very beginning; Since the storyline was true it shows how a person can be railroaded into being "the killer".

The story is told in very clear terms for anyone not familiar with all the legal jargon that goes into court cases which makes it easy to understand. I enjoyed the telling of the story, just didn't like the "true" outcome.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

After leaving his weekly game night, Russell returns home to find his wife Betsy in a pool of blood. His only thought was that his terminally ill wife must have committed suicide. Running to the kitchen, he calls 911 and waits for help. When police arrive, it is clear that Betsy had been murdered - she was stabbed over 25 times and a knife was embedded in her neck. Russell, in shock, was taken to the police station where he endured hours and hours of questioning. Simultaneously, the police were interviewing friends, family and neighbors. Pamela Hupp, the last one who had seen Betsy alive, pointed the finger at Russ. Without critically looking at Pam, who days before had become the beneficiary of Betsy's life insurance policy, they took everything she said at face value. What ensued was a horrible miscarriage of justice, as a grieving Russell was subjected to two trials, media scrutiny, and years behind bars.

Wow, this poor guy. Not only did he find his wife dead, but he had to deal with one-sided cops, fanatic prosecutors, and years and years in jail. It's hard to say a tragedy was fascinating, but this book was hard to put down. I just had to know how everything ended and whether or not Russ was vindicated. The author did a fabulous job telling his story. Overall, highly recommended.

This is a true crime story about the murder of Betsy Faria, her husband who was wrongly accused, and the woman who really committed the crime.

In December 2011, Russ Faria returned to his home in Troy, Missouri after visiting with friends. He found his wife, Betsy, dead in the living room…stabbed 55 times with the knife still embedded in her neck.

Authorities quickly zeroed in on Russ as the prime suspect even though he had a solid alibi and legitimately could not have committed the murder in the timeframe it occured. Nevertheless, he was arrested and rapidly convicted.

Mindblowingly, the officers and those on the prosecutor’s side failed to realize that the real killer was there all along, with plenty of motive and opportunity to commit the murder. Her name is Pam Hupp, and she was a close friend of Betsy’s who also happened to be named as her life insurance beneficiary days before the murder.

Defense attorney Joel Schwartz knew right away that something was seriously amiss with this case, and spent years working with Russ to have his conviction overturned and putting the right person behind bars. Unfortunately, it took more killing for that to happen.

“That investigation was mismanaged from the beginning.”

That is a VAST understatement. Prepare to be frustrated and incredibly baffled to see how wrong the authorities and prosecutors got on so many things that would’ve been glaringly obvious to even a 5th grader. If you didn’t know this was a true crime, you’d think this was an over the top fiction tale.

Authors Charles Henry Bosworth and Joel J. Schwarz (Russ’s attorney) do an excellent job digging into court records, police reports, court transcripts, media reports, etc., presenting the full story and delving deep into the histories of all the pertinent people involved.

The first half is a bit repetitive and dry, and yet incredibly detailed. I felt the need to step away more than once. However, the second half really ramps up as the focus is turned to Pam even more after the conviction of Russ. I could hardly believe what I was reading, and couldn’t put it down.

I’m not sure one can say they “enjoy” a true crime story, but it was riveting and gripping…leaving no stone left unturned.

NBC will be airing a limited series based on this crime called The Thing About Pam, starring Renee Zellweger as Pam Hupp. It premieres 3/8/22.

In the meantime, I will be going down a rabbit hole of watching the numerous Dateline episodes about the case and seeing what I can find on YouTube.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to Citadel and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Now available.

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

It has been said that truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to be believable. If this were a fictional account, I would have thrown the book away without completing it. But...since it is a true (and fascinating) story, I could not imagine that the events described really occurred. Throughout, I kept shaking my head and wondering how such a miscarriage of justice could have happened and continued for so long.

Although the book is very detailed, the reader needs to be aware of the facts to understand the case history and see justice eventually prevail. The authors do an excellent job of presenting the facts.

4.5 Stars on this one.

I had not heard of Betsy Faria’s murder prior to picking up this book. Not just the case or trial itself, but the Dateline episodes and The Truth About Pam podcast. If you are like me, hang on to your hats – you are in for a wild ride with this case.

The basics – Betsy Faria is killed at her home. Her husband Russ has a rock-solid alibi – he spends several hours every Tuesday with a few friends for game night. Yet he still is not only the prime suspect, but is convicted of her murder. What in the world happened?

Bone Deep gives a unique look into the case from the defense perspective; co-author Joel J. Schwartz is also Russ Faria’s lawyer. As the book progresses, we see so many different pieces coming together to unjustly convict Russ – police ignoring evidence, making up their minds early on that Russ was guilty, Pam Hupp setting Russ up for the murder and all her contradictory statements, an inexperienced judge with inexplicable rulings, and the prosecutor’s outrageous closing argument.

Honestly, if you were reading this as a fiction novel, you would think all the forces that worked together to conspire against Russ and the lengths that Pam Hupp went to frame him were absolutely unbelievable. And yet, this nightmare is exactly what happened. When I got to the last chapters and saw Pam’s final, desperate act against Russ I just thought, “You have got to be kidding me.” She really is unbelievably evil.

True crime fans will enjoy this book, and it’s a great look into the justice system from the defense’s perspective.

Bone Deep focuses on the murder of Betsy Faria and the subsequent trials of her husband, Russ Faria. Despite the prosecution being convinced Russ committed the crime, many others are suspicious of one of Betsy's friends, Pam Hupp. Pam was the last to see Betsy alive, and conveniently had just been changed to the beneficiary of Betsy's life insurance.

I liked this book, but there was a lot more in-depth detail about the trials of Russ than I expected. In addition, for telling the story that the podcast and TV show about Pam is based on, there was not much about Pam. We didn't even find out much about here until the end of the book. I wish this had been interspersed throughout or at least more towards the beginning.

This whole story is incredible! How on earth Russ Faria was even arrested for the murder of his wife in the first place was pretty crazy, based on how all of the evidence proved that there was no way he could have been anywhere near her when she was murdered. But the fact that he was also tried and convicted for her murder is even more insane! I hadn’t actually heard about this case at all, so it was a really interesting read for me to learn about it.

The book takes us through the days before the murder, introducing us to Betsy and Russ Faria, describes the brutal murder of Betsy in detail, and then takes us through the details of Russ’ arrest, trial, conviction, and then appeal and subsequent release. It is from start to finish a detailed portrayal of how easily a serious miscarriage of justice can happen, when the detectives in charge of the case and the prosecution team are so intent on getting a conviction that they don’t even look at where the evidence points.

I’m glad that Russ had such an amazing team on his side, people who fought tooth and nail to not only get his conviction overturned, but to find and try Betsy’s real killer: who had been sitting in front of everyone all along.

If you like true crime then this is definitely one for you!

I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This story is so weird it’s hard to believe it’s true! How can our justice system get thing so wrong from beginning to end. My heart breaks for the spouse who never actually has time to grieve and anyone associated with him. This book is a real page turner as far as true crime goes.

This is an au courant subject as the film is coming out now. The case of this female killer is astonishing and this book details it pretty well. My objection to it is that it isn’t edited well. The entire sequence of the husband’s interrogation is 10, 20 ? pages too long. Agonizing to drag through. We get it. Also, there are areas with no segue. All if a sudden there are facts that haven’t been covered or alluded to, but the narrative jumps and continues ahead. Writing is okay. Editing is missing.

I love a good true crime story, and this was a good read about a case that I don't remember hearing about. I'm excited to see that this will be a limited series coming soon to tv. I think the authors, one being the defense attorney for Russ Faria, did a great job telling the case. Russ and Betsy may have had their problems, but it was clear that Pam Hupp was the murderer. If you like true crime, you'll enjoy this.

When investigating a wife’s murder, police investigators always look at the husband first. Bone Deep tells the true story of what happens when that assumption is incorrect—but the husband is convicted of murder anyway.

Yes, the Russ Faria case of injustice really happened. And yes, it is the subject of multiple news shows, podcasts, and a soon-to-be released mini-series starring Renee Zellweger. However, Bone Deep goes, well, bone deep into the story. Mr. Faria’s defense attorney, who is a co-author of this book, knows the inside story. The plot begins as a murder mystery and evolves into a courtroom thriller. And it’s all true! It’s an exciting ride even if you know the ultimate outcome. It is a must-read for true crime fans. 5 stars and a favorite!

Thanks to Citadel and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

On December 27th 2011, first responders attending the scene of Betsy Faria’s death, concluded that she’d been dead for some hours. Her husband Russ arrived home and found her covered in blood with a knife protruding from her neck. He called emergency services immediately, and even though no evidence was found to support Russ’s guilt, the police nevertheless chose to ignore that fact and charged him with murder.

This is the shocking true story of what can happen when the Criminal justice system fails in their duty to protect the innocent.

As a layperson it was obvious to me who the real killer was, and fortunately, Russ Faria’s defence attorney, Joel Schwartz, fought Russ’s case with huge determination to right this grievous wrong.

A little repetitive at times, but nevertheless engrossing and highly recommended!

This is a True Crime Book. This book will stay with me for a long time. This is a true crime book that will make you really think investigation and what judges are leaving out at a trail. I really feel that this book shows that the people that is said to bring justice for people without voices anymore let down Betsy Faria and her husband. I felt this book was written in away that was easy to read and get into the story. It covered some really hard things, but the author did it in away that brought light to the subject and made it easy for most people to still be able to read this book. I really loved this book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Kensington Books) or author (Charles Henry Bosworth) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Oh, how I love a well-written true crime story and this one hits all the marks proving that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. If I had read this as a novel, I would be scoffing in disbelief at all that happened to those involved in this case, but, indeed it did. I hope to be able to see the 6-part TV series that is meant to debut in March, 2022, and plan to listen to the Dateline podcast shortly. So good to feel that justice was finally served.

Russ Faria came home from a game night with friends to find his wife, Betsy, dead. In his panic, he called 911 and told the dispatcher that he thinks she’s committed suicide. In fact, Betsy was murdered — stabbed over 55 times — and for some reason, the cops think Russ did it. Over the next few months, the police do everything they can to get him arrested and charged with first degree murder. In this pursuit, they are aided by the prosecuting attorney. All conveniently and willfully ignore evidence that exonerates Russ and actually might point to the true killer. It was a travesty that he was imprisoned, found guilty in his first trial, and was only eventually found innocent by the dedication and hard work of his defense attorneys and some steadfast supporters.

If you enjoy this type of book, don’t miss this fascinating and frustrating tale of evil and greed, false accusations, and miscarriage of justice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for inviting me to read and review this title.