In Troy, Missouri in December 2011, and just days after Christmas, Russ Faria returned home to find his wife deceased on the living room couch from what he believed to be self-inflicted wounds and with the knife still protruding from her neck.

Because of Betsy’s history of depression and facing terminal cancer, Russ initially believed her death to be self-inflicted and reported her death as a believed suicide to an operator after calling 911.

The first responding police officer immediately identified the death of Betsy to be that of homicide, not suicide, and soon after that, Russ became the number one suspect in the eyes of authorities.

It is not a spoiler to reveal Bone Deep is the true-life recounting of the murder of Betsy Faria and how her husband Russ Faria was investigated and arrested for her murder while obviously innocent of the crime. The book also shines a light on the true suspect and how almost immediately after the murder, this subject was not only completely ignored by law enforcement personnel, including the main prosecutor, but also how these officials actively resisted even to examine this person as a potential suspect even when preliminary information pointed directly in her direction.

While in cases similar to this one, it is not unusual for authorities to focus on a person closest to the deceased as a suspect, however in this murder, what was unusual was how investigating authorities and later court authorities, seem to have completely ignored not just ample evidence, but instead, overwhelming evidence that Russ Faria was not a viable suspect at all.

Types of evidence, both ignored and discounted, clearly excluding him from being any sort of suspect, included both eyewitness and physical evidence and was available from the very start of the investigation.

One part of me dislikes reading true-crime books as Bone Deep. This is not because books like this are bad, on the contrary, books like Bone Deep often are quite good. The disliking part is when these books reveal an avoidable and complete failure in our humanly created institutions, especially when there is no credible explanation for such failures to exist and when these failures have horrible repercussions for those sucked into these black holes of failure.

This is especially true when the information provided by modern technologies and advancements quickly introduces facts and evidence that easily exonerates a suspect such as Russ Faria. What adds to this dislike is when such information and evidence exists and is easily accessible and still, authorities do whatever they can to actively dismiss or ignore these facts and evidence out of self-interest, incompetence, or frankly, outright criminality.

While not excusing incompetence, one can almost understand how it can impede a criminal investigation, but to ignore factual evidence like what was done in the Betsy Faria murder should result in stringent penalties of some sort for those that discounted such evidence.

What happened in the Betsy Faria murder case raised my ire, as it should all people when familiarizing themselves with incidents such as these.

Bone Deep is an engaging true-crime book that exposes failures in the American criminal justice system while putting a human face on those involved and is recommended to those that enjoy well-researched books on subjects such as this.

Netgalley provided a copy of Bone Deep in return for a fair review and is set to be published in February 2022.

This review was originally published at MysteryandSuspense.com.

I really enjoyed this true crime read, about a fascinating case and a slippery character, and found it hard to put down. I usually skim through parts with written accounts of court cases/ trials but, despite at times being heavy on the legal detail, I mostly found the evidence and the back and forth between prosecutor and defender interesting. The case- which I hadn’t heard of before- had so many layers to it, it made for an intriguing read. This account was well put together, giving a strong impression of those involved. 4.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Superb true crime tale with a twisty, incredible plot. The main protagonist Pam Hupp is so evil, it defies belief. The prosecutor and police in the first trial were biased and corrupt, and this helped Hupp to go on and commit more crimes. The defence attorney Joel Schwartz is the hero in this book. He believed in his client, and got justice for him. This book is highly recommended.

I will not get over the miscarriage of justice surrounding this case. It's so obvious Pam Hupp is the killer and yet the police and prosecutors actively worked to prove otherwise. I think this was a great and very informative read. I think it really gets you as a read caught up in the story and I would highly recommend anyone who loves true crime.

I received an ARC from Netgalley. Bone Deep, by Charles Henry Bosworth and Joel Schwartz. This was a well written book, I just did not like the characters, they were not good people. Lies, cheating, and murder, the same old story.

A very interesting and informative true crime story, well written and compelling.
A definite recommendation from me and a 4 star rating ☀️

Very entertaining. Great true crime.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Russ Faria was a husband wrongly accused of murdering his wife Betsey. Despite a rock solid alibi, Russ finds himself the victim of tunnel vision by law enforcement, and eventually, the legal system. Luckily, Russ Faria's lawyers were bound and determined to prosecute Pam Hupp, the true killer.

What an exciting, intriguing yet compelling book it is! Impossible to put it down, it is impossible to sleep until we get to the end.

We still have the illusion that Anglo-Saxon, and within that, American democracy, law enforcement and justice systems are the best in the world, everyone who does not follow must be forced to follow. According to them, this is the democracy, and he, who does not profess this, is not a democrat, or he is even a downright fascist. And then we get this book, which faithfully describes a murder, an investigatian and two trials, and it arises in us, why are they lying to us from all sides? Because it seems to me that this is not a unique story, but the result of a systemic failure. Or maybe the system itself is bad?

I am beginning to understand in part those who took to the streets and demanded the cessation of the police. Because it seems that just fixing the bugs is not enough here. The political, executive, law enforcement and judicial systems need to be fundamentally demolished, rethought, and rebuilt. And we must put an end to the idea that history is over, and that it has ended with the victory of liberal democracy and the United States. Apparently this is a lie. But still live up to the hope that there is a better and more humane society.

The co-author of the book is the defence attorney himself, who is also the main character of the story, we can follow his struggle to get the victory of truth in this unjust system.

In principle, law enforcement and judicial organizations should serve society, the citizens. However, we are very far from this principle. Almost no one, no investigators, no prosecutors, no judges care anymore about who the real killer is and how to give justice to the victim.

One reason for the problem is that almost every position is filled by those who are unfit and unskilled, who have only an interest in getting their pay and abusing the little power that has fallen into their hands. Though all of them take an oath to serve society and the people, their vows are almost never kept. Of course, I don’t want to generalize, but in my opinion, most of them are like that, and sooner or later everyone will adjust to them.

But going back to the book, apart from the outrageous part, it’s a book I’ll remember even years from now, searching for events on wikipedia, going through the trial of crime again and again, fighting with the defense attorney against unfit prosecutors, investigators, and judges, and I sympathize with the accused, who had to spend years in prison innocently.

How should this malfunctioning political system be changed, how should the state (reserved for our taxes) be served us? Unfortunately, I cannot give an answer to this, I can only hope that someday our descendants will live in a better and fairer society. But I’m a realist, and I have to admit there’s no chance of that.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Kensington for the opportunity to read this fantastic book!

This is a True Crime book about the murder of Betsy Faria in 2011 in Missouri. Her husband Russell was originally charged with the crime despite lack of evidence and even evidence to the contrary. Telling the tale is the actual defense attorney. This is a story that will make you angry that justice is not what it is purported to be in our country these days. But this story is written like the very best True Crime stories I have read and I can't fault the style or the research. I would recommend this book to all lovers of the True Crime genre.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Fantastic read about a truly unbelievable failure of the Missouri judicial system. I have recently seen the Oxygen Snapped series about Pam Huff,but this book is really much more in depth regarding the case. #Netgalley #Bonedeep

My, my, my! Such an evil story, yet true and fascinating. I hadn’t heard of this one prior to digging in, and it was such a good read. A man wrongly convicted of the murder of his already terminally ill wife Betsy. Russ Faria just couldn’t get a fair shake when it came to the investigation. A riveting book written by Faria’s defense attoryney Joel J. Schwartz. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I’ve never heard of this case but I found it to be extremely interesting. This book actually reads more like fiction than nonfiction. Extremely informative and thought-provoking.