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.

This very well researched and ultimately very sad book examines a number of factors not just about this specific missing girl case, but about the sad realities of rural Oklahoma. Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible's disappearance, and in all likelihood murders, have been on Jax Miller's radar for years, and now she has pulled all her leads, evidence, and interviews together to try and bring attention to this cold case. The families of the missing girls have different opinions about what happened, and Miller is very even handed in presenting the evidence for both theories, whether it was a corrupt sheriff's department, or a group of drug kingpins, that murdered Ashley's parents and took the girls. We also get a very interesting look into the social structures of these small towns, and how there can both be dangers from those in the meth business, and also those who are supposed to protect the communities. While there is kind of a solution to this case, there is still a lack of closure, as the bodies have never been found, and Miller does her very best to pull it all together, and to tell a story that hasn't really left Oklahoma.

Hopefully someday we will know for certain what happened to Ashley and Lauria. Hopefully HELL IN THE HEARTLAND will reach someone who knows something.

I didn't realize it at first but as I started reading it I discovered I had listened to a podcast a few months back about this very story. This book gave me so much more insight than the podcast did. I had no idea there was so much corruption, ineptitude and potential cover-ups involved. This is definitely a case of real life being stranger than fiction.

Crime writer, Jax Miller, has immersed herself fully into the case about the Freeman trailer fire that killed Kathy and Danny Freeman and the missing teenage girls, their daughter, Ashley Freeman and her best friend Lauria Bible. Much like Lauria's mother, Lorene Bible, Miller leaves no stone unturned. Interviewing everyone and anyone with even the slightest possible connection to the case and digging into every shred of information she finds. She pushes forth even when she feels her life is in danger. Many of those involved are deep into drugs (methamphetamine, most specifically) and crime and most not to keen on someone digging around about them and their pasts.

Hell in the Heartland details so many of the countless rumours regarding the fire and disappearance of the two girls - everything from bad drug debts to revenge and even to possible police collusion. It's broken down in a way that's easy to follow along and incredibly intriguing. I find sometimes that as much as I enjoy true crime stories that a lot of them can read a little dry like a text book but the pace of this one had me feeling like I was reading a fiction novel.

As a mother, I cannot imagine the pain and anguish this ongoing case must cause Lorene and Jay Bible.

This is a great novel for those that are interested in true crime events. Trigger warnings as there is discussion about drugs, sexual assault/rape and violence.

Thanks netgalley and publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

On a cold December night in Oklahoma, two teenage girls had a sleepover. The next morning, the trailer they spent the night in was burned to the ground, killing one girl’s parents, with no sign of the girls. This is a great true crime story and the author spent a lot of time speaking to people and investigating. The only drawback for me was that the author inserted herself into the narrative which at times seemed strange.

This story blew my mind. I've heard about the case on a couple of the podcasts I listen to and was glad to be able to read a more fleshed-out version of events. I also really enjoyed the author's personal tidbits that were scattered throughout the book. If you love true crime then this book is definitely for you!

Jax Miller is an author to watch! Hell in the Heartland is a superb book that will keep you turning pages until the end!

Wow, where to start with this review? I was initially drawn to this book because of its comparison to S Town, but I had no idea what I was actually getting myself into. The book feels, oddly, very timely, especially when you start to understand the depth of law enforcement cover-ups and mishandling of the case. To be a parent having to run your own investigation into such a heavy, disgusting crowd.... Jax Miller is an absolute saint and a hero for continuing to go into this world and come out knowing that there was still more to be done. The subject matter is very heavy, and ultimately devastating at the end. The twists and turns are endless. I would recommend this to fans of true crime, but I would definitely caution anyone getting into this book to know that y0u are about to read a story that you likely will never be able to shake.

This book is not only a compelling tale about the disappearance of two teenage girls, but also an incredible view of author Jax Miller's obsession and determination to find the truth in a 20 year old cold case.

A gripping and throughly researches account of a truly shocking crime. Filled with twists & turns. Full review to be published in BookList.

I felt something familiar as I read this book, following along as the tension was building. It seemed like I’d heard of some of the main victims before, but I needn’t have worried, the story was totally new to me. It was a horrific story indeed, and one that kept me involved, reading as various agencies and the author investigated over the years, trying to find out for certain who had committed the awful crimes. The mother of the young lady who was staying over on the night the crimes happened, Mrs. Lorene Bible, kept the momentum moving forward on the case whenever law enforcement would lose interest or lack in leads. There was plenty of push back too, as several in the case received threats of all kinds if they didn’t quit looking into the case and go away, including the author plenty of times. This is one nasty true crime case with bizarre elements to it making it very cruel and taking a long time tormenting the families. Advanced electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, author Jax Miller, and the publisher.

The publisher’s blurb reads “S-Town meets I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” referencing two outstanding true crime hits of the past couple of years (the first a podcast and the second a nonfiction book about a woman’s obsessive search for the identity of the Golden State Killer). I loved both of those, so I was happy to receive a copy of Jax Miller’s true crime account of this case titled Hell in the Heartland: Murder, Meth, and the Case of Two Missing Girls (from Berkley Publishing and NetGalley in return for my honest review).

I had heard about this crime on at least two of my regular true crime podcasts that I can remember: Generation Why and Crime Junkie. Both times I felt like there must have been more to the story, and I felt like Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible, the two teenage girls who went missing after the trailer home of Ashley’s family was set on fire with her parents’ dead bodies inside. It seemed like they had led sad lives in a classic poor town in rural Oklahoma in the 1990s and were probably dead.

The case of the missing girls has been a mystery that would have been long forgotten if it were not for the efforts of the two families involved, as they have worked for decades to keep pushing for information. Tragically, the police seemed uninterested when the crime first happened in 1999, finding the body of Kathy Freeman during a very cursory look at the after-fire rubble. They pretty much identified her husband Danny Freeman as a suspect in the abduction of their daughter and her friend Lauria, and there was somewhat of a manhunt for less than a day. They released the burned-out trailer back to the family, who promptly went in, stepped onto Danny’s dead body, and announced that the police hadn’t done any investigating, and they hired their own detectives.

Author Jax Miller became obsessed with the mystery and made many trips to Oklahoma over the years, beginning in 2015, and has written a detailed account of her investigation, including covering the rumors of police collusion, drug debts, and revenge that covered the area.

I really felt like I needed a shower as I read her stories of police negligence, and what looked like clear cases of corruption. The whole area has been ravaged by methamphetamine addiction, and there have been tons of crimes, up to and including murder, that may or may not be related to this case.

I was a bit disappointed by this book (probably because I had expectations of something as good as either S-Town or I’ll Be Gone In The Dark) but it may just be a question of writing style. The author has made her telling of the story very personal, inserting a great amount of detail about her own struggles (addiction and anxiety in particular) into her narrative covering the girls’ stories. I would have preferred a more straightforward journalistic style, although I give her points for her honest and integrity as she shared her efforts and persisted long after many would have given up.

It’s a sad story, and the level of despair that permeates the story is just about overwhelming (and wasn’t evident in the podcasts, but definitely rings true in the book). It contributed to my already rampant geographical bigotry, adding rural Oklahoma to the list of places I hope to NEVER visit. Three stars (and yes, I am a notoriously easy grader).

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. Finishing Hell in the Heartland leaves. you with a wide range of emotions. It tells the heartbreaking story of Ashley Freeman and Laurie Bible, who went missing at the end of 1999 after Ashley's parents were found dead and their family home burned. Telling the story of all the problems that the investigation had, and the seemingly unending strength that the Bible and Freeman families have in their search to find out what happened to Ashley and Laurie. Telling not only the story of the victims, Jax Miller also weaves in the stories are the surrounding communities and the struggling with methamphetamines. A heartbreaking story that needed to be told, still in the process of unfolding, Hell in the Heartland is a heartbreaking read that shows a darker side of America's heartland.

It had been 16 years since Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible disappeared when Miller, a true crime writer got interested in the case. In 1999, the two teens were having a sleepover at Freeman’s family home when the trailer went up in flames and the girls disappeared. There were plenty of theories about what happened, but no arrests were made and the girls never reappeared. Miller’s investigation into the case uncovered police incompetence and negligence and a community ravaged by methamphetamine, along with more murders, frighteningly familiar