Wow! I had watched and listen to the dateline shows/podcasts about this case. I remember being absolutely flabbergasted then. But after reading this book... it certainly stirred some emotions in me. I don't want to give too much away in case someone doesn't know about this case, but its so hard to understand how this case could have been handled so badly. I highly recommend that any true crime fans read this book!

This book is one that, if I didn't know it was true, I would be shaking my head at the sheer implausibility of it.

I had seen a number of great reviews for this one, so I requested the audiobook in order to hear it for myself. I had never heard of this case before (it took me literally 25% into the book to realize that Russ Faria was not actor Dennis Farina) and after my jaw hit the floor multiple times I had to Google the case and get the lay of the land before I continued. I vaguely recall watching at least one of the Dateline episodes featuring this case, but this book covers events up through the summer of 2021, so obviously there have been many developments over the ten years since Betsy was murdered.

If you're like me and have a very low tolerance for wrongly accused people (gives me extreme anxiety), let me tell you that this case comes out all right in the end. It takes a long time to get there, and the ineptitude and corruption in the legal system are shown in glaring light throughout. I realize that this book was co-written by Russ Faria's defense attorney, so it may not be as unbiased as it could be, but I also greatly appreciated his efforts to not back down from the fight because he truly believed that Faria did not get a fair trial and that someone else was obviously guilty of the crime because all evidence pointed to his innocence.

Like I said at the beginning, when I got to the end I was absolutely astounded that this actually occurred. Russ Faria now works with The Innocence Project, helping those who are wrongly incarcerated. This book did remind me somewhat of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, in the realization that so many people are convicted of crimes that they could not have committed and how there must be accountability and reform in the justice system

Gary Bennett did a superb job with the narration of the audiobook, although his natural speech speed is quite slow and meandering. When I increased the speed, the book seemed to move at a pace that was easier to listen to and experience.

I listened to Gary Bennett read the audio of this book. He has a great voice and was easy to listen to. This case was one I was not familiar with and was well told. The twists and turns in the case and the obvious issues with the trial were highlighted. This book had a surprise ending which leaves you shaking your head. If you like true crime, you will enjoy this book.

I am a true crime junkie and knew of this case. But dang the in depth look at the total miscarriage of justice that took place in this case is both appalling and alarming!

December, 2011 - Russ Faria went to a party goes to game night with friends as he does regularly. He returns home to find his wife, Betsy, dead on the floor of their living room. Betsy was undergoing treatment for her second bout with cancer, and Russ assumes she attempted suicide, as she has threatened it previously. Russ calls 911, every upset. And then the madness begins.

The murder of Betsy was brutal and horrific. But what Russ went was even worse.

This book shows the flaws in our justice system and how an innocent man can easily appear guilty when all involved believe he is.

I alternated between ebook and audiobook on this one. Thank you NetGalley, Kensington Books and Tantor audio for ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bone Deep - Untangling the Betsy Faria Murder case

At first I didn’t realise this was an actual true case story. The way the police treated Betsy’s husband Russ was shocking and for him to spend time in prison for a crime he clearly didn’t commit was absurd. Pam and many others like her use illnesses to get where they want in life and she eventually got what she deserved rather than what she wanted, life!

True crime, why can’t I quit you?!

I’m trying to cut back on these types of books, I really am. But I started to see 5-star early reviews for Bone Deep the same week I saw the teaser trailer for the upcoming NBC scripted mini-series of the case it covers (“The Thing About Pam” starring none other than Renée Zellweger). And here we are.

In 2011, Russell Faria came home from a game night with the fellas to find his wife Betsy dead, having been stabbed more than 50 times with a knife still sticking out of her neck. He called 911, immediately became a suspect, was arrested and convicted, and went to prison. Sounds like pretty efficient police and prosecutor work, except for the fact that he didn’t do it. To his defense attorney, Joel Schwartz, it was obvious from day one that the true killer was Betsy’s friend Pam Hupp. To say she’s an interesting (real life) character would be an understatement.

Bone Deep is one of those “stranger than fiction” true crime books that exposes the ineptitude of the US justice system when the people tasked with enforcing it are completely incompetent. Fans of the genre will be captivated from start to finish, despite its absolutely dreadful cover (seriously, so bad) and off-putting title. I breezed through the audiobook in just over a day, needing to hear how true justice would prevail.

So yeah, I do recommend Bone Deep to murderinos like me. Though my growing discomfort with the genre certainly flared up while listening. Having the victim’s postmortem body dissected and detailed feels a whole lot more like exploitation than justice. I sure hope my death doesn’t end up being covered by multiple Dateline NBC episodes, a podcast series, a scripted prime time television show, and a book like this. (Even if Ghost Regina would totally watch/listen/buy all of those things if it did.)

I love true crime, and this is no different. I feel so bad for the victim. To have cancer and then be murdered for a horrible reason. Throughout the entire time I was listening, I wanted to scream at the judge. How could she not see who the real killer was. Why did it take so long for them to figure out who actually killed Betsy? There was so much evidence that was not used because the judge did not think it was necessary. I think that the judge should have been removed and replaced with someone else. Why would you not want every piece of evidence that you could find? Just because you think it does not matter, does not mean that it does not matter. Everyone seemed so biased against her husband to the point that it did not matter what other evidence they had, everyone thought that Russ had committed the crime. Even halfway through the audiobook, I could tell who had committed the crime. The justice system needs some work.

What a fabulous audiobook!!! I was familiar with this case already because I had listened to "The Thing About Pam" podcast. I thought that was a great dive into the case but this just far exceeded it. The detail was both spectacular and also almost terrifying because it was SO obvious that Pam was involved. A true shame that 3 people had to die before she was put behind bars.
Regarding the narrator, I thought he did a great job. I will say, when I first started the audiobook I was a little worried because in the first few minutes, it sounded like he was reading quickly and in kind of a flat voice. But that changed literally within 10 minutes. It was as if he was just settling in. The narrator truly has the reading voice for true crime, news, non-fiction type books. I listen to quite a bit of audiobooks and a bad narrator can be rough. But he was really great, I'd definitely listen to more by him.
I'm giving this 4 stars simply because it was pretty long, though to be fair I don't think it could've been cut down much. This is certainly a time when I wish I could give half stars because I think its closer to a 4.5.
Bravo to the author and the narrator and thanks NetGalley for this audiobook advance copy!

As an avid true crime podcast listener, I was very eager to dive into this audiobook, and it did not disappoint! It's a riveting story from start to finish, and although I have listened to the What About Pam podcast, I still found this to be utterly fascinating and I learned SO much more. If you though you knew what a tangled web this whole case was, it was only the beginning!

This book is told from the perspective of the dogged defense attorney who represented Russ Faria when he was charged and wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife Betsy.

This insiders point of view gives a behind the scenes look into our sometimes quite problematic criminal justice system and will keep you listening (or turning the pages!) until the very end. The audiobook narration was well done and I highly recommend this book to true crime fans or novices alike!

Thank you to NetGalley and Citadel Press for my gifted review copy.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced audio.

What a tangled web we weave. If this doesn't make you angry and cheer out loud, then I am not sure what you read. The story is very well narrated and flows very smoothly. This is the story of a serial killer that was able to dupe so many with their crazy stories and claimed mental health struggles.

The story details the murder of Betsy Faria and the attempt my local law enforcement to frame her husband, Russ Faria. The moment the murder was called in, police and detectives were convinced that Russ was the murderer, simply because he called it a suicide, that they refused to look at any other possibility. At times, the evidence pointing to someone other than Russ was so overwhelming that it practically smacked you in the face. But, to make the case even more crazy, the judge in Russ' trial, would not allow his defense team to present evidence that pointed towards someone else. So, as you can imagine, Russ was found guilty. After many years, new information comes out supporting what Russ and his attorney's knew all along, Russ didn't murder his wife. This entire time, the defense had their eyes set on one person, Pam Hupp.

I don't know what to say about Pam other than this lady is certifiable. You could literally trip over the lies and excuses that came out of her mouth. However, she was able to convince the detectives and prosecutors that she had no involvement in Betsy's death. Every time you thought this could not get any more ridiculous, Pam would drop another morsel of unbelievability. It was so crazy, that you had to laugh at her creativity, while simultaneously getting angry at the people that believed her story. Russ was able to finally win a new trial, with a new judge, where they were able to present the evidence pointing away from Russ, towards Pam, that they were not allowed in the first trial. Finally, the outcome that was needed, Russ was not guilty.

As you can imagine, the story started to shift towards Pam and her various stories. During the years following Betsy's death, Pam's mother also died by suspicious circumstances. Both cases had significant life insurance policies that listed Pam as the beneficiary. Pam was so convinced that Russ, and his family, was going to come after her after the second trial, she made attempts to throw Russ back into the courtroom by staging a robbery claiming that the "robber" was trying to get the life insurance money back for Russ. In self-defense, Pam shot the robber 5 times. Quickly, Pam's life and stories unraveled resulting in her arrest and conviction in the murder of Leo (the "robber"). Pam has also been recently charged with the murder of Betsy Faria. Unfortunately, she will not face charges for her mother due to inconclusive results.

I hate to DNF books... especially such highly rated ones. I think this would have worked better for me as a paper/ebook than an audiobook. The narrator had a deep, steady voice - it wasn't bad - but it put me to sleep. Because of this, I had a lot of trouble figuring out where I last left off. I found it frustrating. I tried speeding up the playback to 1.5, but I still struggled.

I'm not going to give the book a star rating because I think that the story is fascinating, and I didn't get far enough into the book to provide a fair assessment of the star rating.

I believe I still may enjoy the book; therefore, I would like to try again in the future with a print version.

Thank you to the authors and Tantor Audio for the opportunity!

PS. On Netgalley, I was required to provide a star rating... I did not leave one on Goodreads. I left three starts because although I struggled with the audio version of the book, I do not believe it is a bad book and I look forward to reading the print version in the future. Thank you again!

Thank you Netgalley and Tantor Audio for an audiobook of Bone Deep in exchange for an honest review. While listening to the audiobook, my jaw was on the floor half the time. This book follows the murder case of Betsy Faria in 2011. Betsy's husband, Russ Faria, was wrongly convicted and served years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Pamela Hupp, supposed best friend to Betsy, thought she got away with the perfect murder. You'll be able to follow along with the case and see how it all unfolded and how justice was finally served.

Since I listened to the audiobook, I’ll start with the narrator. The narrator was a really good fit for this audiobook. Especially with true crime – you need a narrator that isn’t distracting and that is what you get with this book.

As for the book, it was really informative but too long in my opinion. I feel like a lot of it was repetitive, and I got pretty much the exact same information from a one hour youtube video. I think the main point of this book however was to exonerate Russ so it achieved that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

A very interesting telling of this true crime case I am obsessed with. Loved the narrator and was riveted like an episode of dateline.

I cannot believe this actually happened, this sounded like pure fiction. What a complete mess of a situation, I'm glad justice finally prevailed. This story is told well, it's thorough without bogging down the pace, and easy to follow while still providing enough detail to do the actual events justice. The use of quotes added a lot to the story and kept me engaged from the start. I truly could not stop thinking about this until I finished it, I took every excuse I could think of to just be able to fly through this. It is truly told well and you can tell a lot of time went into getting the facts for this story.

Thank you to Netgally and Tantor for early access to this one.

True Crime is what got me interested in reading again once I was an adult. It’s intriguing how the human works and the things people do. Half the time when I read these types of books I sit there with my mouth open in awe.

The one thing that drew me to this book is the fact that it happened close to where I live. I know exactly where the author is referring to in many of the locations, so that brought this really close to home. And the story was interesting as to how the cops jump to conclusions just to get a conviction,

Overall I did enjoy this book and the writing was good. I read the first half of the book and listened to the audio the second half. I think the narrator did a fantastic job.

***Thank you Netgalley for the ARC copy and audio in return for an honest review***

If you haven't heard of this case, and I maybe the only one who didn't, this one will blow your mind. Hearing the story from the defense attorney's side is an interesting perspective that you do not often get with true crime. As the narrative details the defense attorney building his case, it is pretty fascinating and I had some flashbacks to Matlock.