Murder In The Heartland

Phelps' book about the Lisa Montgomery case is well written/researched; he obviously did his homework. In the early chapters, the reader is able to get a glimpse of the close, loving relationship that Zeb and Bobbie Jo Stinnett shared. They had looked forward to owning their own house and having a family of their own. Phelps went on to say "Live was sweet".

Lisa M. had been lying to her family, friends, and community about being 'pregnant'. In order to save face, she needed to produce a baby so she targeted Bobbie Jo, who was 8 mos pregnant, murdered her and cut/ripped her baby girl from her womb. Back in KS, Lisa presented the baby as her own while police in MO were investigating the crime scene and sending out an amber alert for the baby. Ben Espey, the sheriff is a hero for jumping through hoops in order to get that amber alert out to bring Victoria Jo back to safety, home to her father, Zeb Stinnett. I was so happy that Victoria Jo survived and was returned to her father.

Carl Boman had many interesting things to say about his relationship with Lisa. He knew Lisa better than anyone and had plenty to say. I enjoyed hearing from Lisa's children too, especially Kayla. They have been devastated by Lisa's crime and they, too, are her victims.

I really appreciate Phelps' update for the paperback explaining to his critics why he wrote the book prior to Lisa's trial. Although, he doesn't owe us an explanation, I am glad that he gave us one. This really is an excellent literary account of Lisa's life and the crime itself. The info on the backstory is amazing; info we might not get from the trial.

Murder In The Heartland is a book that stands on its own!

I think "flawed" might be the term, as this isn't a bad read; however, when the reader is promised at the outset insight into a crime from both a key law enforcement official and an ex-husband of the perpetrator, we expect more than what we get here. Phelps fixates on certain aspects (yes, we KNOW after having been told for the umpteenth time that, for the sheriff, "finding the baby" is a crucial aspect of the case), and might be able to get away with that sort of repetition if, say, the force of his prose could hold the reader in its sway.

It can't, and doesn't.

Two examples, the first offered by Phelps as an example of a regional northwest Missouri accent: "Things like that just don't happen 'roun he'a." Excuse me? Perhaps he's thinking of northwest Mississippi--hey, starts with an 'M,' after all. Close enough for Phelps, apparently. By this standard, neighboring Iowa and Nebraska must be full of speakers echoing minor characters in Faulkner. Or try this less-than-concise use of attribution: "'Of course not, Darrell,' the pastor explained." Yes, that's some explanation, and I'm not quoting out of context; this should remind prospective authors that there is indeed a reason why the word "said" is the workhorse of attribution--so as not to make an arse out of oneself by using another term incorrectly, for one thing.

There are many more examples of careless prose herein, but, as I say, it's not a bad read, and were it possible I'd give it 2.5 stars--the case itself is interesting no matter the so-so re-telling by Phelps, certain aspects of the book succeed in being entertaining, and to give him his due, I've read worse; when it comes to the quality of writing in the true crime genre, well, "things like this do tend to happen aroun' he'a."

This book started out great but I quit reading about 1/2 to 2/3 the way through because it got boring and repetitive.

Skidmore, Missouri is a quiet midwestern town but it has more than their fair share of horror stories and crime like the vigilante murder of Ken McElroy in 1981 and of course, the brutal murder of very pregnant Bobbie Jo Stinnett in 2004. She was 8 months pregnant when her murderer, Lisa Montgomery posed as Darlene Fischer arrived to discuss puppies. All Lisa wanted was the baby girl that Bobbie Jo was expecting after Christmas in 2004. She strangled her enough to get her unconconsious and performed a c-section on Bobbie Jo who fought to get her baby from her murderer. Lisa kidnapped the baby girl and tried to convince everybody that she just had given birth to a newborn girl despite the fact that she was never pregnant at all but she tried to convince others that she would. The book is well-written but prematurely published while my copy has no pictures. Regardless, the author does do extensive research on Skidmore, Missouri.

When Author M. William Phelps admits that much of his information came from extensive interviews with Carl Boman, Lisa Montgomery's ex-husband, he's not making an understatement. Much of the Information contained in this book is told from Boman's "personal recollections," which, to say the least, are undoubtedly jaded.

However, setting Boman's contributions aside, Phelps still does an excellent job of compiling information about the case. In addition, despite being refused interviews from Bobbie Jo Stinnett's (the victim) family (which is greatly understood), he was still able to provide the reader with a relatively clear picture of Bobbie Jo's life.

Phelps makes it perfectly clear up front that the book is written prior to the trial of Lisa Montgomery. As a matter of fact, he states it was not his intent to write so much about the "outcome" as it was about the lives of Stinnett and Montgomery and how, in those two crossing paths, this horrendous crime was committed. When Phelps states that he is not the first to write a book prior to trial, he's right; however, I will give him kudos for being the first author that I've read to do this is and in the end I was not disappointed. Whether it was the authors compliation of information and easy flow of relating same in story form or the mere fact that Lisa Montgomery was caught with Victoria Jo in her arms, I really felt there was no need for a trial. There's no guessing about whether or not Lisa committed the crime; the only thing that remains to be seen is the punishment.

On last thought before closing....in a town that previously took matters into their own hands (see [[ASIN:0312942362 In Broad Daylight]]), maybe once more the town of Skidmore, Missouri should have been given their "turn" with Lisa Montgomery?!

Would have loved to know more about the backgrounds of some of the main players but understandably the author could only work with what is provided by the family members. Regardless, this book is highly disturbing. Honestly written and deeply researched. It was a hard book to put down. Captivating and well written. Not yet disappointed in a Phelps book.

Although I don't think that the author needed to wait until after Lisa's trial to publish a book, he should have ended this one after she was arrested. Not much happened with Lisa after that, other than that she became more religious in jail. The last third of the book seemed to be a repetitive detailing of Lisa and Carl Boman's marital troubles. We read about them kidnapping their kids back and forth, and following each other all over New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri, with a few trips to southern California to boot. It's pretty boring reading once Lisa is arrested.

I was in a bookstore looking for some books to read in the true crime section. I was only going to pick a few but the hardcover of this book just kept calling to me so I decided to get it too.

I wasn't disappointed whatsoever! Who could imagine a woman cutting another woman open while she was alive and stealing the baby to pass off as her own? My lord!

I am glad Mr. Phelps decided to write this before the hearings have concluded on this case because there was enough prior to the hearings to make a book. Thank GOD Victoria Jo is back with her real father but it is sad she will never have her mother.

It is so strange what this world is coming to. This book really does the story justice and I couldn't put it down.

Thanks

Great book from great author