The award-winning author of Freedom’s Child describes how her investigation into the 1999 unsolved disappearance of two teens from rural Oklahoma unearthed shocking links to police corruption, regional meth addiction and an ominous pattern of murders. - (Baker & Taylor)
"The stranger-than-fiction cold case from rural Oklahoma that has stumped authorities for two decades, concerning the disappearance of two teenage girls and the much larger mystery of murder, police cover-up, and an unimaginable truth... On December 30, 1999, in rural Oklahoma, sixteen-year-old Ashley Freeman and her best friend, Lauria Bible, were having a sleepover. The next morning, the Freeman family trailer was in flames and both girls were missing. While rumors of drug debts, revenge, and police collusion abounded in the years that followed, the case remained unsolved and the girls were never found. In 2015, crime writer Jax Miller--who had been haunted by the case--decided to travel to Oklahoma to find out what really happened on that winter nightin 1999, and why the story was still simmering more than fifteen years later. What she found was more than she could have ever bargained for: jaw-dropping levels of police negligence and corruption, entire communities ravaged by methamphetamine addiction, and a series of interconnected murders with an ominously familiar pattern. These forgotten towns were wild, lawless, and home to some very dark secrets"-- - (Baker & Taylor)
“There is, in the best of us, a search for the truth, to serve the living and dead alike...Jax Miller is one of those people and Hell in the Heartland is one of those books.”—Robert Graysmith, New York Times bestselling author of Zodiac
As seen in Marie Claire's "Best True Crime Books of 2020" • HuffPost • OK! Magazine • CrimeReads • LitHub's "Best New Summer Books"
S-Town meets I'll Be Gone in the Dark in this stranger-than-fiction cold case from rural Oklahoma that has stumped authorities for two decades, concerning the disappearance of two teenage girls and the much larger mystery of murder, possible police cover-up, and an unimaginable truth...
On December 30, 1999, in rural Oklahoma, sixteen-year-old Ashley Freeman and her best friend, Lauria Bible, were having a sleepover. The next morning, the Freeman family trailer was in flames and both girls were missing.
While rumors of drug debts, revenge, and police corruption abounded in the years that followed, the case remained unsolved and the girls were never found.
In 2015, crime writer Jax Miller--who had been haunted by the case--decided to travel to Oklahoma to find out what really happened on that winter night in 1999, and why the story was still simmering more than fifteen years later. What she found was more than she could have ever bargained for: evidence of jaw-dropping levels of police negligence, entire communities ravaged by methamphetamine addiction, and a series of interconnected murders with an ominously familiar pattern.
These forgotten towns were wild, lawless, and home to some very dark secrets. - (Penguin Putnam)
Jax Miller is an American author. While hitchhiking across America in her twenties, she wrote her first novel, Freedom's Child, for which she won the 2016 Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle and earned several CWA Dagger nominations. She has received acclaim from the New York Times, NPR, Entertainment Weekly, and many more. She now works in the true-crime genre, having penned her much-anticipated book and acting as creator, host, and executive producer on the true-crime documentary series Hell in the Heartland on CNN's HLN network. Jax is a lover of film and music, and has a passion for rock 'n' roll and writing screenplays. - (Penguin Putnam)
Booklist Reviews
On December 30, 1999, Ashley Freeman celebrated her sweet sixteen surrounded by her parents, Danny and Kathy, and best friend Lauria Bible. By dawn, the celebration turned to tragedy when the Freeman trailer was consumed by fire. The bodies of Danny and Kathy were discovered among the ashes, dead by gunshot wounds. To this day, Ashley and Lauria remain missing. Wild rumors and accusations swirled around their small, rural Oklahoma community while the investigation remained at a standstill. Miller spent years interviewing the families and investigating leads, exploring the two predominant theories: police corruption and drug-related retaliation. There are no easy, certain answers with the Freeman-Bible case, though a 2019 arrest offers hope for closure. Miller (Freedom's Child, 2015) navigates the delicate intricacies of the case with compassion and respect for all involved, never losing his focus on Ashley and Lauria. Harrowing, beautifully written, and filled with unexpected twists, readers won't be able to put down this book until they reach the very last word. A new true-crime classic that is sure to engross fans of the genre. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.
